Updating Windows onto an SSD.
Updating Windows onto an SSD.
Windows 10? Just set up on an SSD. I saved the installer on a USB drive and it syncs your motherboard with Microsoft, so after the installer is done it should work fine.
Set up Windows using only the SSD installation. Ensure the system doesn’t interact with the unselected drive as a safeguard. After installation, start from the SSD to confirm it’s the active boot source. Adjust the boot order in UEFI/BIOS or select it via the boot menu. After configuration, transfer important files from the hard drive’s Users folder to the SSD’s Users folder, focusing on AppData and Documents. To disable the hard drive’s boot capability, remove the boot loader partition. In Disk Manager, identify the partition containing the hard drive (usually large), then erase unnecessary data. Be aware of permission restrictions, as Windows may resist deleting files even on a separate drive. The safest approach is to move your data to the SSD temporarily, format the old drive, and reinstall if needed.
Files can be removed immediately after a fresh installation on the SSD. Also, clear the recovery partition.
Thanks for your support! I’ll begin as soon as I locate a thumb drive. I’m guessing I won’t need to use the Windows key, or maybe I can find it elsewhere. I hope I can manage with less than 500GB on the HDD, but I suppose that’s okay. Onward!
Hope you're having a good night! I installed Windows as instructed. It worked, I reinserted my HDD and turned it on. I tried copying my users/username file to my SSD, but I'm stuck—can't access the user file. I'm currently backing up the entire file (it'll take some time), but I still need to retain access to other files. No clear next steps.
It might relate to permission settings. Right-click the folder, open Properties, navigate to Security, and check if the owner can be changed. I use a local account, so it could differ from a Microsoft setup. If you didn’t disable the bootloader on the HDD, try booting from it and move files to Users\Public instead.