A Step-by-Step Guide to Transfer C Drive to SSD in Windows 10/8/7
Why transfer C drive to SSD?
Upgrading to a Solid State Drive (SSD) can significantly boost your computer's performance, offering faster read and write speeds and zero noise. To maximize this benefit, consider transferring your current operating system (OS) to an SSD, including system files and installed applications, effectively turning your SSD into a bootable disk. This can be done on Windows 11/10/8/7, allowing you to take full advantage of the SSD's capabilities.
You may have experienced issues like slow computer boot times, poor gaming performance, or low disk space on your C drive, prompting you to consider upgrading or expanding your storage capacity.
To improve performance, you may consider migrating the C drive to an SSD in Windows 7/8/8.1/10/11, which can provide better results than before.
Preparation work for moving C drive to SSD
Before transferring the operating system to an SSD, you'll need to prepare the following: ensure the SSD is properly connected to the computer, back up all important files and data, and have a valid Windows installation media (such as a USB drive or CD/DVD) ready. This will help ensure a smooth and successful transfer process.
•An SSD drive : When transferring C drive to an SSD, designate the destination location to save data on the C drive as a separate partition on the SSD, which can be smaller than the original hard disk. As long as the SSD's size is larger than the C drive's size, you can reserve some space for future expansions on the SSD.
•Connect SSD to your current computer: Connect or install the SSD drive to your computer. If your computer has two disk bays, install it internally. Otherwise, connect it to an external USB drive.
•OS migration software: Choosing the right tool to transfer an operating system to a solid-state drive (SSD) can be overwhelming, given the numerous options available. To simplify this process, we recommend using the Qiling Disk Master Professional, a user-friendly cloning software that allows for cloning the C drive from a hard disk drive (HDD) to a smaller SSD. Additionally, this software supports SSD partition alignment, which helps optimize the SSD's performance.
How to transfer C drive to SSD from HDD?
Qiling Disk Master Professional features a "Migrate OS to SSD Wizard" that simplifies the process of transferring the operating system to a new SSD disk, allowing for a seamless migration of the OS and applications without the need for a reinstall.
Step 1. Install and launch the cloning software, then click "Migrate OS" under the "Clone" column on the main interface.
Step 2. Select an unallocated space on the SSD drive. If there's no unallocated space, choose the F partition on Disk 2 (SSD), ensuring the option "I want to delete all partitions on this disk 2 to migrate system to this disk" is selected, then proceed with "Next".
Tip: You can also relocate the C drive to another location, such as a network share, NAS device, USB flash drive, or an external disk, depending on your preference.
Step 3. In next window, customize the size and the location of the new created G partition.
- Note:✎...
- To free up space on your SSD, you can resize a partition to create an unallocated space without deleting all partitions. Ensure the unallocated space is larger than the size of your C drive.
- It's recommended to back up important files on an SSD disk to another location in advance to prevent data loss in case of a hardware failure, software corruption, or other unforeseen events.
Step 4. Preview the pending operations and changes of Disk 2 (SSD), then click "Proceed" to migrate C drive to SSD.
- Notes:✎...
- The operation will be completed under the PreOS Mode, and the computer will restart afterwards.
- To set the SSD drive as the first boot device, enter the BIOS settings after the copy is done. In the BIOS settings, look for the boot order settings and change the first boot device to the SSD drive.
- When moving the C drive from a Master Boot Record (MBR) disk to a GUID Partition Table (GPT) Solid-State Drive (SSD), you need to switch the boot mode from Legacy to UEFI to ensure successful booting. The reverse is also true.
Conclusion
With Qiling Disk Master Professional, you can easily transfer OS and apps from a C drive to a new SSD in just a few clicks, or clone all partitions on a hard drive to an SSD. It's not just a cloning software, but also allows you to recover lost partitions, extend the C drive without formatting, and more.
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