1. Windows Change Default Installation Drive
2. Disk Migration Windows

To install Windows 10 on a new hard drive, just select it and click Next to install Windows 10 on new hard drive. Situation B: If you have got more than one hard drive connected to your PC, you'll be shown a screen with several drives called “Drive 0”, “Drive 1” and so on.

UPDATED 7/23: On Windows 10, apps you download from the Microsoft Store install on the main system drive automatically. Although this is perfectly normal, when you have a device with limited storage, installing apps and games can quickly fill up the drive.

The issue isn’t the number of apps, but rather their the size, as apps and games can consume many gigabytes of space.

If you have a device with limited storage, or you want to use an external storage for apps and games, Windows 10 allows you to change the default location to save new apps from the Microsoft Store, move already installed apps to a different location, and you can even choose an alternate location during download.

We recommend to set a folder like 'NI Content' on an separate drive with enough available space as your content location. VST location (32-bit) Windows only: Here you can define where your 32-bit VST-plug-ins are installed. Please watch this video to learn how to manage VST-plug-ins on Windows computers. The default location is. Choose your SSD from the list as the first boot drive, then head back to the BIOS' main menu to exit, saving your settings. Your computer will reboot, and if all went well, it should plop you back.

Windows 10 doesn’t offer a simple cloning method and swaps your OS to a new hard drive. The good news is that there are plenty of apps that allow you to do exactly that. These are usually backup. Click Start and type in “Settings.” From the search results, select the Settings In the menu on the left, select Storage. Now, under More storage settings, click Change where new content is saved.

In this guide, you’ll learn the steps to change the default location to install Windows 10 apps on your computer to optimize the space usage on your main system drive.

How to change default location to install apps on Windows 10

Use these steps to change the default storage location to install new apps from the Microsoft Store:

1. Open Settings.

2. Click on System.

3. Click on Storage.

4. Under the “More storage settings” section, click the Change where new content is saved option.

5. Use the New apps will save to drop-down menus to select the new default location for apps.

It’s worth pointing out that this configuration will only affect new app installs, apps that are already installed on your computer won’t be moved to the new location.

How to move installed apps to another drive on Windows 10

Use these steps to move apps already installed on your computer to another drive on Windows 10:

1. Open Settings.

2. Click on System.

3. Click on Apps & features.

4. Select the app or game you want to relocate to another drive, and click the Move button.

5. Select the drive to move the app from the drop-down menu, and click the Move button to confirm the move.

The only caveat with this feature is that you can only move apps that support the feature. For example, Windows 10 built-in apps and certain other apps (including desktop applications) cannot be moved.

How to choose storage location to install big apps on Windows 10

Use these steps to select an alternative location to install large games and apps on Windows 10:

1. Open Microsoft Store.

2. Select the app or game.

3. Click the Get button.

4. When you stumble upon a game or an app that requires a large amount of disk space, you’ll be prompted to pick a drive to install the new app.

The prompt will appear whether or not you have multiple storage drives connected to your computer. The reason for this is because, the prompt also give you the option to make more room on your hard drive with the “Free up space” button, which will open the Storage page on Settings, so you can delete unnecessary files.

Whatever option you use to optimize the storage usage on your desktop, laptop, or tablet, you have to make sure to connect a secondary storage that you know it won’t get disconnected.

Although your computer won’t fail when you disconnect the drive, you won’t be able to run games or apps you moved to the new location until you reconnect the drive.

Update July 23, 2019: This guide was originally published in June 2016, and it’s been updated to reflect the changes on Windows 10.

Migrating Windows OS to another drive is a tough task for most Windows users. Fortunately, it can be easy and fast for all levels of Windows users to transfer Windows 10 to a new hard drive, whether it's an HDD or SSD, with the help of professional Windows 10 migration solutions as shown below.

This page covers a full guide for you to follow and move Windows 10 or other Windows OS to a new HDD/SSD with ease. Learn how to do this on your own:

Also work to: Move everything from C to D drive, move program files x86to another drive, move OS with installed apps to a new disk.

Preparations: Make Everything Ready for Moving Windows 10

Before transferring Windows 10 OS, here are some preparation jobs that you should have done in advance.

1. Prepare a New Hard Drive - HDD/SSD

Before Windows 10 migration, you need to connect or install a new hard drive so to make sure that your computer can detect it correctly with the following tips:

Step 1. Prepare a new HDD/SSD and a SATA cable.

Note that space on the new hard drive/SSD must be bigger than the system C drive used space on the source disk.

