How to Clone Windows OS to SSD Easily in Lenovo PC

Why migrate Lenovo OS to SSD?

Hello! I'm about to order a Lenovo y520 (i5 2.8, 8GB, 1050, 1TB HDD) and a Samsung EVO 960. I want to know how to migrate the OS to the SSD when I get everything.

Such questions are not uncommon nowadays, because as you know, many computers still come with HDDs while SSDs have better data accessing speed, hence the need to clone Lenovo hard drive SSD or migrate OS to SSD in Lenovo laptops as well as other PCs.

Solid state drive, SSD for short, is a commonly used internal drive for operating system. Unlike HDD (hard disk drive) that uses rotating metal disks with magnetic coating, SSD has no mechanical or movable parts. Installing OS on SSD can lead to faster operation, stronger durability, and lower power consumption. 

Therefore, more and more people would rather move Windows to SSD no matter for greater capacity or better performance. But the problem is that SSD at the same price has lower capacity. In this situation, many users choose to clone OS to SSD in Lenovo computer instead of entire disk. 

How do I perform Lenovo system migration?

Normally, there are two possible scenarios for Lenovo system migration:

◆ Replace the old hard drive with a new SSD
You may want to transfer not only the system but also data partitions on the disk.
◆ Use SSD as an OS drive and keep the old disk as a secondary storage
You may want to clone only OS to SSD.

No matter which case you are in, whether you're using a ThinkPad or whatever, moving Windows to SSD is not as easy as ordinary copy & paste since many complicated system files are involved. 

One common approach is to install OS on the new SSD, which is time-consuming and requires an installation CD or other bootable media. Another is Windows system image backup, with which you can try to image Windows to SSD, but with a high probability of failure.

In this case you may wonder, is there a way to transfer Windows to SSD in Lenovo more directly?

Well, with the assistance of reliable software, the answer is yes. I’d like to recommend you AOMEI Backupper, which can clone OS to SSD no matter in Lenovo laptops like ThinkPad or other brands of PCs. It will directly make a copy of your Windows or even all partitions to the destination disk, greatly simplifying the process. And I'll introduce you both ways in the following. 

Stepwise guide to clone OS to SSD in Lenovo (2 ways)

With AOMEI Backupper, you can make the choice according to SSD disk capacity and data amount of system partition. If disk capacity of SSD is larger than data amount, you can choose to clone entire disk (with Method 1) or OS only (with Method 2). But if not, your only choice is to migrate only the operating system.

• Method 1. Clone Lenovo system disk to SSD easily
• Method 2. Clone only OS to SSD in Lenovo easily

Method 1.    Clone Lenovo system disk to SSD easily

AOMEI Backupper Professional is a software with complete features to protect you data. It enables you to clone an entire hard disk to another with ease. That is to say, your operating system along with all the partitions on the source disk will be copied to the destination SSD at once. And with the default intelligent clone mode, only the used sectors will be cloned - this enables you to clone larger HDD to smaller SSD.

This approach is more suitable for people who wants to clone Lenovo hard drive SSD. Download it to have a try.

(Note: The Pro edition works for Windows 11/10/8/7/XP/Vista. For server users, try AOMEI Backupper Server.)

Step 1. Download, install and launch AOMEI Backupper, select Disk Clone under Clone tab.

Step 2. Select the Lenovo disk you want to clone as the source disk, hit Next button.

Step 3. Choose the new SSD as the destination disk, click Next to continue.

Step 4. Here in Operation Summary, tick SSD Alignment (recommended) and configure other settings if needed. Then, confirm your operation and click Start Clone to begin the process.

Edit Partition - adjust the partition size and convert disk partition style. 
SSD Alignment - tick this option will accelerate the reading and writing speed for solid state drive while performing HDD to SSD clone.
Sector by Sector Clone - clone all the sectors including the blank or logically bad ones. It will take longer time than usual. Please don't tick it unless your destination disk is larger.

Wait till the cloning ends, click Finish to quit the wizard. Then, restart Lenovo and enter BIOS to set the cloned SSD as the first boot disk to launch Windows.

Method 2. Clone only OS to SSD in Lenovo easily

If you want to clone only OS to SSD in Lenovo instead of all partitions on the disk, you can try the System Clone feature. It only includes the operating system, system files & settings, or data and programs on the system partition. 

Step 1. Launch this clone tool. Then, click Clone to choose System Clone.

Step 2. Your OS will be automatically selected as the source, so you only need to choose the SSD as destination. Then, click Next to continue.

Step 3. Confirm your operation and check SSD Alignment (recommended). Optionally, you can use Sector by Sector Clone to clone all sectors of system partition. Afterward, click Start Clone to begin system cloning.

When the process is over, restart your computer and launch Windows with the cloned SSD. If it boots successfully, you may want to erase the original hard drive and then use it as secondary storage of Lenovo. Please go to Tools tab and use Disk Wipe feature to wipe it.

Summary

AOMEI Backupper enables you to clone OS to SSD in Lenovo laptops and other PCs easily. Whether you want to migrate Windows 11/10/8/7 to a larger or smaller drive with MBR or GPT partition style, your requirements will be satisfied through a simple and quick process. You can even clone hard drive on Windows Server with the Server edition.

Beside the cloning methods, you still can try backup and restore method to migrate Lenovo OS to SSD. And it is more suitable for continuous data protection, since you can enbale daily/weekly/monthly schedule backup in daily use to keep all the changes. And you don't need to worry about backup disk full issue thanks to its automatic backup cleanup and other relief methods. It's completely free if you don't transfer Windows to new computer with different hardware!