GET TING WINDOWS ON AN SSD

Whether you want to start afresh or migrate from an existing disk, here’s how to make the move

Installing a new SSD is the perfect opportunity to perform a clean installation of Windows, to clear out old junk and stay up to date.

To install and activate, you may need to dig out your original product key. If you don’t have this to hand, you can use a tool such as NirSoft ProduKey to view all the product keys in your Registry ( pcpro.link/275key). Windows 10 may not need a key, depending on how it was activated.

If you need new installation media, you can now download ISO files for Windows 7, 8 and 10, directly from the Microsoft website. You can write these ISO files to a DVD, or a USB flash drive, using the free media creation tool at pcpro.link/275usb.

Upgrading to Windows 10

Microsoft’s free Windows 10 upgrade offer has now closed; the official way to get Windows 10 is to visit the online store and buy an upgrade. The Home edition is £120, while the Professional edition costs £220.

If those prices seem steep, you have a few other options. People who use assistive technologies (such as screen readers) can still upgrade for free at the Microsoft website. The process is painless, as the installer doesn’t check that you’re using assistive software. See pcpro.

link/275w10 for details. It’s also been reported that the latest build of Windows 10 – the “Creators Update” – will install and activate using product keys from older versions of Windows. There’s no official word on this, but we see no harm trying it.

A final option is to sign up to the Windows Insider programme. This lets you try out all the latest Windows 10 updates before they’re rolled out to the wider world. Be warned, though, it’s intended for testing and feedback; the builds may be buggy and unstable. Sign up at insider.windows.com.

Migrate your whole system

The simplest way to get Windows onto your new SSD is to clone the contents of your hard disk across. Many drives come with software to help, but they don’t always let you choose what to move and what to leave. If your SSD is smaller than your old hard disk, you may need to shunt some files off onto a different drive before migrating.

If you’ve bought the software downloads edition of this month’s PC Pro, you can download and install a full copy of O&O DiskImage 10.5 Professional – a utility that gives you full control over cloning drives and partitions. See p67 for instructions.

Once you’ve cloned your system, don’t forget to change your boot drive in the BIOS – otherwise Windows will continue starting up from the old disk, while your new SSD sits there unused.

“If your SSD is smaller than your old hard disk, you may need to shunt some files off onto a different drive before migrating”