Restore Windows 10 or 11 Image to New Hard Drive (2 Ways)

The need to restore Windows 10 /11 to new hard drive

Given that your laptop hard drive is failing (e.g., strange noise, frequent crashes, blue screen, etc), how do you transfer Windows 10 to new hard drive for an upgrade or replacement? In this case, you can backup Windows 10 to external hard drive or USB and then restore Windows 10 system image to new hard drive or SSD. 

It will include the operating system, installed programs, saved data, etc., on the old disk and allow you to replace old disk quickly without downtime.

Keep reading to learn the two methods one by one, or get the easier way directly.

Option 1️⃣: Backup and Restore (Windows 7)

Now, let's start to restore Windows image backup from external hard drive or USB drive to new hard drive. You should prepare one external hard drive (HDD or SSD) or USB flash drive to save the backup image. And one CD/DVD is required to create the system repair disc.

👉 Part 1: Create Windows 10/11 system backup
👉 Part 2: Restore Windows 10/11 system image to new hard drive
👉 Part 3: What to do after restoring Windows 10 image?

Part 1: Create Windows 10/11 system backup 

Step 1. Go to Control Panel, click System and Security and Backup and Restore (Windows 7) in order.

Step 2. Click Create a system image in the left pane.

Step 3. Choose the destination drive (external hard drive or USB flash drive) to save your backup.

Step 4. All partitions related to starting Windows will be included by default.  Confirm this and click Start backup.

When the backup is done, you'll be asked if you want to create a system repair disc (CD/DVD). It helps to access the recovery options when your computer is unable to boot. Please click Yes to execute. If you do not have the CD-ROM device, you can choose to create Windows 10 recovery disk with your USB flash drive instead.

Part 2: Restore Windows 10/11 system image to new hard drive

In the following, we will use the system image recovery feature in the Windows recovery environment to restore Windows 10/11 image backup to another drive.

Step 1. Shut down the computer and switch the hard drive in Windows 10/11 with a new one. Then, connect the backup disk containing Windows 10/11 backup image. Also, a system repair disc or recovery drive is required.

Step 2. Boot the computer from the system repair disc or recovery drive. Change your system's BIOS settings to make sure it can boot from the CD/DVD by hitting the specified key on the first screen.

Step 3. Click Next when you see the Windows Setup screen. Then, choose Repair your computer > Troubleshoot >Advanced options > System Image Recovery > Windows 10 or Windows 11 subsequently.

Step 4. In the Re-image your computer window, tick Use the latest available system image. 

Step 5. Choose Format and repartition disks option. Then, click Next > Finish > Yes to restore Windows image to another drive. 

Part 3: What to do after restoring Windows 10/11 image?

The System Image Recovery feature will keep the same partition layouts as the original drive and does not support restoring to partition layouts that are smaller than the original disk, thus, manual intervention is required. 

Option 1: Resize partitions for new large-capacity drive 

After restoring, there will be unallocated space at the end of the disk and it's unusable unless the partition size is extended. Here's how: 

Step 1. Press Win + R to open the run window and type diskmgmt.msc to open Disk Management.

Step 2. Right-click the unallocated space and select Extend Volume. Then, follow the Extend Volume Wizard to move on.

Step 3. Select the disk you want to extend the partition and click Next. Usually, you can only use unallocated space on the same disk to extend volume unless this disk is a dynamic disk. 

Step 4. Click Finish to start this operation.

This method works in most cases, but there is an exception, e.g., there is a 450MB recovery partition or other partition between the system partition and unallocated space. 

Option 2: Replace smaller drive with a larger one

Some users may not be aware of this vulnerability and prepare a smaller drive (e.g., 250GB SSD) to save the system image (created on 500 GB hard drive), thus receiving the system image restore failed error, and indicating the disk is too small. At this time, you can choose to replace a smaller drive with a larger one.

Besides the system image restore error, Windows built-in backup tool still has backup errors, such as system image backup failed because of shadow copy storage, not enough space, EFI or BIOS, no disk can be used, backup error 0x80070002, etc.

Option 2️⃣: AOMEI Backupper Standard 🔥

Since Backup and Restore (Windows 7) has many restrictions, it's a wise choice to turn to trusted and reliable Windows backup and restore software - AOMEI Backupper Standard.

AOMEI Backupper

All-in-one Windows backup and restore software

• Work well while your computer is running well or unbootable.
• Restore Windows image to smaller drive without issues.
• Only backs up used sectors of file systems, reducing image file size and backup time.
• Support Windows 10 system image restore to different computer, even with different hardware (Advanced version)
• Reuse unallocated space during restore. The restored drive does not have multiple partitions.

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Windows 11/10/8.1/8/7

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What do you need?

#1: Create a system image backup

Click the System Backup feature of AOMEI Backupper to backup system, preferably to an external storage device. It can greatly avoid computer failure and consequent data loss. If your computer works properly, it's suggested to set schedule backup (daily, weekly, monthly, etc) to keep everything on it.

#2: Create bootable media - USB, CD/DVD, ISO image file

Optionally, and best if your computer is unbootable. Click Tools > Create Bootable Media to create bootable USB. This can be used on any Windows computer (both 32-bit and 64-bit).

Steps to restore Windows image to new hard drive 

Then, let's see how to restore Windows 10/11 system image to new drive or SSD step by step .

Step 1. Install new hard drive in Windows 10/11 and connect external drive containing system image as well as bootable media to your computer. Then, boot your computer from the bootable media. 

Step 2. After loading, you will see the main page of AOMEI Backupper Standard. Then, click Home >  Restore > Select image to restore and find the system image on your external drive. 

Step 3. Tick restore this system backup and click Next. If you set a scheduled full/incremental/differential backup task, there will be a few backup images that you can choose. 

Step 4. Tick Restore to a new location and select your new hard drive as the destination. 

Step 5. Click Start Restore to install system image on new hard drive. 

That's the entire process to restore Windows image backup to another drive. You still can use it to restore Windows 7/8 system image to new hard drive.

FAQs about Windows image backup restore to new drive

1. Can I restore Windows 10 system image to a new hard drive?

The answer is YES, you can restore Windows 10 system image to new hard drive with a reliable backup and restore software. You can use built-in Backup and Restore (Windows 7) or third-party tool AOMEI Backupper Standard. 

2. How do I restore a system image to another computer?

Usually,  you cannot restore a system image created on one computer to another, because every computer has its specific drivers required for starting Windows. But if you can resolve the drive incompatibility issue, for example, use the "Universal Restore" feature in AOMEI Backupper, the operation is available.

3. Does a system image save everything?

A system image is a snapshot of your system partition and all the items on it will be included, such as operating system, system files and drivers, installed programs, personal data, etc.

Conclusion

That’s all for how to restore Windows 10/11 image to new hard drive. You can make it easily with Windows built-in tool or AOMEI Backupper Standard. No matter what method you use, bootable media is needed if your system crashes, either an optical drive or a USB flash drive.

If you have to choose one of them, it will be a good choice to use AOMEI Backupper Standard. Because it's simpler, compatible, and feature-rich. For example, you can easily restore system image to smaller drive and boot from it. And you can enjoy schedule backup, backup scheme, incremental and differential backup, etc. Some of them are available in the professional version.

Trust me, it's one of the most powerful software for you to secure your data and system. Just explore it by yourself now!