Moving OS from drive to drive

[xcylent]

Hey all, I plan on building a computer soon.
I have a spare 160GB WD caviar blue lying around, that I will be using for the OS.
However, I would like to upgrade to an SSD in the future, so would it be possible to just plug in both drives, then move all my program files from my old WD to the new SSD?
because I really don't want to have to re-install windows and all my other programs.

 

[Rabbit01]

You want to clone the drive:
https://www.techspot.com/community/topics/clone-partition-to-ssd.171793/

 

[cliffordcooley]

I've heard it's always best to do a fresh install when moving to an SSD. There are features used in Windows for HDD's that are no longer needed with SSD's. These features can shorten the lifespan of an SSD if they are not disabled. Windows installation detects the presence of an SSD and ensures everything has been properly setup for using an SSD.

 

[Rabbit01]

I've heard it's always best to do a fresh install when moving to an SSD. There are features used in Windows for HDD's that are no longer needed with SSD's. These features can shorten the lifespan of an SSD if they are not disabled. Windows installation detects the presence of an SSD and ensures everything has been properly setup for using an SSD.

Thanks for the info. I'd have to remember that when I do decide to upgrade in the future.