Step 2. Connect the new SSD/HDD to PC and initialize the disk.

Connect SSD/HDD to your PC via SATA and power cables > Locate and right-click the new disk in Disk Management > Select 'Initialize Disk' > Set the disk as GPT or MBR (the same as source OS disk).

2. Download A Reliable Windows 10 Migration Tool

To migrate OS to another new disk, you'll need a reliable OS migration tool for help. Here we collect two tools for you to try:

EaseUS Suggestion: To safely migrate or move your Windows 10/8/7 OS to another hard drive, EaseUS partition manager software - Partition Master in Solution 1 is the best option for you.

Solution 1. How to Move Windows 10 to a New Hard Drive Via OS Migration Tool

Duration: 25 minutes - 1 hour or so.

Support: OS migration on Windows 10/8/7/XP/Vista and Windows servers, big to small or small to big HDD/SSD.

To move Windows 10 to another new hard drive or SSD, follow through the next two phrases. You'll successfully transfer everything from C drive to another disk without losing any data. Also, Windows and program reinstallations are not needed.

#Phrase 1. Migrate Windows 10 to a New Hard Drive (HDD/SSD) in 3 Steps

Note: The operation of migrating OS to SSD or HDD will delete and remove existing partitions and data on your target disk when there is not enough unallocated space on the target disk. If you saved important data there, back up them to an external hard drive in advance.

Step 1. Run EaseUS Partition Master, select 'Migrate OS' from the top menu.

Step 2. Select the SSD or HDD as the destination disk and click 'Next'.

Warning: the data and partitions on the target disk will be deleted. Make sure that you've backed up important data in advance. If not, do it now.

Then click 'Migrate' to continue.

Step 3. Preview the layout of your target disk. You can also click the disk layout options to customize the layout of your target disk as you want. Then click 'Proceed' to start migrating your OS to a new disk

Windows Change Default Installation Drive

Video Tutorial to Move Windows 10 to Another New Hard Drive:

When the OS migration process finishes, you can move to the next phrase to set Windows 10 boot from the new disk.

#Phrase 2. Set Up Windows 10 to Boot from New Hard Drive

After the OS migration, you need to set up the computer to boot Windows 10 from the new hard drive. If you forget to do so, your computer will continue booting up from the old system disk.

Here are the steps to set the OS to boot from the new disk by changing its boot priority from BIOS:

Step 1. Restart PC and press F2/F12/Del to enter BIOS.

Step 2. Go to the Boot section, set PC to boot from the new hard drive.

Step 3. Save changes, exit BIOS, restart PC.

After this, you are able to log in to your account and use Windows 10 on the new hard drive or SSD successfully.

If you need to repartition the old hard drive or make full use of the space on both new and old hard drives, EaseUS Partition Master with its partition Windows 10 features can help.

Solution 2. Transfer Windows 10 To Another HDD/SSD With Windows System Image Tool

Duration: 30 minutes - 1 and half an hour or so.

Support: OS migration on Windows 10, small disk to big SSD/HDD only.

Limites: New disk must be bigger than the original system disk space.

For some experienced Windows users, they may feel like running the Windows system image tool for the Windows 10 migration operation. Although free, yet it's still not a handy solution for most average Windows users.

If you insist on doing so, follow the step-by-step operations in the below 3 phrases:

#Phrase 1. Create Windows 10 System Image to An External Hard Drive

Step 1. Connect an empty external hard drive to your PC.

Step 2. Type Control Panel in the Search box and select to open it. Click 'Backup and Restore (Windows 7)'.

Step 3. Click 'Create a system image', select the external USB drive as destination to save Windows 10 system image, click 'Next' to continue.

Step 4. The System and System Reserved partitions will be selected by default, click'Next' to continue.

Step 5. Click 'Start backup' to begin creating your current system image to the USB drive.

#Phrase 2. Create Windows Media Creation Tool

Step 1. Connect an empty USB flash drive (min 8GB) to PC.

Step 2.Download Windows 10 installation media and run it as an administrator.

Step 3. On the 'What do you want to do?' interface, select 'Create installation media for another PC', and select 'Next'.

Step 4. Choose the language, edition, and architecture (64-bit or 32-bit) for Windows 10.

Step 5. Select USB flash drive to use:

#Phrase 3. Restore and Move Windows 10 System Image to Another New Disk

Step 1. Connect both Windows 10 installation media and Windows image backup disk to your PC and reboot it.

Step 2. Press F1/F2/Del to enter BIOS and set the installation media as the boot drive.

