Can I Use My Old SSD with Windows on New PC?[Explained]

Can I use my old SSD with Windows on new computer?

"I recently bought a brand new computer and thought it would be good to add my old SSD with Windows on new PC. Don't know if it's just to insert my old SSD in the computer and everything works as it should or if something will go wrong. Anyone with knowledge that can help?"

When you are immersed in the joy of getting a new computer along with a new SSD or HDD, you may feel puzzled about so many procedures to set up a new PC and try your best to get used to a new working environment. At this moment, you must miss your old SSD and you may ask: Can I use my old SSD in a new computer? What if it contains my Windows OS? Don't worry, you can still use your old SSD with Windows on new PC Windows 11/10 and it's easier than you think as long as you know the process. The below content will tell you how to do it.

How to use old SSD with Windows on new PC?

According to the different purposes of using old SSD on the new computer, the steps will be a little different. The following content will discuss in detail these two situations: using it as a system drive or data drive.

▌ Situation 1. Use old SSD with Windows on new PC as system drive

Since SSD has better performance than HDD, running Windows on your old SSD can help get faster read and write speed. If you prefer to run your old SSD with Windows on the new PC, you can directly install the old SSD in the new computer and boot from it to enjoy.

However, if you intend to keep the old SSD only, reinstalling the new Windows system is necessary. That explains why you are told to make a backup and format the partition in which your Windows is installed. Let's follow the below detailed steps and get started to use your old SSD with Windows on a new PC.

1. Backup important data

The Internet is changeable and electronic data is fragile. Your best bet is to back up all of your old yet important data to a thumb drive or external device. Once any crashes occur during the installation process, you can restore your files from the backup.

2. Format the system partition

After backup, you can start to format the partition for the clean installation of Windows in the next stage. And it is enough to format the system partition. However, system partition will not be allowed to be formatted in Windows built-in tools like Disk Management and DiskPart while the OS is running. Luckily, you can realize it with the help of a third-party free disk manager called AOMEI Partition Assistant Standard. It supports formatting data drive or system drive, single partition or whole disk in Windows 11/10/8/7/XP/Vista PCs.

Step 1. Download AOMEI Partition Assistant Standard. Install and launch it. Then, right-click the system partition and select "Format Partition".

Step 2. Here you're able to name partition and change file system, and then click "OK" to continue.

Step 3. Don't forget to click "Apply" on the toolbar to commit the operation.

3. Install old SSD in new PC

Next, you should begin the process of installing old SSD in new computer. Assume that you will install a SATA SSD on a desktop. Below is the steps.

Step 1. Completely cut power off from your computer, open the case of desktop and locate the storage slot.

Step 2. Connect the old SSD to the SATA connector of motherboard.

Step 3. Reassemble the desktop and power on the computer. Make sure the old SSD can be detected by the new PC.

4. Install Windows onto the SSD using a bootable USB

Now, you come to the most crucial part of using your old SSD with Windows on new PC as system drive, which is to install new Windows on the old SSD. I recommend you complete the installation of Windows using a bootable USB flash drive, which is simple and straightforward.

You just need to create a bootable USB (Windows 10 as an example) in advance, connect it to your new PC, enter the BIOS setup, and boot from this bootable USB.

Step 1. When the computer boots again, you will enter Windows Setup automatically. There, enter your language and other preferences and click on "Next" to proceed.

Step 2. Then, click "Install now".

Step 3. In the "Activate Windows", enter your key or skip it by clicking "I don't have a product key".

Step 4. In the new window, select "Custom: Install Windows only(advanced)".

Step 5. Select the old solid-state drive, click "New" and then click "Next".

Step 6. Wait the installation to be completed patiently, and your PC will reboot.

5. Activate Windows and install the required drivers for the new motherboard

Finally, before you can run your new PC for daily use, you need to reactivate Windows by using your Microsoft account.

Step 1. Log in to your account on microsoft.com, and navigate to the My Microsoft Account page.

Step 2. Click View All Devices to check devices associated with an account and select the PC you wish to deactivate.

Step 3. Click Info > Support > Remove this Device > I'm ready to remove this device and click Remove.

Step 4. Select the Start button, then select Settings > System > Activation > Troubleshoot. Open Activation settings and select I changed hardware on this device recently, then select Next.

Step 5. Select the new PC you are using, click this is the device I'm using right now, and click Activate.

▌ An easier way to use old SSD with Windows on new PC as system drive (disk clone)

Although we have made it clear and complete to use old SSD  as system drive, it still seems difficult and complicated for some users, especially is not friendly to those who are computer novices or willing to use old Windows OS on a new PC. To this end, we bring you an easy and effective way to help with taking old SSD with Windows on new PC Windows 10/11. That is directly transferring SSD to new computer.

AOMEI software is not just a disk formatting tool but a powerful disk cloning utility that allows you to clone the old SSD to new SSD with everything on it including programs, files, and even OS. That is to say, you don't need to worry about data loss and even don't have to reinstall Windows after transferring. Sounds interested? Let's take a look at the steps.

Step 1. Take out the system disk from your new PC and connect it to your old computer. Upgrade to AOMEI Partition Assistant Professional. Go to "Clone" and "Clone Disk".

Step 2. Choose the hard disk that you need to clone as the source disk and click "Next".

Step 3. Select another drive as the destination disk, and then click "Next".

Step 4. Then, you can check the source and destination disk in the next window or change to "Sector to Sector clone", and click the "Confirm" button to continue if there is no problem.

Here, you can also click the "Settings" button to adjust the partition size on the destination disk or tick "4k alignment" to improve the reading and writing speed of the SSD. 

Step 5. After returning to the main interface, check the pending operation and click "Apply" and "Proceed" to commit the operation.

Step 6. After that, reinstall the cloned hard drive back to finish transferring SSD to new computer. Restart your new PC to get into BIOS setup, set the clone SSD as boot drive, and begin to enjoy it.

▌ Situation 2. Use old SSD with Windows on new PC as data drive

The second situation is to install the old SSD in the new build and use it as a new and extra storage, with all of the data from the drive still intact. But the premise is that you have already gotten a Windows operating system on your new PC. And the steps for setting it as data drive are easier relatively:

1. Format your old SSD (optional)

If your old solid-state drive has enough storage space, you can certainly keep all the data on its original place. But if you have already suffered insufficient SSD space, it's suggested to format SSD as a brand new drive so that you can have more space for future data storage.

2. Connect your old SSD to your new computer (internal or external)

The most crucial part is to connect your old disk to your new PC. If there are two storage slots on your new PC, you are available to install it as the second hard drive, which is set as an internal SSD. If there is only one slot on your new PC, SATA to USB adapters makes it easy to connect the old disk as an external hard drive.

3. Ensure that you don't list the old SSD as your boot device

If you install it internally, please make sure you don't boot from it. This is because your old drive contains a system, if you set it as the first boot item, you might encounter a compatibility conflict after booting the PC. Then, you can go to "This PC" to see if it is recognized by your Windows. Once your Windows detects the old drive, you can begin to use it as a data drive.

Conclusion

Can I use my old SSD in a new computer and how to run old SSD with Windows on new PC? This passage has made a detailed explanation. Whether you want to run it as system drive or data drive, you can always find the relevant guide on it. Hope these steps are useful for you.

It is worth mentioning that AOMEI Partition Assistant is one of the most trusted software that should be installed on a new computer because it can help you resolve and prevent many disk and partition problems, such as moving programs out to save space, cleaning junk files for a friendly running environment, extending SSD C drive to boost performance, and more. Keep it on your PC, and it will never let you down.