Windows 10: changing hdd in new laptop

I will be getting a new laptop, I've never had one before, which has a 1tb hdd fitted.
I happen to have a Samsung 500gb 850 EVO taken from a desktop that died, the ssd is fine. What are my options, can I remove the hdd and do a clean install of W10, my first choice to avoid the clutter, or should I clone the os. Will W10 activate automatically?

:)

 

Feeling vibration when laptop is on

I had to change my laptop's internal hdd recently due to some error and ever since I have changed the hard disc I feel a vibration when I touch my laptop(near to the touch pad)..is this normal or there is some problem with the new hdd?

HP laptop(Toshiba internal hdd)

 

Data lost when transacted in a HDD which was shutdown using hibernate option

Hi,

I had a trouble with one of HDD in laptop so i bought a new one.

To copy data before i changed HDD which already had OS,i shutdown the laptop,took out the faulty HDD and connected the new HDD and booted the OS.

Now i connected the faulty HDD as external drive and copied data from it to new HDD which was earlier shutdown using hibernate option.

But post restart the HDD shows freedrive space to be occipued but no data or folders to be seen.Please help.this has around 8 years of data.

 

Hi, assuming the laptop already has Win 10 installed, you are free to replace the disk and reinstall Win 10. If Home was installed, Home will be activated. Likewise Pro.

Note that you will need to ensure the laptop uses AHCI before installing the OS to get best performance from your SSD.
AHCI vs IDE - Difference and Comparison | Diffen

Your best option is to clean install.
Windows 10 ISO Download

(Some laptops allow you to have both a SSD and a HDD installed, like mine, but in most cases you need a different form factor SSD to the one you have).

 

The laptop is a Lenovo ideapad 310 with an i3-6100U, hopefully it is up to date enough to have AHCI.
I would prefer the clean install straight to the ssd, keeping the original hdd in case of warranty claims.
I will run the original hdd in the laptop for a couple of weeks before changing.

 

That would be a good idea. Make sure that Windows says it is activated before changing the drive and trying the clean install. Once activated you have a digital licence for this PC stored on Microsoft's activation servers, this should automatically activate your clean install.

 

I got the Lenovo today, it must have up to date internals, as it has ddr4.
It is now activated, my Microsoft account is ok and all the latest updates have installed with no problems.
Does anyone know how I can get into the bios to check the AHCI settings?

 

If you use a search engine and type/paste the following
lenovo ideapad bios
you will get some helpful ideas

http://www.lenovo.com/shop/americas/...u410_ug_en.pdf
manual here - search for BIOS
AHCI is not in the manual

For specifics on your laptop type, best to try Lenovo's support (as it's new) or their forum.

 

I have just googled the exact part number and saved the pdf. To get into the bios of this model, there is a reset type hole which you can use something like a pin in. Doing this while the machine is switched off will go into the bios. I put a password in, but there is nothing much else, no resemblance to a desktop. No AHCI of course.
I did notice on the box label the storage options for hdd, ssd and sshd.
The instructions do give info on changing the drive.

 

For specifics on your laptop type, best to try Lenovo's support (as it's new) or their forum.
http://support.lenovo.com/gb/en/Glob...s+and+Software

 

You can image the HDD installation to another disk using something like Macrium Reflect Free. Then install the SSD and recover the HDD image. The laptop should work fine and activate. Run the PC for a while and you can do a clean install if necessary. Keep the old HDD for a while as this should still boot and work if you have problems.

 

I have just saved to favourites the Lenovo support site, theres nothing on it that I need at present.
I downloaded W10 64 this morning, swapped drives, loaded a clean install and Windows is activated.
I was a bit worried when Windows loaded that I was not offered the choice of types, but it put on home automatically.
Updates are downloading as I type this.
I was pleasantly surprised by the power of the i3, which has 80% of the power of my FX4300 and only uses 15 watts. It will run at 350mhz on the battery if necessary.
The 1tb Seagate will be stored in a safe place.
When I was on the Lenovo site, it told me that the warrantee had 295 days to run, a bit mean, fortunately, I bought the laptop from one of the UK's best retailers, John Lewis, they give a full two years on all their products. The box had all the original Lenovo seals on it, so it was unused.

 

Update, I have just installed Samsung Magician 4.5 and AHCI is activated.
Everything looks hunky dory, thanks everybody.