How to Easily Install Windows 10 on SSD without Removing HDD?

Use case: can I install Windows 10 on SSD without removing HDD?

Hello I want to install SSD KINGSTON SV300S37A but I don't want to uninstall my old HDD. I want to clone it but I want to keep some files on HDD Is that feasible? I also want to select while installing a program on which drive to be installed. Also do I need a program to install my SSD or Kingston offers a software that I can do it from bios?

The answer is Yes, you can clone HDD to Kingston SSD while keep it as storage as long as your computer has extra drive bay. To complete the task, you need the best free disk cloning software. Keep reading below and get it.

Why clone Windows 10 to SSD instead of reinstalling?

Clean install is a great option for users who want to replace hard drive with serious problems, such as, disk failure. But it will remove everything on the old disk, including the operating system, system settings, installed programs, personal data, etc.

If your disk is health and don’t want to lose any data, you can choose to clone Windows 10 to SSD rather than clean install it from scratch. And this way is much easier, you can complete this task in a few clicks.

Best free hard disk cloning software for Windows 10

Which is the best Windows 10 free disk clone software? The answer will be revealed soon. Before that, let's have a look at what features it should have in the following:

• Support cloning disk including all the data on it and ensure secure boot.
• Support not only cloning hard drive to larger drive, but also cloning larger HDD to smaller SSD.
• Support boost the performance of any SSD disk by 4k technology.
• Support cloning all kinds of HDDs and SSDs, including Samsung, WD, Seagate, NVMe, PCIe, SATA, etc.
• Support Windows 10/8/7/XP/Vista.

According to the features mentioned above, you can find the best free disk cloning software to clone hard drive to SSD in Windows 10. AOMEI Backupper Standard is a great option.

Step by step guide to clone Windows 10 to new SSD without removing HDD

To clone Windows 10 to new SSD without removing HDD, you need to connect the new SSD on your computer first and then follow the step below.

Step 1. Download and install AOMEI Backupper Standard on your computer. Then, open it, select Clone and Disk Clone.

Step 2. On the Source Disk window, select the original disk and click Next.

Step 3. On the Destination Disk window, select the new SSD and click Next.

Step 4. You will be told that the destination disk will be overwritten or deleted after cloning. Click OK to confirm that you want to clone the hard drive.

Note: If it is not a brand new SSD, you need to check if there are any important data and backup them first. Otherwise, you will lose your data completely.

Step 5. Tick SSD Alignment to accelerate the reading and writing speed of SSD disk. Then, click Start Clone to clone Windows 10.

Note: Sector by Sector Clone feature will clone all the sectors of a hard drive and migrate them to another one. It requires the destination disk must be equal to or larger than original disk.

After cloning, you still need to check if the cloned SSD is bootable and then wipe system partition to get more disk space for storage.

The way forward

The best way to install Windows 10 to new SSD without removing HDD is to clone disk with free hard drive cloning software AOMEI Backupper Standard, because it will keep all your data safely and just like in the old disk.

Except for clone feature, you still can use it to protect your data by its complete backup and restore solution, such as, system backup, disk backup, partition backup, file backup, schedule backup, etc. And it’s suggested to follow 3-2-1 backup strategy, the safest way, create 3 backup copies, keep two copies on different location and one offsite (ie: online backup).