Install windows from hard drive to another hard drive

I tried to use «Media Creation Tool» from the Microsoft website to update my current OS (windows 7) to windows 10 but It kept failing a different points,

so I had decided to just make a bootable USB, but I could not find my USB drive, so I had just decided to use my other SSD has a substitute for the USB drive, which worked fine got windows 10 install no problems

but now the SSD I used as my bootable USB drive won’t let me delete the volume or format the drive, and it is marked as a system drive in disk management

Any help would be awesome thank you in advance,

**Right now I’m thinking I should go buy a USB drive and reinstall windows using that but I don’t think that will change the other drive from being a system drive still

Replies (3) 

I don’t recommend any of those attempted method. Buy a USB drive, make a bootable copy, then upgrade offline. Learn more:

Please be advised some users are reporting issues with the Windows 10 1709 update. Make sure you backup before attempting to upgrade:

What is the make and model of your computer?

Have you checked the manufacturers website to determine compatibility?
Check this List to Determine if Your Computer is Compatible with the Windows 10 Fall Creators Update 1709
https://answers.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/wik.

perform the following tasks:
12 Things You Should Do Before Installing Windows 10 Creators Update (Version 1709)
https://www.groovypost.com/howto/prepare-comput.

How to Upgrade to Windows 10 Creators Update version 1709 or Earlier Versions from Windows 7
https://answers.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/wik.

Was this reply helpful?

Sorry this didn’t help.

Great! Thanks for your feedback.

How satisfied are you with this reply?

Thanks for your feedback, it helps us improve the site.

How satisfied are you with this reply?

Thanks for your feedback.

Hi Justin. I’m Greg, a volunteer installation specialist and 8 year Windows MVP, here to help you.

This is why it’s important to unplug all other hard drives/SSD’s when installing Windows.

Please post a screenshot of Disk Management, which we read like a doctor reads X-rays: http://answers.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/foru.

I’ll give you the steps to move the boot manager to C, depending upon whether you have UEFI or Legacy BIOS.

You can also Create the latest stable media from Media Creation following the illustrated steps in this link which compile the best possible Clean Install of Windows which will stay that way as long as you stick with the tools and methods given, has zero reported problems, and is better than any amount of money could buy: http://answers.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/wiki.

Insert media, boot it by powering up PC while pressing the BIOS Boot Menu Key: https://www.sysnative.com/forums/hardware-tutor.

Choose the boot device as a UEFI device if offered, proceed to second screen to Install Now, follow the illustrated steps in tutorial to delete all partitions down to Unallocated Space then click Next to auto-create and format the necessary partitions, begin install — this makes it foolproof.

If the media won’t boot you may need to enter BIOS/UEFI Setup to turn off Fast Boot or Fast Startup first. http://www.mydigitallife.info/comprehensive-lis.

I hope this helps. Feel free to ask back any questions and let us know how it goes. I will keep working with you until it’s resolved.

Over 100,000 helped in forums for 11 years. I don’t quit for those who are polite and cooperative.

Clean Install Windows Directly from the Hard Disk Drive

#1 FreeBooter

Clean Install Windows Directly from the Hard Disk Drive
You want to install Windows but you can’t use a DVD or an USB for whatever reason?

This tutorial will show you a method that will allow you to boot and install Windows directly from the hard disk drive (HDD).

Note : This guide only works for Windows Vista, Windows 7 and Windows 8/8.1 and Windows 10 OS’s.

Part 1: Preparing the HDD
• If there is no Windows OS currently installed on the HDD then connect the HDD to a another working computer (with Windows installed)
• Create a 4GB primary partition.
• Format the 4GB partition with NTFS file system.
• Assign a drive letter to that new partition.
• Copy the content of the Windows 7 Setup DVD to the 4GB partition.

Part 2: Making the HDD Bootable
1. Open the Command Prompt as a Administrator, type cmd.exe into the Start Menu search box, right click on cmd.exe, then select “Run as administrator”.
2. Enter the commands below, while replacing zero (0) number with your HDD assigned disk number and replace the X letter with the drive letter assigned to the partition you have created earlier on your HDD.

