[ctviggen]

Hi All,

I bought a new computer with Windows 10 preinstalled.  I have yet to start up the computer.  I have an SSD to replace the hard drive and a video card (so I can use two monitors) to install. 

1)  Can I take out the hard drive (before starting the computer for the first time), replicate it onto the SSD, put the SSD into the computer (not sure what to do with the hard drive -- I don't need it, but maybe I'll put it in anyway or keep it since it has the original file setup) along with the video card, then boot the computer for the first time?

2) Or do I need to start the computer as is, get it working, replicate the hard drive onto the SSD, replace the hard drive with the SSD, get this working, then add in the video card and get it working?

My "I'd like to get this done as fast as possible" part of my mind likes #1, but my "only do one thing at a time because if anything goes wrong, it's impossible to debug multiple changes without undoing them" part of mind thinks #2 is better.

What are your thoughts? 

Also, with each change, do I have to update the windows 10 license? 

[FullRangeMan]

1) Not sure if W10 will allow copy the OS.

[adydula]

There are several ways to do this, some are a bit more "techincal" than others. I worked for IBM and Lenovo is software preload develpment, quality assurance and testing and I have done thousands of loads, upgrades, transfers, backups etc...

Now I am retired and still keep "several" systems up and running.

I just bought a Dell pc with Win 10 and no SSD and have done what your looking at.

I would recommend to start up the system and go thru the usually simple startup with the existing drive, memory and video card.

Then I would get a copy Macrium Reflect FREE at: http://www.macrium.com/reflectfree.aspx

You can use this really easy to use program to copy the entire drive, including all those wierd hidden and factory backup partitions to a file or clone to  second drive if desired.

Now before you do the Macrium part, you can add in the pc a second hard drive, get it formatted in Win 10 and recognized, and use this to either place the clone or cone backup file on...then you can remove and store.

I have done this several times and tested the backups...works just great.

Also depending on your pc manufacturer you can check their site or help for their particular backup or back to factory original settings take a look at : http://www.dell.com/support/article/us/en/04/SLN297920/en#Recovery-media

When you do the first start up called OBE in the industry, "out of the box experience" your windows 10 gets activated automagically and your hardware is tied to that license as a genuine win 10 system...future updates or installs should be just fine.

To me having the OBE backup on a second drive in a file format is just fine insurance....if you have to you can easliy get the original hard drive back to the factory state in a few minutes! OR use the manufacturers utility to create factory recovery cds'....OR both!! Ha!

The hard part in what you want to do is adding the SSD and new or better video card....with my Dell their BIOS is convoluted and its a real pain to get these things installed, recognized and working...another whole story.\

Good Luck!
Alex

[ctviggen]

Thank you.  I've heard the Macrium Reflect FREE is the best program to get.  When I was researching my SSD, the comments said that Macrium Reflect was was better than the program that comes with the SSD. 

Well, I'm about to start this relatively soon (hopefully sometime today), so I'll report back.  If this goes well, I may do something similar with my Win7 computer we use for watching and recording TV.  The SSDs have gotten relatively inexpensive, and they really do help to speed up the computer.

I'll report back later.

[Pete Schumacher]

Macrium Reflect works great.  And you won't regret having the SSD.  The gain in speed is phenomenal.

As long as you keep the motherboard I doubt Windows will require a new activation process, but even then, getting on the phone with M$ and explaining the procedure should be enough to reactivate.

I did just what you're talking about recently and kept the original drive in the computer as bootable backup storage.  It will still boot with the original installation, but the free space is enough to create an image of the drive for any future restores that may be required.

Another program you might want to have ready is AOMEI Partition assistant. 
http://www.disk-partition.com/free-partition-manager.html

[Jon L]

Hi All,

I bought a new computer with Windows 10 preinstalled.  I have yet to start up the computer.  I have an SSD to replace the hard drive and a video card (so I can use two monitors) to install. 

I just did this with Dell Inspiron 3650 with 16 GB RAM, chosen over the larger 8900 series for smaller size but same i7 processor and RAM size.

If you have Samsung SSD, the software that comes with SSD works great to copy the entire drive including Win 10 and allows coping a larger drive to smaller SSD.

I don't know if the dual-monitor thing is a must, but the component that makes the most noise is the graphics card due to its fan, and I hate noisy computers, so I actually took out the graphics card and used the Mobo's HDMI out, which works the same unless you are a gamer.

The other thing I did was change all the fans with Noctua silent fans with PWM pins, which makes this PC silent enough to be an audio PC if needed.  Highly recommend doing this