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General discussion

Moving old SSD to a new PC without reinstalling OS & apps

May 3, 2019 3:30PM PDT

How do I move an old SSD to a new PC without reinstalling Windows 10 and apps?

Hi everyone, 10 years ago I built a very high end liquid cooled desktop and was very pleased with it. Unfortunately, all good things come to an end and the poor computer decided its components could no longer take the beating. I’m starting my next build and would like to know if there are methods to use my existing SSD drive in the new computer so I don’t have to reinstall Windows 10 (64-bit) and all the applications I currently use. Reinstalling the OS and all of my software will take weeks and not something I want to spend my time on. Any and all advice would be appreciated. Thanks in advance.

--Submitted by Dennis M. (aka mrozde)

Update 5/20/2019: Latest update from Dennis (mrozde) on how he resolved this: https://www.cnet.com/forums/post/6ee5efc2-3613-4751-a9f8-6069a33afe6b/

Post was last edited on May 21, 2019 11:23 AM PDT

Discussion is locked

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PCMover or EaseUS Todo Backup Workstation
May 10, 2019 9:33PM PDT

As mentioned by others, there is commercial software that can manage this. Acronis (which I do not use) supposedly works. The two I frequently use are EaseUS Todo Backup (Workstation Edition) and PCMover from Laplink.

To use the EaseUS product, you need to be able to create a backup from the old machine. If it's not running anymore, that option is off the table. However, if you can create a backup of the SSD drive (for example, onto an external drive), then it can be restored to completely different hardware using "System Transfer" mode.

The Laplink solution has two scenarios, depending on whether your original PC is functioning or not. In the case where it's functioning, use PC Mover Professional to move some or all of your applications and data from the old computer to the new one, without overwriting the existing files or operating system on the new computer. If your original computer doesn't work, you can simply connect the SSD drive from the old computer to the new one (with a connection cable or sled) and use PC Mover Drive & Image Assistant to move the programs and data from the SSD to the new computer.

The Laplink options assume your new computer already has the same or newer version of Windows installed on it as the old computer. If your new computer didn't come with a Windows license, and the old computer will not run long enough to create a backup with EaseUS Todo Backup (Workstation Edition), then neither option will work.

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you can do it, sometimes
May 11, 2019 7:40AM PDT

I do it a lot and most of the time it works, but not 100%. It helps if they use the same chipset. The drivers will install on the first boot or when it runs updates. If you get the screen to repair the boot mgr, then you're screwed. I have never tried this from an Intel to AMD board. I'm pretty sure that' a no go.

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Try it
May 11, 2019 8:15PM PDT

Might be a good idea to have a full backup of that ssd before the move.

Once that's done install the ssd in the new machine and see what happens.

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UPGRADE AND DON'T
May 11, 2019 10:26PM PDT

Unless you have a massive SSD, use my "upgrade and don't" approach--clone the drive, make sure the clone works, then upgrade one of them.  If something totally screws up--you still have a fully working drive. Nowadays drives are fairly inexpensive.  It's a lot better than dealing with the hassles of moving the drive and getting the one drive screwed up when Windows doesn't fully switch or fully switch back.

Also, unless the new PC's drive is the same brand, you might find that some software won't activate.  For instance, Seagate, Western Digital and PNY have free OEM versions of Acronis. If you replace a WD hard disk with a Kingston SSD, the Acronis won't work. I recently upgraded a work PC to an SSD and left the WD hard disk as an unused second drive just so the Acronis will still work.

However, even with "upgrade and don't" you still might have a problem. A lot of lesser-known software has "maximum number of activations" and you can't just call or email them and get number of activations increased--the response will be either "you've reached maximum activations" or "we only support the current and previous 2 versions. You'll need to buy a current version," or something similar.

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What nobody noticed
May 11, 2019 11:51PM PDT

The OP built his first computer. That means he likely had a retail copy of windows on it originally, and not an OEM.

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You can still restore both "retail" and "OEM" versions
May 12, 2019 4:44AM PDT

I have successfully done a duplication of the whole OS to a "bare bones" system using "Acronis + Universal Restore" with both "retail" and "OEM" versions .

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Starting from scratch is best
May 13, 2019 6:21AM PDT

The main obstacles to simply plugging the old drive into a new machine are drivers for the new hardware and proprietary software, including the operating system, that may be designed not to work on a machine other than what they were activated on.

I agree with most respondents here that your best course would be to take the trouble and do a fresh clean install of the OS and all your applications. Unless you have a lot of them for which you no longer have the installation files and/or product keys I have a hard time seeing it taking weeks, though it can definitely be a PITA. The results are worth it though. It's unlikely any migration scheme you try will go without a hitch or result in optimal performance. It's a chance to rethink and better organize your build from the ground up.

I have no experience with the particular Acronis product mentioned by others, but I believe it works by taking an image of your old hard drive and modifying it with the suitable drivers. I do know from experience with Acronis their support--which you will probably need--is good and response time reasonable. At the very least you would need some place to store the image, then dump it destructively back onto your SSD.. I recommend you not do this (assuming you ignore the previous paragraph) but invest in a new SSD. If you're building a new high end rig you'll want the latest "M.2" SSD, and a MoBo that supports it (you can use a PCIE adapter card on a MoBo that doesn't but making it bootable may be tricky, I know this from personal experience). You can then heed the very excellent advice to make a backup first by simply saving the old SSD.

Of course everyone here assumes your application for your high end rig is gaming and not something like high performance scientific computing or video editing. If you're installing something like AutoCad, MATLAB or LabView, where simply repurchasing the lost license is right out, I agree it can be a major headache (even if you do have the license and installation files) but I still stand by my first recommendation.

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It really is that simple
May 13, 2019 5:20PM PDT

I know everyone has an good intentions here, and a hundred horror stories to go with them, but really it can work fine when you use the right tool. This is not folklore or magic fairy dust, but solid technology from commercial software companies. Do yourself a favor and take a look at Acronis's True Image 2019... specifically their "Universal Restore" feature. It essentially would do a backup of your SSD, then you install new hardware and start the Restore process. It will inject new drivers into the restore process for your new hardware (with the old SSD or new hardware whatever). https://www.acronis.com/en-us/personal/true-image-features/

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Conclusion: It is very simple to migrate to a new build!
May 20, 2019 8:54PM PDT

Thanks everyone for your advice but I have to let all of you know it is simple to migrate Windows 10 Pro to new hardware without skipping a beat! I finished my build, installed the SSD from my previous build, changed the bios setting to point to it, booted and whala, I was up and running. I entered my Windows 8 Pro key and Windows 10 Pro activated like a champ. I did have to configure and tweak a few applications that were tied to the previous motherboard but those were painless! All in all, once I was done with my build, I was up and running again and wasted no time re-installing my applications, audio plugins, patches, games, etc.. from scratch. Sorry to those of you who said using the old SSD on the new hardware wouldn't work. It WORKS, It was EASY and I didn't need any special software to migrate the OS to the new build.

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You can clone all data from old SSD to new PC hard drive
Sep 24, 2019 7:03PM PDT

In your situation, you do not want to reinstall Windows 10 OS and apps in the new PC. And I think you can use the Windows cloning software to finish this job.

You can use CloneGo to create a USB bootable PE and backup the Windows OS partition and other data partition from old SSD to an external hard drive in your old computer. Then you can use the USB to boot the new PC and connect the external hard drive to restore the data to your new PC partition. There is no need to login into Windows during this process. After all, partition restored to the new PC, you can disconnect the USB and external hard drive and boot the computer again.

In this way, an identical Windows 10 working environment is created on new PC. You do not need to install Windows and other applications again.