Third-party tool AOMEI Backupper Professional: It is not only a backup and restore program but also powerful disk cloning software, which can move Windows 10 to new hard drive easily and quickly. However, there is a major problem: the backup image created on a larger disk cannot be restored to disk with smaller partition layout. Therefore, you can restore Windows 11/10 to new hard drive without reinstalling programs and losing data, even when it's unbootable. This is tedious and time-consuming.īuilt-in Backup and Restore (Windows 7): It contains everything on the system partition, including the operating system, apps, settings, personal data, etc, and allows you to create a system repair disc to boot computer when it fails to boot. But it has an obvious disadvantage, you need to reinstall all the programs you will use in the near future. Meanwhile, it resolves performance, memory, startup, shut down, and app issues. The clone feature can only be demonstrated in the trial version.Ĭlean install: It is considered the least problematic solution to move Windows 11/10 to new hard drive, which only installs a fresh copy of operating system and basic apps. Only 4 steps are needed. No data loss nor reinstallation. Third-party Tool AOMEI Backupper Professional The backup image created on a larger disk cannot be restored to disk with smaller partition layout. Allows you to create a system repair disc.

Need to reinstall the programs you want. Multiple steps are required.Ĭontains everything on the system partition.

And from the aspect of data & system files, it is also possible, you just need the help of some migration tools.Īs mentioned earlier, there are 3 commonly used ways to migrate Windows 11/10 to new hard drive or SSD, namely, clean install, backup and restore utility, and third-party tool. How to transfer Windows to new hard driveĬan you transfer Windows 11/10 to another drive? From the perspective of licenses, yes, both OEM and Retail license can be transferred to a new hard drive on the same computer.

If you are trying to replace HDD with SSD, the improvement of the computer performance will be more significant. Then, how to move Windows 11/10 to another drive easily? Here are three solutions: clean install, built-in backup and restore, and third-party backup software. Below is a quick navigation for the content. So, how to solve this problem? Transferring Windows 11/10 to new hard drive and using it as boot drive seems like a great idea. I previously had Windows 8.1 on the laptop and downloaded the upgrade to Windows 10 back when it was still free. How would I install my copy of Windows 10 on the new hard drive. I need to upgrade the hard drive in my laptop as it has extremely limited storage capacity. Can I transfer Windows 10 to a new hard drive?

Windows 10 free upgrade to windows 11