How to Reinstall Windows 10 to SSD? (2 Methods Offered)

Why reinstall Windows 10 to SSD?

It is well known that Solid State Drives (SSDs) are much faster than Hard Disk Drives (HDDs). But speed is not the only advantage. Additionally, SSD drives are quieter when running as they does not contain no moving parts inside. So, they are less likely to get damaged in laptops when you carry it around. If you are suffering slow boot process on HDD or always using a laptop for work, it is a wise move to reinstall Windows 10 to SSD.

What you should do before reinstalling Windows 10 from HDD to SSD?

To make sure the OS reinstalling process proceed smoothly then, you have to do the following preliminary work.

1. Back up everything important: it is always wise to back up OS or other necessary personal data before the operation involves the operating system since the all content on the old system drive will be erased during the reinstallation.

2.  Connect the SSD to your computer and make sure it is detected successfully: you can install the SSD internally if you work on a desktop with extra disk bay and connect the SSD via USB-to-SATA adapter or enclosure as an external USB drive if you are using a laptop with only one drive bay.

3. Intialized the SSD: it is required to intialize the hard drive to MBR/GPT before you use it. Here we would like to suggest that you initialize it to the same partition style of the current system disk. Thus, you don't need to change boot mode from Legacty to UEFI, or UEFI to Legacy after reinstallation.

Methods of reinstalling Windows 10 OS to SSD

After the preparations are done, now it's time to learn how to reinstall Windows 10/8/7 onto SSD drives and give your computer a fresh start. There are wo ways available for this task. Take a closer look at them and choose a proper one then.

• Method 1. Clean install Windows 10 to SSD with Windows Setup media

• Method 2. Reinstall Windows 10 from HDD to SSD without CD

Method 1. Clean install Windows 10 to SSD with Windows Setup media

The most traditional way is to perform a clean Windows installation on SSD with the Windows installation disc. Below are the detailed steps.

▸Prepare an empty DVD, CD or USB flash drive to make an installation media.

1. Download and use Microsoft Media Creation Tool to make the installation media.

2. When asked during the installation media, accept Microsoft software license terms and then select "Create installation media (USB flash drive, DVD, or ISO file) for another PC" before you click “Next” and follow the guides to finish creating Windows 10 installation media.

3. Plug the installation disk into your computer. Shut down your computer, open its case, remove the old hard disk, and insert the SSD into the drive bay.

4. Turn on your computer and press a specific key to boot into BIOS and modify the boot order to make your computer boot from the installation disk.

5. When loaded, you need to verify “language to install”, “time and currency format”, and “keyboard or input method”. Then click “Next”> “Install now”.

6. In this window, you will be asked to input the license key, type one, or skip it by clicking "I don't have a product key" and activate it after Windows install completes.

7. When asked “Which type of installation do you want?”, choose “Custom: Install Windows only (advanced).”

8. In this screen. select your SSD which you plan to reinstall Windows 10 onto and click “Next”. Then Windows will start the installation process automatically.

Method 2. Reinstall Windows 10 from HDD to SSD without CD

From the steps above, we can know that it is a very complex process: create installation disc first and then perform a clean install on SSD. So you might be looking for a method to reinstall Windows 10 to SSD from HDD without using Windows CD or DVD. Then you can try AOMEI Partition Assistant Professional. It has the "Migrate OS to SSD Wizard", allowing you to directly migrate Windows 10, 8, 7 and even the latest Windows 11 OS from HDD to SSD drive with secure boot. Moreover, it can clone whole system disk to another disk by the "Disk Clone Wizard".

▸Make sure the SSD drive has an unallocated space, which is equal and larger than the used space of the original system drive. If there is not, you need to shrink or delete another partition to create unallocated space first.
▸If you plan to migrate OS drive from MBR disks to GPT SSD, please ensure your motherboard supports UEFI boot mode. That’s because you will be required to change boot mode to upgrade Legacy BIOS to UEFI after migration to ensure a smooth system startup.

Now you can download the Demo version for a free trial:

1. Install and open AOMEI Partition Assistant Pro in your Windows 10 computer. Click "Clone" > “Migrate OS” on the main interface and click “Next”.

2. Here, you need to choose an unallocated space on the SSD drive and click “Next” to continue.

3. In this window, you are allowed to resize partition or specify the location of the partition created on the SSD drive. Then, click “Next”.

4. Here is a brief note on how to boot OS from SSD or HDD after migration, read it and then click “Finish”.

5. In the main interface, click “Apply” to commit the pending operation.

After migrating Windows 10 to SSD, you need to restart your computer, enter BIOS setup, change boot order to boot computer from destination SSD drive.

Verdict

Now, no matter you want to reinstall Windows 10 on SSD with or without Windows CD/DVD, you can find the elaborate guide on how to do it. If you are planning to reinstall Windows 10 from HDD onto SSD, AOMEI Partition Assistant Pro can save you much time and effort. Besides, this software also allows you to extend system partition, convert system disk between MBR and GPT style without deleting partitions for the Windows 11 upgrade, wipe system disk and more. To reinstall Server OS to SSD, you can use AOMEI Partition Assistant Server.