If your hard drive fails, how do you get your computer working again? Don’t know? Well, today, that is what we are going t
o share with you. Whether you want to know how to install Windows after replacing hard drive with SSD or a regular one, we just got your back.
We are going to be replacing the hard drive on an HP notebook, but what we are sharing, you should work on most laptops and desktops.
Things You Need to Install Windows 10 on Second Hard Drive
There are a bunch of components and gears to start with the process. Let’s head into them one by one.
SSD (Solid-state drive) or Hard Drive:
You can pick a new hard drive to replace the old one. But to get faster performance, it is better to stick with an SSD. SSDs are more rapid and way more secure for professional purposes. Here we are picking SSD for our computer.
But if you have already bought a hard drive, then don’t worry because the procedure is almost similar.
You will need to buy an SSD if you are a fan of superior speed, so pick one from a reputable brand such as SanDisk, WD, or Kingston. Buy one with enough capacity for your needs. Here, we are going to fitting an SSD with 240 gigabytes because we need to be storing reasonable amounts of data on it.
If you are not sure what capacity you will need, have a look at the tag of the hard drive you have removed. It should have the size printed on the tag. And if that hard drive was enough for your needs, then buy an SSD with a similar capacity.
Remember, if you have a desktop PC, you will probably find that the hard drive you are pulling out is larger than this, but SSD’s don’t come in the larger desktop size. Therefore, you will probably need to order a bracket to convert the regular 2.5-inch SSD to fit the 3.5-inch fitting in your computer.
Having said that, have a look inside your computer case because some cases come with a fitting for the smaller drive size now.
Windows 10 Installation USB:
You are also going to need a Windows 10 installation USB. To make that on your own, you are going to need a blank USB drive – 8 gigabytes is ideal, a Windows computer that works, and a good Internet connection.
Screwdriver Set:
Next, you will need a right screwdriver set to complete the procedure of how to install windows 10 after replacing hard drive without disk.
Laptop Charger:
Finally, if you are doing this on a laptop, you will need the charger when we get round to installing Windows because it’s going to take a while.
On some laptops, it is straightforward to remove the hard drive. If you turn it upside down and look at the bottom, you will find a panel that you can unscrew, and the hard drive is just inside.
Unfortunately, many of you might not have that sort of computer, and you may need to remove every screw and pull the whole thing apart just to get to the hard drive.
Before starting anything, the best thing you can do is to go to the manufacturer’s website and see if they have a Service Manual for your model of computer. The Service Manual usually gives you step-by-step instructions that show you which screws to remove, what kind of screwdrivers you will need, and so on.
If you look at the service manual and it seems too difficult, then you might be better off just taking the computer to a local expert to repair. And if the machine is still in the Warranty period, then it’s a good idea to bring it back where you bought it.
Precautions of How to Replace Laptop Hard Drive And Reinstall Operating System
We need to take some precautions because of the risk of electrostatic discharge. So, make sure you work on a static-free table and take care of not to touch any of the sensitive components inside the computer.
For your further safety, makes sure you unplug your computer from the mains power supply before starting.
How to Remove Hard Drive from Your Computer?
We are assuming that you are backed with all of your weapons? So, let’s eject the hard drive. Again, make sure to unplugged the computer from the mains power supply.
Step 1: Opening from Your Computer
Now, following the Service Manual, we are going to remove the battery first. Then, we will remove the screw holding the DVD drive, and then we’ll remove the DVD drive.
Here, on the HP notebook, we also have to remove two rubber bumpers from the base. Afterward, we are going to remove all the other screws from the base.
Then, we can start to pry off the bottom cover. Once we have pried it off on all sides, we can remove the bottom cover.
Step 2: Ejecting the Hard Drive
Well, now, you suppose to see the hard drive. In our case, it’s connected to the system board by a cable. So, we need to unplug the cable first.
Since three screws secure the hard drive, so we need to remove them as well. After done with that, we can remove the hard drive. We need to pull off the connector board to do that without any mistake.
The hard drive we have sits in metal brackets. Therefore, we are going to remove the screws on that also to remove the brackets.
Step 3: Test Your Old Hard Drive (Optional)
At this point, if you want to, you can test the hard drive by plugging it into a working computer. It is always possible that the hard drive hasn’t failed and that something else in the laptop has.
You will need a SATA to USB cable for this, which you can buy online. If you are working with a desktop computer, you will need one of the SATA to USB kits with a power supply.
If you fit the cable onto the hard drive and then plug the USB into any computer, you will know it’s failed because nothing shows up on the screen. But at this time, we are just going to assume that your hard drive has died.
How to Install New Hard Drive or New SSD in Your Computer?
To go forward with today’s discussion of how to install windows 10 on a new hard drive with USB, now you will need to fit the new SSD you just brought.
Step 1: Fitting the Brackets and Plugging the Connector Board
At first, we are going to fit it into the brackets that came off the old hard drive, and screw in those screws. Next, we are going to plug in the connector board that we took off from the old hard drive.