( See picture for example )

3. Within the Command Prompt type the command below:

Replace the X: drive letter with the drive letter of the CD/DVD-ROM optical drive where the Windows Setup DVD is inserted.

Replace the Y: drive letter with the drive letter of the 4GB partition you have created.

Part 3: Booting and installing Windows

Make sure that the BIOS is configured to boot from the hard disk drive (HDD).

If you did everything correctly, you should see “Windows is loading files . ” and a progress bar.

You can now install Windows as usual.

Part 4: Delete the 4GB partition

You have to quickly edit the boot menu once Windows is installed.

1. In Windows, press the keys;

2. Type msconfig into Run dialog box that has opened and click on OK;
3. Click on the Boot tab from System Configuration at the top;
4. Click ‘Windows Setup (\windows)‘, and click on the Delete button;
5. Click OK;

6. Click on ‘Exit without restart’;

If the 4GB partition is designated as a System partition then in this situation you cannot delete that 4GB partition.

Follow the guide below to delete the 4GB partition if you were to find yourself in a such situation.

Note : Only follow the guide below if the 4GB partition is designated as a System partition.

1. Mark the C: partition as an active partition from the Disk Management Utility;

2. Open the Command Prompt as a Administrator and type:

3. Restart your computer;

Note : If the Bcdboot command is missing from Windows Vista, the Windows Assessment and Deployment Kit contains the Bcdboot.exe tool. The Bcdboot.exe file is included at following locations: «C:\Program Files (x86)\Windows Kits\8.1\Assessment and Deployment Kit\Deployment Tools\amd64\BCDBoot» directory.

Note : Make sure to change the Command Prompt directory path to Bcdboot.exe file stored directory path with the Cd command.

And lastly, delete the 4GB partition this will free up 4GB which you can extend to the C: partition with the MiniTool Partition Wizard Home Edition.

1. Within MiniTool Partition Wizard select the 4GB partition;

2. From the left pane click on “Delete Partition”;
3. Click on the OK button and click on Apply from the toolbar;
4. Within MiniTool Partition Wizard select the C: partition and click on «Move/Resize» to enter the next interface;
5. Increase the C: partition size by dragging the right arrow of the scroll bar to the right or directly entering accurate values in the text boxes below;

After

6. After you’re done with the settings, click on the «OK» button;
7. Click on Apply in the toolbar;
8. Click on the “Restart Now” button on the Notice dialog box;

How to: Perform a Clean Install or Reinstall of Windows 10

Please be sure to follow me on Twitter @adacosta for the latest tips, tricks and updates in the world of Windows 10. —

Technical Level : Intermediate

Summary
If you have installed a recent release of Windows in the past 5 years, you pretty much know what it will be like to install Windows 10. In this article, we take a look at performing a clean install. This includes starting a clean install from within a running version of Windows or a hard disk/SSD with no previous Windows installations.

Details

• Perform a clean install by booting from install media (DVD or USB thumb drive)
• Perform a clean install using Reset in Windows 10 orWindows 10 Refresh Tools (Start Fresh)
  
• Perform a clean install from within a running version of Windows 7, Windows 8/8.1 or Windows 10
  

Previously, Windows 7, Windows 8.0 and Windows 8.1 users needed to have either of those versions of Windows installed and activated in order to qualify for the free upgrade offer. For users who needed to perform a clean install of Windows 10 from the outset, it was a two step process of first validating the machine through the upgrade routine, ensure the Windows 10 Upgrade was activated, then proceed to perform a Reset.

Starting with versions Windows 10 1511 or later, users no longer have to go through this process.

What is the Digital Entitlement or Digital License?

When you upgrade from a previous version of Windows, what happens is the hardware, (your PC), will get a digital license. This is a unique signature of the computer which is stored on Microsoft Activation Servers. The Windows 7 or Windows 8 genuine license you were previously running will be exchanged for a diagnostics product key.

Anytime you need to reinstall Windows 10 on that machine, just proceed to reinstall Windows 10. It will automatically reactivate. The only exception where this applies is dependent on the license you upgraded from. If you change your motherboard and originally you upgraded from a Windows 7 OEM or Windows 8 OEM license, then your Digital Entitlement will be invalidated. You will need to purchase a new full version license.

