By Dervish / Last Updated May 12, 2023

Why transfer HDD OS to SSD on Windows?

As we all know, SSD is the abbreviation of Solid-State-Drive. In SSD, all data is stored in integrated circuits. Compared with HDD, SSD has obvious benefits in read/write speed, stability, size, etc. Moreover, with the decline of SSD price in recent years, many users in order to make PC achieve better performance choose to replace HDD with SSD.

Replacing a brand-new SSD means that we will lose the data in the old HDD, including important files, programs, and Windows OS. In order to avoid this situation, we can transfer HDD to SSD. In this way, all data in the HDD will be migrated to the SSD, avoiding the tedious process of repeated installation.

But do you know how to transfer HDD OS to SSD without reinstalling? Don't worry, this article aims to provide you with detailed steps.

SSD vs HDD

Migrate Windows 10 to SSD via Windows Backup and Restore

To transfer OS from HDD to SSD, you can turn to Windows internal Backup and Restore tool.

Theoretically, you can create a system image of your Windows using Backup and Restore first. Then create a bootable CD (or system repair disc), and burn the backup image to the bootable CD. Next, install SSD on your machine. Boot the computer via the bootable CD and then restore the system image there to SSD.

Warning: This method is not only complicated, but also cumbersome, and it will fail if there is a slight error. Not suitable for beginners without computer experience. Therefore, it is necessary to seek a simpler and safer way to transfer HDD OS to SSD.

What is the best software to transfer HDD OS to SSD?

I would like to recommend an easier way for you to complete the transfer. You can seek help from AOMEI Partition Assistant Professional, this is a powerful transfer tool that is loved by many Windows 11, 10, 8, 7, Vista, and XP users.

It's Migrate OS to SSD feature support to transfer only OS from HDD to SSD without reinstalling. The whole process of transferring OS is very simple, because friendly user interface can make you clear at a glance. More important, it is not restricted by the disk partition style, supports migrating OS from MBR/GPT to MBR/GPT disk.

Besides, this OS migration software will automatically align partitions to optimize performance for SSD during the migration. And it ensures that SSD without any boot issues after completing the migration. If you want to know how to transfer OS from HDD to SSD without reinstalling Windows, download the Demo Version for a free trial!

Download Free Demo Win 11/10/8.1/8/7/XP
Secure Download

How to transfer HDD OS to SSD on Windows 11,10, 8, 7

In this part, I will show you how to transfer HDD OS to SSD with AOMEI Partition Assistant Professional. Before starting, you should do some preparation job.

★Tips:
Installing SSD on a desktop or laptop. If your computer has only one hard drive slot, then you will need an appropriate adapter to connect the SSD to the computer.
If the SSD is brand new, the SSD needs to be initialized. And set the partition style (MBR and GPT) as the same as HDD, otherwise Windows cannot be booted.

Step 1. Install and launch AOMEI Partition Assistant. Click Migrate OS on the top menu.

Migrate Os To Ssd

Step 2. Choose the disk space on SSD as the target path.

Select Space On Ssd

Step 3. Resize the system partition on SSD if you wish to.

Resize Partition

Step 4. Read the note on how to boot Windows from SSD, and click Finish.

Note

Step 5. Finally, click Apply to submit the operations.

Apply

Step 6. After that, if you want to boot Windows from SSD, you should set SSD as the boot drive.

Change Boot Oder

Notes:
After OS transferring, you can wipe HDD to free up space and use it as data disk.
If you receive an "operating system not found" or "operating system is missing" error when booting Windows, your MBR partition table may be invalid. The MBR is a data structure that contains the SSD drive's partition table and also contains a small amount of executable code for booting the drive. Don't worry, you can fix MBR on SSD.

Sum up

Apparently, AOMEI Partition Assistant Professional can solve how to transfer HDD OS to SSD on Windows effectively. Last but not least, there are more advanced features are waiting for you to unlock, such as SSD secure erase, SSD 4K alignment, clone operating system from HDD to SSD, convert MBR to GPT and more. If you are running Windows Server 2022, 2019, 2016, 2012, 2008, 2003, please switch to Server Edition.