How to Move a Full Operating System From an Old PC to a New One
The Problem With Cloning
Macrium Reflect relies on a principle called cloning. It’s the methodology of choice whether you’re moving to a new PC or merely upgrading to a larger hard drive.
If you’re running Linux, the process is painless. But on Windows, you’re more likely to experience problems.
There are no guarantees that your cloned copy will work successfully on a new machine. Often, the drivers for your new and old hardware won’t match. In the best case, certain parts of your new machine won’t function. In the worst case, your computer won’t boot, and you’ll see a “blue screen of death.”
Make a Clone Using Macrium Reflect
With the warning out of the way, here’s a step-by-step walkthrough of how to use Macrium Reflect to clone your Windows 10 OS.
1. Create a Clone
Firstly, you need to grab a copy of the free app from Macrium’s website. Make sure you select Home Use, or you’ll only be able to download a trial of the premium version of the app. The app is almost 1 GB, so the download and installation process might take a while.
When you run the app, you’ll see a list of all the drives connected to your computer. Highlight the drive you want to clone. You can ignore the rest of the interface. In my case, I’ve highlighted the C: drive; it’s where my copy of Windows is installed.
Next, look below the list of drives. You will see an option called Clone this disk…. Click on it to begin the cloning process.
On the following screen, you need to choose your destination disk. You can send your clone to either an external or internal drive, but remember the entire contents of the drive will be deleted.
Drag-and-drop the drive partitions from the disk you want to clone onto your destination disk. Make sure the partitions are in exactly the same order on both disks. You can adjust the size of the partitions to make them fit by clicking on Cloned Partition Properties.
When you’re happy, click Next > Finish starting making your clone.
2. Restore a Clone
Creating the clone is only half the challenge. Now you need to install the clone on your new PC.
Before proceeding, you need to disable Windows 10’s Secure Boot. It will let you boot your computer from the external hard drive that contains your new clone.
To turn it off, enter your machine’s BIOS menu. It’s typically accessible by pressing a specific key during the boot sequence. The exact key changes from manufacturer to manufacturer. You should find the Secure Boot setting in the Security, Boot, or Authentication tab.
Next, restart your machine and boot from the external USB drive. Again, you might need to enter your computer’s BIOS menu to achieve this.
Your computer should now run the cloned version of Windows 10. Once it’s loaded, reopen Macrium and repeat the cloning steps. This time, you want to clone your USB drive onto your computer’s C: drive.
Let the process complete, turn off your machine, unplug the USB drive, and reboot your computer. You should now have an exact replica of your old machine’s OS on your shiny new PC.
3. Clean Install
Go to the Windows 10 download site and click Create Windows 10 installation media > Download tool now. Save the image to a USB stick with at least 5 GB of space. Put the USB into your new computer, restart it, and follow the on-screen instructions.
If the cloning was unsuccessful but your machine still boots, you can use the new Windows 10 Fresh Start tool to install a fresh copy of the OS. Head to Settings > Update and security > Recovery > Get Started. Your computer will ask you which files you want to keep, then install a new copy of Windows.
4. Transfer Your Files
If cloning your OS sounds like too much hassle or too risky, there are other ways to aid your move to a new computer. Rather than moving Windows in its entirety, you just can move your apps and files instead.
Because Microsoft has killed Windows Easy Transfer in Windows 10, you’ll need to use a third-party tool. The Microsoft-approved option is Laplink’s PCmover Express.
Nonetheless, it’s extremely fast and easy to use. Install a copy of the app on both your computers, then follow the transfer wizard to move the stuff you care about and leave behind the junk you no longer need.
