Install win 10 on new ssd using recovery disks

[Zelo]

Can I use recovery disks created from my HDD when new to install win 10 on a new replacement ssd that occupies the same spot as the outgoing HDD?

The existing HD is 1TB, the replacement SSD is 512 GB.  It will effectively be a "clean" install with original factory settings etc.  What needs to be done to make this happen?  Is there a step by step process?  I would guess it would be a similar process to installing a new, but smaller HDD since it will use the same slot and refresh the system as opposed to cloning.  Please do not suggest cloning by the way as I want the clean install and a fresh system.

[banhien]

Hi,

Most likely this won't work because you need new larger or equal (capacity) HDD/SSD, not smaller, even with blank spaces. Now, if you wish to do a clean install, you can

(a) Install Windows (*),

(b) Run Windows updates to update drivers. At the end would be 1 or 2 missing you can search forum for them.

(*) To do a clean install (and I do that few times each year for testing, the most recent one was last month (Dec 2017)).

    - Create installation media using the following instructions:

         https://www.microsoft.com/en-au/software-download/windows10

     - Use installtion media to install Windows 10.

Windows 10 will activate using key which is embedded in BIOS of your machine.

Regards.

[Zelo]

My thinking was to add a new partition of 500GB, thereby shrinking the C drive, then making recovery disks.  It would seem, from what I have found around the net that then the system drive (the existing partitions) to be restored would look like 500GB instead of 1 TB since the new partition would appear as a different drive.  There are indications in different forums that this is a way to fit a smaller drive using recovery disks.  I know there is always an alternative to do the win 10 clean install by downloading from their site, make a boot disk, load it in, as an option.  I suppose the easy (and expensive) option would be a 1 TB SSD.

If something like the partition/recovery disk route would work, it would be great.  I have 2 - M.2 NVMe sockets, so the ssd could be fairly straightforward whichever way it needs to be done.  I was hoping I could parition/shrink the HDD, make recovery disks, make any required changes to BIOS etc., unplug the HDD, boot from recovery disks and go from there.  It all hinges on making the HDD look smaller before making the recovery disks. 

By the way, machine's brand new, not turned on yet.  I couldn't find one without the touch screen and with SSD.  We have had 2 touchscreens and think it was 2 too many.

[Zelo]

I downloaded the HP SSD Upgrade Kit Installation Guide -

Option 1: Setting the HP SSD as Your Primary Boot Drive – Clean Install of OS, Drivers and Programs...................5
Option 2: Setting the HP SSD as Your Secondary (Non-System) Storage Drive....................................................7
Option 3: Setting Up the HP SSD as a Portable Storage Device........................................................................8
Option 4: Setting Up the HP SSD as Your Primary Boot Drive – Cloning Your Current System................................9

Option 1 is put the new SSD in the machine and use the recovery disks to install the factory OS.  No mention of whether the SSD has to be the same size.

Option 4 discusses what to do cloning a hard drive that is bigger than the SSD.

It would appear, from hp support documents that a clean install is a case of putting the new SSD in the machine and using the recovery disks, with the obvious cavaet being the SSD has to have more than enough capacity to hold the OS.

It's from 2013, but I would guess that win 10 shouldn't be much different.  If I can't get a definitive answer here I'll try this approach on my laptop (win 10) first as it's easier to pull apart, isn't on warranty, and I don't use it much.