Windows won’t let you use the system image for imaging to a smaller drive. How to Move Windows 10 to Another Drive Using a Third-Party Tool You can create one or more partitions or resize them as per your preference.

You can customize the unallocated space as you see fit. Right-click on the disk and select New Simple Volume to create a partition using the unallocated space.

If your new drive is larger, you’ll also need to allocate the extra space from the Disk Management console.

Set the new drive as the default boot drive and reboot the PC. You should also change the boot order in BIOS or UEFI settings.

After the process completes, reboot the PC by selecting Restart Now.

On the next screen, click Finish and confirm you want to continue by selecting Yes.

Launch the Control Panel and select Backup and Restore (Windows 7).

The second part is where you use the system image to migrate Windows. The first part is where you create a system image. There are two parts to using the built-in tool. If your new drive is smaller than the old drive, use the next method in this guide. If you try this method anyway, Windows will stop you when you try to restore the image with a message indicating that the new drive is too small.

However, you should use this method only if your new hard drive, whether HDD or SSD, is an equivalent or larger size than your old HDD. You can use the system image to move Windows to another drive and avoid a new Windows installation from scratch. Windows has a built-in tool that lets you create a system image. How to Move Windows 10 to Another Drive Using the Built-In System Imaging When you’re ready to start, make sure you have about 60 to 90 minutes of time for the process.

A third-party disk cloning tool like AOMEI or EaseUS Todo Backup if your new HDD or SSD drive is smaller than your old hard drive.

If the firmware detects your hard drive, it’s ready for use. Next, boot the computer and check your BIOS or UEFI firmware. Once the hard disk is in place, connect the SATA data cable (or IDE if you use an old computer) to connect the hard drive to the motherboard.

However, your laptop may or may not be user-serviceable, so be sure to check the manual. Hard disks are housed differently in desktop and laptop computers. The new hard disk installed on your computer.An external storage device on which you can create a system image and another device to create a backup.

Windows 10 add new hard drive