Step 2: Installing SSD into Your Computer
After that, let’s put the SSD back into the computer, and secure the body with the screws that you have driven out earlier.
The drive cable needs to be connected back up to the board. And at the final stage, we are just going to put the computer back together. It is the same way as taking it apart but in reverse.
Finally, we can plug in the charger, and we are ready to install Windows 10.
How to Install Windows After Replacing Hard Drive with USB?
It’s time to hang into the favorite part of the process. With the new SSD installed, now, we just need to connect the Windows 10 installation USB.
Every computer has not the same way of booting up from a USB drive. On our laptop, we need to press the Escape key repeatedly after we turn it on.
Then, the Startup Menu appears, and we can see that if we want to choose the Boot Device. So, we should press F9 to continue with the process of how to reinstall windows after hard drive failure.
After that, we can use the arrow keys to select the USB drive and then press Enter. Next, we have a choice of 32 bit or 64 bit because the USB drive we are using contains both versions.
On the most modern computer, you should 64 bit, and if you get an error message, then you can start again and choose 32 bit instead.
When the Window Setup screen appears, choose your language and region and click on the Next. Then, click Install Now.
After a short wait, you will get the Terms and Conditions screen. If you don’t have any concerns regarding your privacy, then don’t review the list of terms and check the Accept box. Confused? Calm down, just kidding! Nevertheless, you need to click on the Next then.
On the next screen, select Custom: Install Window only. Then if everything’s gone to plan, you should see your SSD or the hard drive here. Ours one shows up as Drive 0.
Now, we could use the buttons down here to set up partitions just the way we want them, but because we are starting with a blank drive, we are going to let the computer sort it out for us. At least, this should play some role and responsibilities here. Right?
So, click on Next. Now, you can go and do something else while your Windows 10 gets installed. This will take about 20 minutes.
Welcome, you are just back from the brake. Your installation process supposed to be completed almost. After the installation, you will need to fill some info to begin to play with your PC again.
When you see the screen asking for your Region, Windows 10 has been installed. Just follow them all, and you will eventually get to the Windows desktop.
It’s the ending stage of how to install windows on a new hard drive without disk. At this point, you should leave your computer connected to the internet while it downloads the drivers it needs and the latest updates. Typically, an hour will be long enough.
Frequently Asked Questions
Q: How do I install Windows on a new hard drive?
A: There are multiple ways to install your operating system on a new hard drive. You can either flash drive or USB, CD, or ISO file to install Windows on a new hard drive.
Q: What to do after replacing the hard drive
A: After replacing the hard drive, it’s recommended to reinstall the Windows since your new hard drive does not have an already installed operating system. But if the new hard drive already has installed with Windows, then you don’t need to worry regarding this.
Q: Do I have to reinstall Windows with a new SSD
A: Certainly, no, if you have the operating system on your hard drive. On the contrary, if you don’t have that already, then reinstalling is mandatory.
Q: How do I install Windows on a new hard drive without a CD or USB?
Many of you might not know that you can also install Windows on a new hard drive without any need for a CD or USB. But yes, it is also possible. Let’s head into the process.
Mostly, the first thing, which have we have to get in place is an ISO image file for Windows operating system. The second thing you need to have on your computer is an Extractor tool like WinRAR. You can download both of these from many sources that are available online.
At first, you need to create a new partition for Windows installation files. To do that, you need to borrow some space from partition C. So, click on your computer and select Manage.
Go to Disk Management and click on drive C and then Shrink Volume.
Now, type the size for Windows setup partition. It should be big enough to fit Windows installation files only.
Afterward, click on the newly created partition and select New Simple Volume. Click on Next when every time a new window appears and finally finishes the process. Make sure to select the Mark Partition as Active after all.
Then, you would need to right-click on the ISO file and open file with the Extractor tool, here we are using WinRAR.
Here you will see all the contents that are available inside the ISO file. Just select all of the contents and extract them in the volume you just have created.
When the process is done, you can restart your computer. Before continuing further, you have to make the windows installation partition inactive again. Press Shift, F10 to do that. This will open the command prompt, and there, you have to type “diskpart” and then “list disk.”
And now type “select disk 0”. Next, you need to type “list partition.” After doing that, you have to set another partition inactive. At this moment, the active partition is partition number 3. But we don’t want it to be active anymore.
To make this partition inactive, we have to set another partition active. So, let’s set the partition 1 active just like it was initially by typing “select partition 1” and then again type “active.”
Now continue with the setup as usual. Remember, you can delete any volume you want to without the one that is consisted of the OS. Once you have installed Windows, you can delete the setup partition if you wish.
Conclusion
So, how did that go? Have you found any problem regarding the new hard drive with windows 10 installed?
We guess you have completed each of the steps of how to install Windows after replacing hard drive successfully. Buzz the comment box below to let us know how you got on, and if you found this step by step instruction helpful, make sure to come to visit fixguider again in the future.