clean install windows 10 without losing data

You would want to download and install the 'Windows 10 Media Creation Tool' upon it and ensure it's bootable via USB (or you can use a writable DVD if you actually still have a disk drive for that). Next do you have an empty 8GB or larger USB Thumb Drive available to use? Your first step involves ensure you have an option for 'Reactivation' of Windows. As this can be used to 'reactivate' your fresh copy of Windows 10.

If you don't know your license key, then do you have a Microsoft Online Account linked to your Windows 10 copy? If not, I would suggest first creating one via the 'Add a Microsoft Account'. What edition is your original Windows 10 copy? Home or Pro? And how does it current suggest it's activated? Digital license or an actual Product key? Under Start > Settings (the gear icon) > Update & Security > Activation.

In which case, do you have a Windows license key available? This could be Win 7 or Vista, or an actual Win 10 key for it's activation. You might be better off with a clean installation of Windows 10. However, since your HDD is 4TB, it's going to be hard to clone across to the SSD (unless you can get the OS down to that size, uninstalling apps/games, etc). Samsung has a clone tool called 'Samsung Magician Software and Data Migration Software', you can find here: I'm still using the hard drive but I want Windows 10 on the SSD in hopes it will fix my performance problems in games. I just want to put Windows 10 on the SSD. (You would either need to move the files off before installing or partition the drive so the OS is on a separated partition of free space, which it assumes is just another separated drive) Or is it just a SSD used for storage of other files, that you want Win 10 upon as well? (Start > Settings > Update & Security > Recovery > Reset this PC - then under that ensure to use the option keep personal files - this will then work around your files while clean installing the OS)

Or do you have a previous version of Windows installed upon it?

(you might need to uninstall a few things and get the size to match, but then clone the hard drive content across using an app tool, some SSD such as Samsung will even come with it) Originally posted by Azza ☠:So what's on the drive already?ĭo you mean you already have a copy of Win 10 installed, you want to move to SSD?

Clean install windows 10 without losing data