What Should I Do Before Changing My Main Hard Drive?

My old hard drive has been bad at performance recently, so I plan to change the main hard drive with a new one. But I'm not sure what I should do before I change it. Can you tell me what I need to prepare to avoid unnecessary data loss? Appreciate any help!

The most important thing is to back up all critical files before replacing the main hard disk. You can do it with powerful, professional backup software like EaseUS Todo Backup.

Below are more details about the things you should do before replacing the main hard drive.

📤Back up important files. Creating a backup for your files is always the first thing you should do before any big operation. Creating an image backup is one of the best ways to back up the whole drive. This will keep your significant data safe; you can restore it on your new hard drive later. Then you can continue without worrying about them.

Note: Consider whether any files or folders have been hidden or encrypted to prevent losing data.

🧹Sanitize the old drive. Be cautious with this. Make sure everything on your old drive is erased and will not be restored by any means. If you're planning to throw away or sell this old drive, you will not want anyone to be able to recover the data from it. So, ensure the data cannot be recovered before changing the old drive.

🪛Last, change the hard drive. Simply disconnect the old drive from the computer and remove the battery before changing to the new one. To be safe, wear latex gloves or ground yourself to avoid discharging static electricity into the susceptible circuit boards encountered when opening up the computer inside.

Another option is to clone the old drive to the new one directly. You can read the related article below to learn how.

Related article: Super Easy | How to Clone Hard Drive Before Replacing