Should I transfer my Upgrade or Clean Install?

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  1. invictus
    Posts : 29
    Windows 10
       New #1

    Should I transfer my Upgrade or Clean Install?


    So I've been using Windows 10 for the past two weeks now. I really dig it, however the hard drive I'm on is slightly slower than my 7200rpm drive which could boot Windows 7 up a lot faster.

    I upgraded my Windows 7 installation to this current Windows 10 install and since I want to
    1. Sell this current hard drive

    and

    2. Move to the other hard drive,

    I'm in a bit of a dilemma here. I have a large amount of software and important documents installed on this pc.

    In the event where I want to clean install to the other hard drive, I don't really want to be tasked with having to reinstall all of this software again, mostly because I don't have installers available for them.
    ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

    So I guess I want to know what are the benefits to clean installing over upgrading on an already fast hard drive and what would be most convenient in my case if this option is more viable?

    I've read differing opinions online over upgrade vs clean install and I want to know what I should do.
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  3. Ztruker
    Posts : 14,051
    Windows 11 Pro X64 22H2 22621.1848
       New #2

    Clone the existing drive to the newer, faster drive and try it. If not satisfied, backup then do the Clean Install.
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  4. Joergi
    Posts : 609
    W10
       New #3

    You have one harddisc with Windows 10 on it and you have another harddisc. Now you want to have Windows 10 on that other harddisc and all programs and so on from the Windows 10 installation should be kept. Is that correct?

    If yes, then there are imaging programs, which can copy the complete partition with all its data over to the new harddisc. You won't lose anything and you won't have to reinstall anything.
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  6. invictus
    Posts : 29
    Windows 10
    Thread Starter
       New #4

    For cloning, I've considered the newest version of Acronis. Any suggestions?

    Also is there a loss in performance with Upgrading over Clean Installing even on a faster hard drive? This is one of my major concerns.
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  7. Ztruker
    Posts : 14,051
    Windows 11 Pro X64 22H2 22621.1848
       New #5

    Macrium Reflect Free will clone drives and as shown, is free.
    CloneZilla, also free will do the job as well.

    I've given up on Acronis. They never, ever fix anything, just release a new version you have to pay for to get.

    As for performance, the answer is sometimes. Your best bet is to try it. At worst you'll waste an hour or two doing the clone and drive swap. At best you do it and it will work well and you'll be happy and not have to spend time reinstalling anything.

    If you want a real performance boost, look at getting a SSD, like the Samsung EVO 250GB. I see them on Amazon and Newegg for $89. You'll get a 4x to 8x performance increase.
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  8. invictus
    Posts : 29
    Windows 10
    Thread Starter
       New #6

    I'll check out CloneZilla. I should also note the drive I'm moving to (1tb) is smaller than my current drive (2tb). I've got about 700gb of space taken up on here.
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  9. Word Man
    Posts : 1,579
    Windows 10 Pro
       New #7

    invictus said:
    I'll check out CloneZilla. I should also note the drive I'm moving to (1tb) is smaller than my current drive (2tb). I've got about 700gb of space taken up on here.
    Hmmm. Would you consider 1) getting an SSD (120 or 250GB), clean installing onto that and reinstalling programs, 2) moving data from the 2tb to the 1tb and then 3) selling the 2tb after wiping it?

    Just a thought.:)

    EDIT - Meh, OK just reread and you don't have install files for programs. So, depending on split between size of data and size of programs, maybe still the SSD (right sized for OS & Programs, left at upgrade) by a clone of the 2TB MINUS the data already moved off to the 1TB?
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  10. Ztruker
    Posts : 14,051
    Windows 11 Pro X64 22H2 22621.1848
       New #8

    invictus said:
    I'll check out CloneZilla. I should also note the drive I'm moving to (1tb) is smaller than my current drive (2tb). I've got about 700gb of space taken up on here.
    That should be okay, Macrium or CloneZilla will handle the size difference.
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  12. invictus
    Posts : 29
    Windows 10
    Thread Starter
       New #9

    Using Macrium as I type this to clone my drive to the 1tb. I was having a bit of a challenge getting Clonezilla to boot from my USB drive and physical dvd. It's a shame too because Clonezilla seems like really promising software. I even used the Universal USB Installer tool to get the iso on my flash drive with FAT32 partition and everything.
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  13. ramram55
    Posts : 111
    windows 8.1
       New #10

    Macrium all the way.
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