Install Windows from an HDD to an SSD while removing the old drive.
Install Windows from an HDD to an SSD while removing the old drive.
I accidentally installed Windows on my hard drive, then copied it to an SSD. Now I can't delete files from the HDD or start my computer on the SSD. How do I boot from SSD and remove program/Windows files from HDD?
Disconnect the SSD and any other storage you don’t want to affect. Load the Windows installer, navigate to the custom installation option. When the selection appears, choose to delete all partitions until you reach an unallocated space for the HDD. Cancel the installation process and power off the system. Reconnect the SSD and restart. Enter BIOS settings, verify everything appears correctly. Set the SSD as the boot device—typically labeled as “Windows Boot Manager.” Once you reach the start menu, go to “Windows Administrative Tools,” then open “Computer Management.” In the left panel, locate “Storage” and click on “Disk Management.” You should see your connected drives listed; look for an unallocated space with a black bar indicating its size. Right-click it and choose “New Simple Volume.” Follow the prompts, and the installation should proceed successfully.
I assume there was some time between the installation and when you realized you've installed on the wrong drive. Otherwise you could've just redone the installation instead of cloning which would be my prefered option. You can try overriding the boot option from your BIOS. There is always an option in every BIOS that wil launch you into whichever boot drive you want directly without setting the priority if you can't get that right. After that you need to delete the boot partition that you don't want through Disk Management and merge it with the rest of your HDD. After that you'll be good.
Find the download link for the Windows installer on the official Microsoft website or your system's settings.
This should act as a warning to confirm you're viewing the HDD rather than the USB installer. It actually includes system files, though some are no longer needed. You typically see three partitions: a Windows installer (RECOVERY), the boot loader (EFI System partition, ~100MB), and the main C drive with most storage.