Why Do I Need to Remove HDD to Do a Clean Install of Windows 10 on a New SSD?

Best Answered by

Jerry· Answered on Jul 20, 2023

The answer is NO. You don't have to do so. You can perform a clean installation of Windows 10 on an SSD without removing the old HDD. But it is highly recommended that you should make a system image of the Windows 10 computer in case something goes wrong during the clean installation process. EaseUS Todo Backup comes to help you at this time.

EaseUS Todo Backup is professional backup and recovery software. It can help you back up Windows systems easily and clean install Windows 10 without losing data. After you finish backing up Windows 10 system, you can perform the steps below to install Windows on a new SSD.

Step 1. Shut down your computer, then insert your Windows 10 installation USB into the computer.

Step 2. Turn on the computer. When it starts, press the BIOS key, which could be F1, F2, F10, F12, or DEL, to enter the BIOS screen and choose the USB drive as the first boot device.

Step 3. After your computer boots from the USB drive, follow the Windows setup screen to install Windows 10.

Step 4. After the installation process finishes, Windows will restart automatically. Once it restarts, press the BIOS key to enter the BIOS screen. At this time, select SSD as the first boot drive. You can remove the USB drive at this point.

Step 5. Once Windows restarts, follow the instructions to set up your computer and create an account to log in.

Step 6. When the setup is done, Windows 10 will automatically log you onto the desktop.

When you finish installing Windows 10 on the new SSD, the SSD will become the C drive. You can format the old HDD to release space for storing data.