Best Way to Move Windows 11 to Another Drive Without Data Loss

Windows 11 market share is increasingly growing since Windows 10 will end support from Microsoft in 2025. You may want to transfer your Windows 11 to a larger drive for better performance if your Windows 11 is installed on a small HDD or SSD, but you may lose your data in the Windows 11 installation. Don't worry! EaseUS will elaborate on how to move Windows 11 to another drive without losing data. Let's come to the details!

Is There a Way to Move Windows to Another Drive

When your current C drive is full, you may want to migrate your Windows to a larger disk, be it an HDD or SSD, for better and more stable PC performance. In addition, moving Windows 11/10 to another drive can help you create a system backup for easy recovery when a system crash occurs. Can I move my Windows installation to another drive?

How would I migrate the Windows 11 OS from one drive to another without moving all my data?
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Yes. You can copy your Windows installation to an SSD or HDD, and there are 3 different ways: cloning Windows 11/10 to another drive, clean install Windows on a new drive, or performing a universal restore.

However, if you wonder how to move Windows to another drive without losing data, cloning is the best and most effective way. This is because cloning can help transfer everything, including data and operating system, from one drive to another without data loss and Windows reinstallation. You only need to find a reliable disk clone tool and buy a USB-to-SATA cable to connect the drive to your computer when cloning.

Best Disk Cloning Software Free Download for Windows

As mentioned above, to go through a drive cloning procedure is the best way to migrate Windows to another drive, compared with performing a universal restore or clean installation. Unfortunately, Windows has no preinstalled cloning settings to clone a hard drive. Under such circumstances, EaseUS Disk Copy, a dedicated disk cloning tool, comes to help.

EaseUS Disk Copy is efficient and reliable disk clone software that helps you move Windows OS to another drive without reinstalling or losing data. It lets you clone HDDs or SSDs from various manufacturers on your Windows 11/10/8/7 computers and easily transfer data from an HDD to an SSD for better computer performance. The following are some key features of EaseUS OS migration software:

EaseUS cloning software can easily clone a hard drive, upgrade a hard disk, migrate Windows 11 to new SSD drives, or move Windows 11 to another computer. It can suit your different needs when it comes to disk cloning. Free download this practical system cloning software on your PC to help you transfer Windows 11 to another drive.

If you cannot migrate your OS to another drive, refer to the following article for help.

Unable to Migrate My Operating System to Another Drive

This article will outline the common reasons for "unable to migrate my operating system to another drive" and then outline the best way to fix it. Read more >>

Share this article on your social media to help others find a reliable way to move Windows to another drive without losing data!

How to Transfer Windows to Another Drive Without Data Loss

After you download EaseUS disk clone software on your computer, you can use it to clone your Windows 11 to new hard drives or another drive:

Activate EaseUS Disk Copy for a smooth disk copying or cloning process.

1. Download, install and run EaseUS Disk Copy on your PC.
Click Disk Mode and select the source disk that you want to copy or clone. Click Next to continue.

2. Select the destination disk where you want to clone/copy the old disk and click Next to continue.
Click OK to confirm if the program asks to erase data on the destination disk.

3. Check and edit the disk layout as Autofit the disk, Copy as the source or Edit disk layout.
Autofit the disk is recommended.

• Copy as the source option will copy/clone the same layout of partitions on your source disk to the destination disk.
• Edit disk layout allows you to manually resize or move partition layout on the destination disk.
• If your destination disk is an SSD drive, do remember to tick Check the option if the target is SSD.

Click Proceed to start the disk cloning or disk copying process now.

Pro Tip: How to Boot Windows 11 from New Hard Drive

After the OS migration, you need to replace the old drive with the new drive on your Windows PC. If you use a desktop PC, you can install the cloned disk alongside the old disk. If you use a laptop, you need to open the back case and install the new drive. Then, you need to go to the BIOS settings to set the cloned drive as your first boot drive. Here is how:

Step 1. Restart your PC and hold the BIOS key to access the BIOS setup screen. The key varies depending on the PC manufacturer but is generally F2, F12, Delete, or Esc.

Step 2. Head for the Boot section using the arrow key.

Step 3. Find the Boot Order or Boot Priority option and choose it.

Step 4. Top the cloned hard drive on the boot order list via the arrow key.

Step 5. Save the changes before quitting the BIOS setup screen. Reboot your PC, which will boot from the new hard drive.

Articles related to booting from a new hard drive:

To Wrap Things Up

Migrating Windows to another drive or a larger HDD/SSD will significantly improve your computer performance. If you do not know how to do it, this article details how to move Windows 11 to another drive without losing data. There are different ways to install/move Windows to another SSD/HDD drive, but cloning is the best way to move files to another drive or migrate Windows to another disk.

EaseUS Disk Copy is an easy-to-use cloning program that helps you migrate OS to another drive easily and quickly. It lets you clone an HDD to an SSD with 3 steps, free of OS reinstalling and data loss. Free download this disk cloning software to explore its practical features!

Migrate Windows 11 to Another Drive Without Losing Data FAQs

1. Will I lose everything if I change my HDD to SSD?

Generally, you will lose your files on an HDD if you just swap from an HDD to an SSD. However, if you clone your HDD to an SSD, nothing will be lost.

2. How can I swap my SSD without losing my data?

Cloning is the best and easiest way to swap SSD without any data loss because it can help you clone SSD to SSD without reinstalling Windows and losing data. In addition, the target SSD will have the same disk layout as the old SSD.

3. How do I transfer the operating system from one SSD to another?

To transfer Windows from one SSD to another, you have 3 ways: performing a universal restore - creating a system image backup on an external drive and restoring it to the SSD, performing a clean installation, and cloning your OS to another drive.

4. How to move everything from one hard drive to another Windows 11?

The following are the detailed steps to move everything from one disk to another on Windows 11 PCs:

• Download and install EaseUS Disk Copy and activate it.
• In Disk Mode, select the old drive as the source disk and click Next.
• Select the new drive as the target disk.
• (Optional). Adjust the disk layout.
• Click Proceed to start cloning the disk.