How to Migrate or Clone Windows 10/11 from HDD to SSD

PAGE QUICK NAVIGATION:

1. #1. What Does It Mean to Clone Windows 10 to SSD?
2. #2. What's the Best SSD Cloning Software for Windows 10?
3. #3. How to Migrate Windows 10 to SSD (Video Included)
4. #4. How to Migrate Only Windows 10 to SSD

"Should I upgrade my computer now?", when asked by some friends who underwent a slow hard drive, my answer is "not really". Instead, upgrade your HDD to SSD, or replace the smaller SSD with a bigger SSD. You will definitely see a tremendous change in the Windows 10 startup speed after swapping to a lighter, more compact, and more durable Solid-State Drive. Nevertheless, you don't need to put all Windows stuff in the new SSD. The best bet is to install the operating system on the high-performance SSD while leaving the other programs and personal archives on the old HDD, with much more capacious storage. You can also choose to install both OS and particular programs like games/Office/design software on a larger SSD if it's under your budget.

Next, you're going to benefit a lot from downloading the capable SSD cloning software - EaseUS Todo Backup. It'll bring you out of trouble of not knowing how to clean install Windows 10 on SSD, or saving the budget on a computer maintenance shop. Seeing that it's a mature piece of automated Windows OS migration software, everyone with a desktop or laptop can cope with the task: Migrate Windows 10 to SSD by means of cloning the Windows system drive partition & boot partition from HDD/SSD to the new SSD.

What Does It Mean to Clone Windows 10/11 to SSD?

If you're tired of waiting for your computer to boot up or your programs to load, then you want a solid-state drive (SSD) in your machine. Now that SSD is more affordable than ever, you should consider getting one for your desktop machine, but it may not quite familiar for you to fresh install Windows 10 on a newly established storage drive. So, here comes the term CLONE.

To clone Windows 10 to SSD means that you make an exact copy of the source drive content and disk layout. It doesn't sound like a simple copy and paste but aims to create an identical hard drive image, along with all Windows installation files, file system, configuration, program components and every bit of data.

What's the Best SSD Cloning Software for Windows 10/11?

Applies to: Windows 11, Windows 10, and Windows 8.1, 8, 7, XP, and Vista as well.

In case Windows 10 is installed on a regular hard disk, users can install an SSD without reinstalling Windows by cloning the system drive with the help of disk imaging software. If you are looking for a reliable method to completely migrate Windows 10 from HDD to SSD or clone Windows 10 to SSD, EaseUS Todo Backup can be the best choice for you, though it's not the only solution.

Here we strongly recommend you take EaseUS SSD cloning software to process the whole cloning task based on the facts in the following:

• The capacity of the SSD doesn't match the HDD, no matter if it's smaller or bigger, EaseUS Todo Backup can take it.
• It supports SSD 4K alignment, which is critical to make sure that the SSD performance won't be affected.
• Functions are not limited to "Clone". It's a versatile Windows software featured with other practical functions, such as backup and recovery.
• It allows you to clone to removable hard drives, which means you can put your SSD into a removable hard drive case and start to clone.
• With both UEFI and BIOS supported.
• The user interface is simple and user-friendly.

How to Migrate Windows 10/11 to SSD with Easeus Todo Backup

EaseUS Todo Backup is a secure and effective system backup and disk clone software that is fully compatible with the latest Windows systems, and its disk clone feature enables users to clone and migrate whole computer data including the system to a new SSD without losing any data. Follow the step-by-step tutorial to move Windows 10 from HDD to SSD by cloning the system disk with EaseUS Todo Backup.

Guide: How to Clone Windows 10/11 to SSD

01. Connect A Second Hard Drive

Tools you need: a screwdriver, a Power Splitter Adapter cable, a SATA cable or an USB to SATA adapter. Make sure the target HDD/SSD is larger than the used space of the current drive. For M.2 SSD, you need to idenfity if there is a PCIe slot for connection.

• Connect the target disk to your computer.
• For desktop, open the mainframe with screwdriver and connect the disk to the mainboard with a SATA cable, then connect the disk's Power Splitter Adapter Cable into the power supply box.
• For laptop, you can use an USB to SATA adapter to connect the disk.
• Initialize a new HDD/SSD to MBR or GPT before you can use it (To keep the target new disk the same style as that of the current disk).

02. Download a Disk Cloning Utility

EaseUS Todo Backup is the cloning software that integrates multiple functions, including system/disk clone, backup, restoring , and system transfer, etc. In the disk clone field, this tool stands out due to the following aspects:

• Covers as many as disk cloning demands, such as update hard drive to a larger one, clone OS, etc.
• Disk cloning has the highest success rate among all similar products on the market.
• Supports all kinds of disk types, including IDE, EIDE, SATA, ESATA, ATA, SCSI, iSCSI, USB 1.0/2.0/3.0.
• Supports cloning of basic/dynamic disks and MBR/GPT disks.

03. Get Ready with the Clone Procedures

System Clone: Choose System Clone > choose the destination disk > click Next to start. In Advanced options, you can choose the option of Create a portable Windows USB drive to clone the system to a USB drive.

Disk/Partition Clone: Choose Clone > Select the resource disk or partition > Select the target disk > Click Next to start.

04. Boot from the Clone Hard Drive

Option 1. If you want to keep both the old disk and the new disk

• Restart PC and press F2 (F8,F10, DEL...) to enter BIOS settings.
• In the Boot option, select new HDD/SSD as the new boot drive.
• Exit BIOS and restart the computer.

Option 2. If you want to only keep the new disk

• Unplug the old disk and make sure the new disk is well connected.
• Restart your computer.
• Option 2 is a better hard drive retention plan for laptops

Following these simple steps, you can migrate Windows 10 OS from HDD to a new SSD easily. Besides, EaseUS Todo Backup can also backup and restore the Windows 10 disk/partition and data on HDD/SSD.

How to Transfer OEM Windows 10 to New Hard Drive

Read carefully as this article presents how to transfer OEM Windows 10 to new Hard Drive.

How to Migrate Only Windows 10/11 to SSD

What if you want to exclude everything (installed programs, applications, personal files) except the Windows 10 system-oriented files on the cloned SSD? Is there any way to keep only the Windows 10 system files on the destination SSD? The truth is that none of the existing disk cloning software on the market can make it in one step. Nevertheless, by asking help from the other EaseUS product - EaseUS Todo PCTrans, you can achieve that goal perfectly.

Once the HDD to SSD cloning completes, you should migrate the system drive to the SSD with success. For the other data files that were brought along during the cloning process, you can take one more step to transfer selected files from one hard drive to the other. Refer to the detailed guide:

• How to transfer programs to an external hard drive
• How to transfer programs from C drive to D drive

FAQ on Migrate or Clone Windows 10/11 from HDD to SSD

1. Can I transfer my Windows 10 to a new SSD?

Yes, you can transfer Windows 10 to a new SSD. Compared with HDD, SSD takes advantage of faster read/write speed, lower power consumption, and better durability. So users are willing to replace their old HDDs with new SSD.

2. How do I move Windows to SSD without reinstalling?

If you want to move Windows to SSD without reinstalling Windows OS, you can use a third-party tool, like EaseUS Todo Backup, to clone Windows OS to the new SSD, which will create a bootable SSD.