Step 3. Reboot PC from Windows Installation Media, click 'Repair your computer' on the Install Now window.

Disk Migration Windows

Step 4. Enter the Advanced options, click 'Troubleshoot' and then select 'System Image Recovery'.

Step 5. Check 'Select a system image' to bring up your Windows 10 system image disk and select it. Click 'Next' to continue.

Step 6. Click 'Exclude disks...' to exclude the original system disk, leaving the new HDD/SSD only. Click 'OK' to confirm.

Step 7. Click 'Next' to start the restoration process and wait for the restoration process to complete.

Once finish restoring Windows 10 image to the new disk, Windows 10 will restart and boot up.

If Windows 10 doesn't boot up, revert to Phrase 2 in Solution 1 to set the new disk as boot drive. You will be able to run Windows 10 on the new disk without any issue any more.

Conclusion

This page covers a full guide to help you migrate, move, or transfer Windows 10 OS to a new hard drive or SSD without losing any data or boot issue. You can get everything done in three parts:

1. Part 1. Prepare new hard drive/SSD - initialize the disk and download a reliable OS migration tool.
2. Part 2. Migrate Windows 10 to new hard drive/SSD via OS migration tool.
3. Part 3. Move Windows 10 via System Image Tool.

As for Windows beginners, we would like to suggest you run reliable EaseUS Partition Master for moving Windows 10 to a new HDD/SSD with ease.

If you have more questions about migrating Windows 10 or transfer Windows OS to HDD/SSD, check the Further Readings below and you'll find satisfying answers.

Further Readings - FAQs about Windows 10 OS Migration to HDD/SSD

Here, we collect some related questions that are frequently asked in the Windows forum. If you are having the same questions, check and find answers here.

1. How do I move Windows 10 to a new SSD?

As the full guide provided on this page, to move Windows 10 to a new SSD, follow through the guide steps below:

1. 1. Connect the new SSD to PC via SATA cable and initialize it (as the same partition style as your OS disk).
2. 2. Download, install and run EaseUS Partition Master on your PC.
3. 3. Select Migrate OS to HDD/SSD, and select the new SSD as your target disk to move Windows 10.
4. 4. Confirm and execute the operation.
5. 5. Insert new SSD to the computer, restart it and set the computer to boot from new SSD in BIOS.

2. How do I transfer Windows 10 to a USB flash drive?

It's possible to transfer Windows 10 to a USB drive and take your OS anywhere now. Here are the steps for you to follow:

1. 1. Prepare an empty USB flash drive or external USB drive (external hard drive) with a bigger space than your system drive.
2. 2. Download and run a reliable system migration software. Here we recommend you try EaseUS Todo Backup.
3. 3. Run EaseUS Todo Backup and select System Clone > Create a Windows portable USB.

Wait for the process to finish. After this, you can take the USB to any computer and boot your own Windows 10 OS on the new computer. For more detailed steps, refer to Transfer Windows 10 to a USB flash drive for help.

3. How do I fresh install Windows OS, like Windows 10, to SSD?

There are two ways that you can install OS like Windows 10 to SSD. One is as recommended on this page, to migrate or transfer Windows 10 to SSD using the Migrate OS feature in EaseUS Partition Master.

The other way is to fresh install Windows 10 on SSD with the following steps:

1. 1. Download the media creation tool from Microsoft.
2. 2. Run the downloaded tool, choose 'Create installations media for another PC' and click 'Next'.
3. 3. Select 'Language, Edition, and Architecture for Windows 10' and then click 'Next'.
4. 4. Choose the USB Flash drive.
5. 5. Insert the USB drive into PC and click 'Next'.
6. After the drive is selected, the tool will start downloading Windows 10 and it will take a few minutes to finish the downloading process.
7. 6. Connect the USB drive with Windows 7/8 and run it in Explorer, click Setup.
8. 7. When you get with the Ready to Install dialog, click 'Change' what to keep and choose Nothing. Click 'Next'

Follow the on-screen tutorial to complete the Windows 10 installation process. If you prefer a detailed guide, you can refer to this page: Transfer/Install Windows OS to SSD. It has all the detailed steps that you need.

4. How to move installed programs to another drive windows 7?

To move installed programs and apps to another drive in Windows 7, you have two options to try:

1. 1. Transfer programs and program data to another drive via PC Transfer software.
2. 2. Manually copy and move installed program file like .exe to another drive.

For more detailed steps, you can follow Transfer Installed Programs to New Hard Drive for help.