nocturne tangle
If this is intended to be a secondary drive (not C:):
Right click the Start button, Disk Management. If prompted, set up the disk as GPT.
Right click the unallocated space, create a new simple volume, and basically spam next until it's made.
If this is going to be your primary (C:):
Is your current primary an SSD or not?
If yes, use a disk cloning tool.
If no, I'd suggest clean installing Windows on that new SSD. (unplug other drives first.)
You'll need to clean install Windows on the SSD for best results
Never installed an OS?
As in, someone else did that for you on your new PC?
No calls
OK, so right now things are definitely not what it should be (HDD as primary, SSD not set up)
Do you have Windows installation disks?
(Something made using the Media Creation Tool. This can be a USB drive.)
You can take a screenshot of a window easily with ALT-PrintScreen
You're not even in the right place
Right click the Start button on your taskbar. Click Disk Management. Once Disk Management starts, screenshot that window instead.
OK. Time for some clarification.
Your current system is essentially on the first drive
Your new SSD is the second drive, and it is actually not set up at all
Since you already have the means to do so, and you appear to be a fairly inexperienced user:
Can you use Reflect to clone the entirety of the first drive to the second drive, expanding the disk to cover the entire second drive?
Assuming you don't want to reinstall Windows
Open Reflect and take a screenshot of the window
You must describe all error messages properly. If I can't see them, I'll just see each individual window
Yes. Because I'll be telling you what to click.
Click "clone this disk" and show me what is shown
Now, select a disk to clone to, and screenshot again
Now click Next and screenshot
Can you scroll this window up?
Hold on
Click "Advanced options" and screenshot that
Hmm. This cloning tool won't expand the partitions automatically. Just be aware of this
Click OK, then click Finish. Screenshot
Yes
You didn't use the SSD yet, so there isn't anything to lose.
Might as well screenshot
So it bugs out
Have you done the suggested action?
(in an admin terminal, chkdsk C: /r)
You can find it by right clicking Start button
Yes
On W11 it's called Terminal
Yep
It'll tell you that drive can't be locked and if you want to restart the PC to do it
You'll need to spare a few hours
So do it when you are ready
Use the "Terminal (Admin)" option
Right click the Start button again
You'll notice there are two Terminals
Bingo
You need the Admin one
Yep
Type Y, enter, then close everything and restart your PC
Your computer will go "Fixing..." for a few hours
Yep
Yep
Yep, it'll be hours before the chkdsk is done
Give it up to 6 hours
Did it actually run
This looks too short
Do it again and don't get out of the view of the PC
CHKDSK /R on HDD doesn't take this short
No, the steps leading up to chkdsk
Might as well
If it errors again you know what to do
nocturne tangle
Don't do this. Installations don't carry well over different PCs and things are very likely to break.
You're going to need to do it the hard way and clean install Windows and reinstall everything
Do you have a Windows installer disk?
Use the Media Creation Tool and a USB flash drive whose contents you don't care about
Yes
Then run the tool
Then tell it to create installation media
Once that is done,
Shut down the PC
Unplug all other disks inside the PC except for your new SSD
Now, start the Windows installer from the USB.
No.
You need to clean install Windows. The SSD is blank
You still need to unplug the HDD
Yes
Because you need the Windows installer somewhere
And it needs to be bootable
If you are confused, just go through this list
Note: all this is on the assumption that you can get the files from your HDD later
??? Isn't the flash drive blank as you described?
This needs to be on a drive NOT the USB
Confused?
You run this on your downloads folder on your C: directly
IT SHOULD NOT BE ON YOUR USB DRIVE
This is an app running from your C: drive that writes to your USB drive (different drive letter)
Then start from the beginning of the list
Download the file to your downloads folder
Not the USB
...what CPU does your computer have?
This is a 10th generation part, not 7th
If it is the 10400F
It looks like you're very confused at times so I will need to check a lot of things
Task Manager > Performance > CPU
Yep, 10th gen 10400F
Just let it run PC Health Check as asked
Once you get to the Windows setup screen with the partitioning part, stop doing things and screenshot it so I can confirm that nothing is wrong
Yep, good night
Internet speed dependent
Alright
nocturne tangle
Something's broken with your current OS installation for some reason
Know how to use a third party tool to make bootable USB drives? Use the ISO image instead with said tool (e.g. Rufus)
nocturne tangle
You still need to prepare that ISO into a bootable disk, so get that ISO file to the downloads folder instead
(You can cut (move) the file)
You need a third party program for the last step
Since it looks like you've skipped a lot of steps
I am honestly thinking you need to get professional help instead
To prevent mistakes
From destroying your data
Fair enough
OK, once your ISO is in the right place, download this to your downloads folder:
Yes, because you can't have the ISO in the same place as the USB that will get deleted to make a boot drive
Your PC didn't freeze completely if the mouse is still responding
It's likely just your HDD being trash
nocturne tangle
Run Rufus. Show the image after it starts
nocturne tangle
OK. Check back once you start the USB and get to the partitioning screen. At that point stop and check if you are putting it at the right drive.
(If you're unsure, you can always unplug the HDD before booting so the only thing Windows setup sees is the SSD)
celest palm
I've seen that screen when it meams your bootloader is on a different drive
You gotta install windows to a drive without another drive with a windows bootloader present for that to not happen
nocturne tangle
Gonna need to do a sanity check though.
Can you show the contents of Task Manager > Performance > Disk where your C: is now?
Your C: is a different drive now, very likely the SSD
If you managed to install Windows 11
Just show the contents. (If you're away from your PC, do it when you get back.)
Windows Settings > System > Product key and activation
Since most other hardware are the same, it's likely Windows 11 already automatically activated when you visit this screen. If it's not, this is where you enter the key
nocturne tangle
I think you might not know what to do even with detailed instructions
Especially since you appear to be using an unusual system
Am I correct in assuming that you cannot boot from USB no matter what?
If so, save the Windows upgrading for some other time (maybe in a PC shop of some sort who may be able to assist better)
Shut down the computer, remove the USB drive, and put everything back where it was (including your HDD)
then restart the PC and it should start normally