Moving Windows to a new SSD: clone or reinstall

Cloning Windows to a new SSD for free sounds like a single click. In practice, a few minutes of preparation decide whether the first start shows your desktop or asks for a recovery key you never wrote down.

The short answer

How do you move Windows to a new SSD? Back up your files and save your BitLocker recovery key first [9][10]. Then either clone the old drive, for free with Samsung Data Migration onto Samsung SSDs or with Clonezilla onto any drive, or install Windows fresh from Microsoft's installation media and restore your files [4][5][21]. A clone keeps programs and settings; a clean install takes longer but leaves old clutter behind. Our assessment: clone a system that runs well onto an SSD that is large enough, and reinstall when the system is messy or the new SSD is smaller than what you would copy. As of 25 Oct 2026, Macrium Reflect Free, a common pick in older guides, has been without security patches since 1 Jan 2024 and is no longer available for download [1].

Clone or reinstall at a glance (as of 25 Oct 2026; the last row is our assessment)

How it works

1. Back up first, then save the recovery key. A clone overwrites the target: Clonezilla warns that all data on the target disk will be overwritten [7]. So copy your files to an external drive or a cloud service before anything else. Next comes the BitLocker recovery key. On devices that support it, device encryption switches itself on when you set up a device with a Microsoft account or a work or school account, and the recovery key is then attached to that account [11]; you can look it up from another device at aka.ms/myrecoverykey [9]. Under "Manage BitLocker" you can save the key to your Microsoft account, to a USB flash drive, to a file or print it, but you can't save the file on the encrypted drive itself [10]. The command manage-bde -protectors -get C: lists all key protectors of drive C: with their type and ID [14], and when the recovery screen asks for the key, Microsoft advises noting the first 8 digits of the recovery key ID [9]. Take this step seriously: Microsoft Support cannot retrieve, provide or recreate a lost BitLocker recovery key [9]. Finally, open Settings > System > Activation. If it says that Windows is activated with a digital license linked to your Microsoft account, a later reactivation is easier [22].
2. Check partition style and boot mode. Get-Disk | ft -Auto in PowerShell shows a "Partition Style" column with GPT or MBR for every disk [15]. Microsoft's own test steps use msinfo32 to see whether the device booted in UEFI mode and whether Secure Boot is on [16]. If the system disk is still MBR and the PC supports UEFI, Microsoft's MBR2GPT converts it to GPT without deleting data. Test with mbr2gpt /validate /disk:0 /allowFullOS, convert with mbr2gpt /convert /disk:0 /allowFullOS, then switch the firmware to UEFI mode, because the converted disk can only boot that way [15]. With BitLocker, protection must be suspended for the conversion, and the existing protectors have to be deleted and recreated afterwards [15]. Our advice: convert on the old drive and check that it starts, so the clone only changes one thing at a time. A larger new SSD is one more reason for GPT: on drives above 2 TB, Windows can only extend a volume if the disk uses GPT [18], and Samsung notes that space beyond 2 TB stays unallocated when the operating system does not support GPT [4].
3. Suspend BitLocker for the move. Among the events that can start BitLocker recovery, Microsoft lists changes to the boot manager, changes to the NTFS partition table, firmware updates and moving a protected drive into a new computer [12]. A clone touches several of these at once (our assessment). For planned hardware or firmware changes, Microsoft recommends suspending BitLocker; suspending and resuming also reseals the key without the recovery key [12]. Suspend-BitLocker -MountPoint "C:" -RebootCount 2 suspends protection for two restarts, then it resumes on its own. With 0 it stays suspended until you run Resume-BitLocker, and without the parameter it resumes after one restart [13]. Suspending does not decrypt anything: the data stays encrypted, but the key is available in the clear [13]. Keep that window short.
4. Way A: Samsung Data Migration (Samsung SSDs only). Samsung's UK support page, last updated on 30 Apr 2024, already calls it "Samsung Data Migration Tool (Samsung Magician Software)" [2], and on Samsung's current tools page it is integrated into Samsung Magician, version 9.0.1 as of 25 Oct 2026 [3]. According to the Magician installation guide (revision 1.9, December 2025), Data Migration needs Windows 10 or newer and supports only the Samsung SSDs listed there; OEM drives that came with a computer are not supported [4]. It only clones a drive with an installed operating system, supports NTFS and FAT, cannot clone encrypted drives and does not copy page and hibernation files, so a few gigabytes of difference after cloning are normal [4]. Samsung also warns that a connection through a USB adapter can cause problems [4]. The guide does not mention BitLocker by name. With BitLocker or device encryption on, either remove the encryption first – the switch for device encryption sits under Settings > Privacy & security > Device encryption [11] – or take way B (our assessment).
5. Way B: Clonezilla (any drive, free). Clonezilla is free software under the GNU GPL version 2 [5], and the current stable version is 3.3.3-37 as of 25 Oct 2026 [6]. You start it from a USB stick; on PCs with Secure Boot enabled you use the AMD64 version [6], so Secure Boot can stay on. The step-by-step guide boots with "ToRAM", then picks "device-device", "Beginner" and "disk_to_local_disk", followed by the source and the target disk [7]. By default, Clonezilla copies the same size to the target; to use the whole new disk, choose the option "-k1" [7]. Clonezilla only works offline, and each target partition must be at least as large as its source [5]. It supports FAT, exFAT and NTFS, but BitLocker is not on its list, and unsupported file systems are copied sector by sector with dd [5]. Our assessment: an encrypted partition is then copied in full, stays encrypted and keeps its old size inside a larger partition, so decrypting first is the cleaner way here, too. Before you start the PC again, only one of the two disks may stay connected [7]. For laptops with a single slot, the documentation also covers saving a disk image to another drive and restoring it onto the new SSD [8].
6. Way C: install fresh from Microsoft's media. You need a PC with a reliable internet connection and a blank USB flash drive with at least 8 GB; the media can install a new copy, perform a clean installation or reinstall Windows [21]. A product key is not required with a digital license, and many PCs store a key in the firmware that is applied automatically if it matches the edition [21]. Install onto the new SSD with only that drive connected, so you can't pick the wrong disk (our recommendation). Then restore your files and reinstall your programs. If Windows isn't activated afterwards, open Settings > System > Activation > Troubleshoot and choose "I changed hardware on this device recently"; this works when the digital license is linked to your Microsoft account [22]. Microsoft gives replacing the motherboard as an example of a significant hardware change and does not mention drives [22].
7. After the first start: space, TRIM, health. If C: hasn't grown, look at the layout. Microsoft's default UEFI layout is EFI system partition, MSR, Windows partition and recovery partition, and the recovery partition must sit immediately after the Windows partition [17]. Disk Management can only extend a volume into unallocated space immediately after it [18]. If another partition sits in between, Microsoft lists three options: delete it after a backup, use a non-Microsoft partitioning tool, or create a separate new volume [18]. Because that partition holds the recovery tools, we would rather repeat the clone with "-k1" than delete it (our assessment). Next, TRIM: fsutil behavior query DisableDeleteNotify should report 0 for NTFS, which means TRIM is enabled; on NTFS it is enabled by default [19]. Optimize-Volume -DriveLetter C -ReTrim -Verbose sends TRIM hints for all unused sectors, which helps after a sector-by-sector copy; for SSDs with TRIM support, retrim is also what Optimize-Volume does by default [20]. Then read the health values of the new drive with the tools from our SSD health guide. If you suspended BitLocker with 0, resume it now with Resume-BitLocker [13]. Keep the old drive unchanged for a few days before you wipe or reuse it (our recommendation).

