Windows 10: Upgrading SSD hard drive and doing a clean install of Windows 10

I have a laptop and a desktop with a 120 gig ssd and a 64 gig SSD respectively. Both computers have conventional hard drives as drive D. I have two 250 gig SSD's on the way. What is the best strategy for moving to the new SSD's and preforming the clean install of Windows 10. The desktop is running Windows 10 insider preview 130 and the laptop is on Windows 8.1.

:)

 

Install Windows 10 with new SSD

I received a new SSD the other day and rather than upgrading my old hard drive from Windows 7 to Windows 10 first, I did the clean install on the new SSD. After doing research, I read that I can't do this and that I should have upgraded the old hard drive
first to Windows 10 and then do the clean install on the new SSD. My question is, if I boot to the old hard drive, upgrade that to Windows 10, and then activate it, should my new SSD automatically be activated or will I have to reinstall that again? I really
don't want to do a clean install on my new SSD again, I already have all of my software installed and files transferred to it.

 

Windows 10 upgrade and clean install in new SSD

I can't seem to find the answer I'm looking for in similar threads.

I have a laptop with a Windows 8.1 installed in a HDD. I have not yet upgraded to Win10 but I have reserved already.

I want to do a clean install of Win10 on a new SSD I'm buying and I'm worried that if I upgrade to Win10 on my current drive then do a clean install on the SSD, because of the hardware change (HDD to SSD) the Win10 product key will become invalid.

What should I do?

- Upgrade to Win 10 on my current HDD then swap the SSD and do a clean install

- Clone my current hard drive do the SSD then do the upgrade

Note: The OS (Win7) installation came with the laptop

Note 2: I don't need to keep my files

 

If you have W10 as an ISO file, just set it on a USB memory stick and install from there with same MS account. If 8.1 is OEM version you can do same thing with it too. Either way, don't forget to set SATA to AHCI mode in the BIOS on both of them, SSDs require AHCI instead of IDE for proper operation.

 

I guess I wasn't clear I am looking for strategies. For instance should I move the new SSD's now. Or wait until Windows 10 official release. On an SSD of 250 gigs would you still move users to drive D: and any other things I have not thoughtof.

 

I can tel you only what I have done. I had 8.1 on 128GB SSD but when I got a 250 I moved 8.1 to it by Macrium Reflect image. Than Installed Win10TP cleanly on 120GB SSD.
As a matter of my policy, I always send files like downloads, pictures, MM files and other documents to another drive in the computer so if windows fail and have to be reinstalled I don't loose them. I don't do it by moving default user folders but only by setting various programs like browser downloads, office files etc. to save on other than OS drive. If anything does save files on OS drive I transfer them by hand as soon as practicable. It may look like more work but is safer way. I find 250GB to be quite enough for hundred or so programs installed but not including large games. Those I install on other HDDs (if possible) so only a small amount stays on OS drive.
Included in my routine is also monthly imaging of OS drives with Macrium Reflect and sorted out most important personal files backed up on external drives.

 

Thank you for the replies Mike.
So right now your dual-booting?


So if Microsoft is not blowing smoke this will be the last version of Windows, there will not be a window 16 in two years. So I am just trying to get this right.

 

Yeah, dual boot. Don't worry about W16 in near future, see how long XP lasted.