New hard drive, few questions

[Heoir]

Okay, so to start off I have an old 600GB sata II from 2008 that I've been using. It's been having issues as of late, so I've now ordered the 256 GB Samsung 850 Pro and a 1TB WD Black. I currently have windows 10 pro installed, as a free upgrade from windows 7 pro. I've gone on google and on the forums and I see conflicting information between replies, and articles so that's why I'm creating a new one.

How would I go about getting windows 10 on my new SSD? I prefer doing this with as little downloads as possible as the area I live in doesn't have access to broadband internet (limited to pretty much 50kb/s, not a consistent connection either). Would it be better to clean install since my old drive is having issues? Would installing windows 7 on the ssd work to upgrade to windows 10 (not sure if it would work because already used that windows 7 key on this hard drive to upgrade to 10).

How about drivers? This question is something I haven't actually been able to find when moving to a new hard drive. Would I have to find all my drivers on my hard drive and put them on a flash drive? If so, where would I find the drivers?

I'll be honest and say I'm not the best when it comes to software. I'm more of a hands on person and prefer building pc's than dealing with software. I have an external drive (1TB) so space is not an issue if I have to move things to that, then back to the ssd when it comes in the mail.

 

[Slashgeek]

If you are having issues with your current drive, then a clean install really will be the best option for you. Download the Windows media creation tool here:

https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/software-download/windows10

Use it to create installation media for Windows 10, either on a CD or a USB drive. During the Setup process, you will be asked to enter your product key - skip this. Windows 10 self-activates using knowledge of your computer hardware configuration. As you have already upgraded to Pro from 7 Pro, your new clean Windows will activate itself after installation.

As for drivers, it would be best to redownload the installation files from their respective manufacturers. The most important drivers to install first are the network adapter, graphics, and sound drivers, as these are responsible for many BSODs with default drivers built into Windows 10. However, if you already have the installation files, you may reuse these if they are the latest versions.

 

[Heoir]

Thanks man I'll give this a try, just the info I was looking for too. Hopefully it works how you say and I won't need a product key.