So, there is no need to know or get a product key, if you need to reinstall Windows 10, you can use your Windows 7 or Windows 8 product key or use the reset function in Windows 10.

Perform a Clean Install on an Empty Hard Disk/SSD or Reinstall by Booting from Install Media (DVD or USB Thumb Drive)

Once you have your Windows 10 installation media ready, all you need to do is boot from the disc or USB thumb drive to begin setup. If you don’t have install media, see instructions: How to download official Windows 10 ISO files

Review the following guide for instructions and details about configuring your BIOS or UEFI boot settings for DVD, CD, USB or SD Card.

Once your computer is set to boot from the DVD, you should see this option. If you are installing from a retail Windows 10 USB thumb drive, you will be asked to select either 32 or 64 bit Windows 10. Learn more here

The Windows logo will appear on screen, this might be here for a while, as long as you see the animating dots, everything should be ok.

Select your Language, Time and Keyboard method then click Next.

Click Install now

Windows 10 setup will prompt you for a product key during installation a couple times. If you originally upgraded from Windows 7 or Windows 8/8.1 click the option ‘I don’t have a key’ and ‘Do this later’ . If you have a Windows 10 product key, you can proceed to enter it.

Setup will also prompt you to select the edition you have a license for — Home or Pro. Please make sure you choose the right edition. If you choose the wrong edition, your only option will be to perform a clean install again.

The copy of Windows 10 you download and upgrade from will correspond with the edition of Windows you have installed, if it does not, this is why you might be experiencing problems activating:

• Windows 7 Starter, Home Basic, Home Premium, Windows 8.0 Core, Windows 8.1 Core should install Windows 10 Home

• Windows 7 Professional, Windows 7 Ultimate, Windows 8.0 Pro, Windows 8.1 Pro should install Windows 10 Pro

Wait while setup prepares to copy files

Accept the license terms then click Next

Click Custom: Install Windows only (advanced)

NOTE : Sometimes Windows 10 setup can become confused if it see’s a thumb drive. You might get a driver missing error or something to that effect. If you do, restart setup, but this time, when you arrive at the following screen, disconnect your thumb drive then go through Custom options. When setup is ready copy files, it will prompt you to reconnect the installation source (your USB).

Select the drive then click New

NOTE : If you have multiple partitions listed, select each one (starting at the bottom), then click delete until there is only a single (one) unallocated drive displayed in the window.

Select the unallocated drive listed, click New, click Apply then OK

This will split the drive into multiple partitions, select the Primary partition then click Next.

NOTE: The System Reserved partition is where recovery files are kept for diagnostics and repairing damaged Windows 10 files; or even reinstall Windows 10.

Wait while Windows installs

When this phase of setup is complete, Windows will automatically restart then reboot into setup again.

Windows is detecting and installing your hardware. After this is complete, Windows will restart one last time.

Out of Box Experience

The Out of Box Experience page is where you get to configure detailed settings in Windows, which includes creating a user account, configure privacy, sync PC settings and install modern applications.

Learn more about setting up your Windows 10 Installation:

There you go, Windows 10 has successfully installed!

Install the Latest Windows Updates immediately

Start > Settings > Update and Security > Windows Update then click Check for Updates

Perform a Clean Install Using Reset, Recovery Drive or Refresh Tools (Start Fresh) in Windows 10

If you already have Windows 10 installed, you can use the built in Reset function, Recovery Drive or Refresh Tools (Start Fresh) in Windows 10 do so. Learn how in the following article:

How to Perform a Clean Install by Starting Setup from Within a Running Version of Windows 10

If you are running Windows 7 or Windows 8.0, Windows 8.1 or Windows 10, launch Windows 10 setup using ISO Media:

During setup, at the Ready to install screen, click Change what to keep link

Select Nothing

Click Next to being the installation

How do I check my activation status?

Click Start > Settings (press Windows key + i) > Update & security > Activation

Depending on the version of Windows 7 installed, 1507, 1511, 1607, you will see different wording beside the activation status:

Windows 10 1507 (build 10240)

Windows 10 1511 (build 10586)

Windows 10 1607 (build 14393) or later.

If you experience problems with product activation, please review: