Add a 250GB SSD To PC with 1TB HDD & Keep all Files

3 February 2020

SSD (Solid State Drivers)  are very cheap nowadays. Many PC users have upgraded their existing PC or Notebook with new SSDs. They will want to get rid of their existing smaller sized 250 GB SSD for a song.

If one has a PC with a mechanical hard disk (HDD), it will time to upgrade the PC. One can add these small and cheap 250 GB SSD to speed up the PC. The challenge is how to add these small SSD so that it can be transparent to PC users. Many a time, the existing HDD will have twice as much data/storage as compared to the SSD's capacity.

Many cloning and OS migration software will not work under this kind of setup. For example, one user has a 1TB HDD with about 500 GB of data/programs in the existing setup. He would want to add another 250GB SSD. The cloning and OS migration software will warn him that the 250 GB SSD is too small and refuse to proceed.

What Can Be Done?

There are 3 methods:

1.  Reinstall fresh copy of Windows OS to the SSD and copy all the application and files one by one and then patch them to work with the new  Windows OS. This will be a very tedious work;

2. . Reduce the storage in the existing HDD to fit the migration requirement. After that, reinstall the deleted programs and games.  This method will be better but still require lots of manual patching work;

3.  Use special migrating software such as "PC Mover Professional". This will be the easiest and quickest method.  This will be described in detail in this article.

Step by Step

Follow the step by step procedure as shown in this flow chart and also the video presentation to add the SDD.

 Finishing up

1)  Update the ShortCuts in the Start Menu and Recovering Lost Files and Program

The PCMover software will not migrate some applications from the old harddisk to the new SSD. This is because the applications may not be compatible or one has left them out during the migration. These applications will not show up in the Start Menu. One can always recover them.

The PCMover software will not affect any applications or files in the older hard disk. This older hard disk has been automatically renamed as D: Drive. One can recovered these applications by creating a short cut as shown in this video.

2)  Tidying Boot Startup Menu

It is advisable to install a new copy of Windows for a new disk. When we install a new windows, the Startup Menu will show 2 copies of Windows. They might be of identical name. The following video will show how this problem can be resolved.

Things to Take Note

PCMover will not migrate

• Files that has Digital Rights Management (DRM) protection. These files are music files and programs that has keys or serial numbers for proper working. They might need deactivation on the old PC and reactivation on the new PC;
• Specific hardware drivers;

PCMover is not for migrations from newer operating systems to older operating systems. For example, from a PC running Windows 7 to a PC running Windows XP. It will not run properly.

It is advisable to carry out a Windows Updates (including .NET) for the new PC before carrying out the migration work.