Before you buy the new SSD

• Fit: form factor (M.2 or 2.5 inch), interface (NVMe or SATA), length and number of slots have to match your device; our laptop upgrade guide shows how to check them.
• Size: plan at least the data you have now plus room to grow. Microsoft's minimum for a 64-bit Windows partition is 20 GB, with 16 GB still free after setup [17]; that is a floor for PC makers, not a comfortable size (our assessment).
• Tool: the free Samsung route only works with the Samsung SSDs listed in Samsung's guide [4]. With other brands, plan for Clonezilla or a clean install; some manufacturers offer their own tools, which we have not reviewed here.
• Slots: with only one slot you need either a disk image on an external drive [8] or a USB enclosure for the new SSD, and Samsung warns that USB adapters can cause problems during migration [4].
• Size above 2 TB: the disk should use GPT, or the space beyond 2 TB can stay unallocated [4][18].

A worked example

This is a plan, not a report; the PC and all numbers are made up, and we have not run these steps. A desktop PC runs Windows 11 from a 500 GB SATA SSD with 320 GB in use. Device encryption is on because the PC was set up with a Microsoft account [11]. The new drive is a 1 TB NVMe SSD from another brand, so the Samsung route is out. Step 1: copy the files to an external drive, look up the recovery key at aka.ms/myrecoverykey on a phone, print it and compare the key ID with manage-bde -protectors -get C: [9][14]. Step 2: Get-Disk | ft -Auto shows GPT, and msinfo32 shows UEFI mode with Secure Boot on [15][16], so MBR2GPT isn't needed. Step 3: switch off device encryption in the settings [11] and let the decryption finish; we have no time measurement for that. Step 4: start Clonezilla in the AMD64 version from a USB stick with Secure Boot on, choose "ToRAM", "device-device", "Beginner", "disk_to_local_disk", the SATA SSD as source, the NVMe SSD as target, and "-k1" [6][7]. Step 5: shut down, disconnect the SATA SSD and start from the NVMe SSD [7]. Step 6: check in Disk Management that C: has grown, run fsutil behavior query DisableDeleteNotify and Optimize-Volume -DriveLetter C -ReTrim -Verbose, and read the health values [19][20]. Step 7: switch device encryption on again and back up the recovery key once more [10][11]. The old SATA SSD stays untouched in a drawer for a week before it becomes a data drive.

Checklist

• Back up your files and save the BitLocker recovery key somewhere other than the PC.
• Check that Windows is activated with a digital license linked to your Microsoft account.
• Check partition style and boot mode, and convert MBR to GPT on the old drive if needed.
• Suspend BitLocker for the move, or remove the encryption if your clone tool requires it.
• Choose the way by the target: Samsung Data Migration for listed Samsung SSDs, Clonezilla for any drive, or a clean install.
• Disconnect one of the two drives before the first start from the clone.
• Extend C: if space is left over, without deleting the recovery partition.
• Check TRIM, run a retrim and read the health values of the new SSD.
• Keep the old drive unchanged for a few days before you wipe it.

Related pages: Understanding NVMe SSDs; Laptop upgrade: check RAM and SSD first; SSD health: read SMART on Windows and Linux; GPT and MBR partition styles; BitLocker and device encryption; Backing up a Windows PC: image, files or cloud.