How do I migrate my data from HDD to a new SSD?

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customcoumputor

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Jan 12, 2013
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I currently have a 1Tb WD Blue HDD that I bought about a year ago. however I recently purchased a new Sandisk 960gb SSD and I was wondering how I could migrate my data from my HDD to my SSD. I would also like to keep using the HDD as a storage drive while using the SSD as a boot drive.

1.) Should I migrate or do a fresh install of windows on the SSD?
2.) If i migrate, how would i migrate?/ If i do a fresh install, how would I do the fresh install?
3.) How do i delete the data off of the HDD? (so i can use it as a data drive)

Thanks in advance
 
Solution
SuperSoph_WD
Hey there, @customcoumputor!

In addition to what @CountMike mentioned, I'd also recommend you make sure you backup your data from the system somewhere off-site before you tamper with the storage configuration. This is the surest way to avoid any potential data loss.

#1. To be honest, a clean install is always the recommended way to go about upgrading your storage because you avoid transferring redundant files from the previous OS install. However, you need to make sure you unplug the WD Blue from the motherboard, otherwise you are most probably going to encounter an OS confusion which results in a lot of booting issues later on. Once you have the OS up and running from the SSD, plug back the WD Blue and backup (if you...
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CountMike

CountMike

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Oct 31, 2015
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You could clone HDD to SSD since it's so big but you'll be best off doing clean install on SSD.
Replace HDD with SSD, set SATA to AHCI. Do you have a disk with windows and which windows do you have ?
Once installed you can connect HDD, delete all the partitions on HDD, make new ones as you wish and use it for anything you want. There are any programs for that like Active Partition Manager or Easus Partition master, free versions would do.
 
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SuperSoph_WD

SuperSoph_WD

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Jul 30, 2014
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Hey there, @customcoumputor!

In addition to what @CountMike mentioned, I'd also recommend you make sure you backup your data from the system somewhere off-site before you tamper with the storage configuration. This is the surest way to avoid any potential data loss.

#1. To be honest, a clean install is always the recommended way to go about upgrading your storage because you avoid transferring redundant files from the previous OS install. However, you need to make sure you unplug the WD Blue from the motherboard, otherwise you are most probably going to encounter an OS confusion which results in a lot of booting issues later on. Once you have the OS up and running from the SSD, plug back the WD Blue and backup (if you haven't already) the data somewhere off-site. Afterwards, reformat the HDD from Disk management to get rid of the old installation and use it as a secondary drive in your system. Here's a detailed guide on Windows Install & Optimization for SSDs & HDDs, you might find useful.

#2. If you wish to clone your WD Blue to the SSD, then I'd advise you to consider using our Acronis True Image WD Edition Software. It allows you to backup your OS and data and then clone the WD Blue to the SSD. You can even Manually clone whichever files you need. Once the clone is successful, attempt to boot from the SSD without the WD Blue connected to see if it boots properly. If it does, it's safe to plug back the WD Blue and re-format it through Disk Management by erasing all its partitions and creating a new simple volume (as discribed in the tutorial 'Reformat HDD from Disk Management' from #1).

Hope these help you! Keep us posted if you have more questions! :)
SuperSoph_WD
 
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