How to clone Windows 11 from HDD to SSD without reinstalling? This article provides a third-party hard drive migration software, detailing the steps of cloning Windows 11 to SSD and booting from it successfully.
“I bought a new SSD and decided to replace the old HDD that came with my computer to make the computer run faster and have more free space. But the problem is that I don’t want to reinstall Windows 11 on the new SSD. Can I clone Windows 11 from HDD to SSD without reinstalling? If I can migrate Windows 11 to the new SSD, can I successfully boot from the new drive after the migration? Thanks.”
SSD (Solid State Drive) is a kind of storage devices, it uses integrated circuit components to store data persistently, usually in the form of flash memory. Compared with the HDD, it has the following advantages:
✔ Faster reads and writes: SSD will load files faster, and reduces the time to start up your PC. ✔ Less noise: Because it has no moving parts, it generates less heat and makes less noise, so you can enjoy a relatively quiet computer working environment. ✔ More Durable: Since SSD doesn’t have tiny moving parts, such as spinning platters (which can be easily damaged in HDD), it can effectively resist vibration and shock. ✔ Smaller: The size of SSD is smaller than that of HDD.
Here, we’ll introduce a wonderful drive cloning tool to move Windows 11 to SSD successfully.
Considering all the benefits of SSD, cloning Windows 11 to SSD is a wise choice. But how to clone Windows 11 to SSD without reinstalling? AOMEI Partition Assistant Professional can help you, it is a perfect migration tool.
Under the user-friendly GUI, its "Migrate OS to SSD" feature allows you to just move Windows 11 and system-related data to SSD without reinstalling. This reliable tool has lots of advantages:
• Its interface is bright and clear, even if you are a computer beginner, you can easily complete the operation under the detailed guidance. • If you want to migrate the entire hard drive to a new SSD, including Windows OS, system-related files and other data, you can also try "Disk Clone Wizard". • It provides a disk-wiping feature, which can help you clean up your old drive. • The hot clone technology allows users to clone Windows 11 without closing the computer.
Please download this powerful tool to see how to clone Windows 11 to SSD.
Before you clone HDD to SSD on Windows 11, make sure SSD is properly installed and initialized on your computer. If you don't know how to do it, please read the detailed steps below:
✎ Open your computer case with a screwdriver and install the new SSD into your computer. (If your computer is a desktop, you can install SSD directly, if it’s a laptop, you should prepare a SATA to USB adapter.)
✎ Reboot your PC and initialize the SSD to GPT partition style if this is new.
✎ If your SSD is MBR partition style, you need to convert MBR to GPT in advance, because Windows 11 only supports boot from UEFI boot mode.
After installing and initializing the SSD, let’s see how to clone Windows 11 from HDD to SSD.
Warnings: ✍ The free space on the destination drive must be larger than the migrated data, or the migration will fail. ✍ Please ensure that the power connection is stable, otherwise the cloning process may be interrupted due to power failure.
Step 1. Install and open AOMEI Partition Assistant Professional. Click "Clone"> "Migrate OS" in the top panel.
Step 2. Select an unallocated space on the destination drive, tick the “I want to delete all partitions on this disk 2 to migrate system to the disk” according to your needs and click "Next".
Step 3. Change the size of the system partition in the popped window.
Step 4. There's a "Note" about how to boot OS after your migration, please read it carefully.
Step 5. Click "Apply" and "Proceed" to complete the clone operation.
After successfully cloning Windows 11 to the SSD, you need to follow the steps here to make the newly cloned SSD bootable:
Step 1. Restart the computer and repeatedly press F1/F2/F3/F5/Esc key to enter the UEFI setup.
Step 2. Turn to the Boot Menu, set the new SSD as the boot drive in the boot priority section.
Step 3. Press "F10" to save your new set.
When you finished cloning Windows 11 to SSD, you may decide to throw away the old drive or use it as a data disk. If you want to reuse the old disk, you need to know the steps to wipe your old hard drive:
Step 1. Open AOMEI Partition Assistant Professional, right-click the target hard drive and click "Wipe Disk".
Step 2. Select "DoD 5220.22-M" and decide the times you want to rewrite to the hard drive.
Step 3. Click "Apply" to perform the drive-wiping task.
In conclusion, we have introduced how to clone Windows 11 to SSD via AOMEI Partition Assistant Professional. Besides, we also shared the detailed operation to boot from a new SSD.
By the way, if you are a Windows Server user, you can try the Server Version. Also, if you want multiple people to use the tool at the same time, go to the Unlimited Version.