how to install windows to a new ssd when the old one is shot

[theimortal1974]

the ssd drive on my hp 15 omen is completely shot.  the computer can't stay on more than a few minutes before bluescreening a boot drive problem.  nothing works because it requires the computer to be on too long.  i've tried windows recovery. reset (tries one time and now it fails instantly whenever i try).

anyway the reason why i'm here is i plan to replace the ssd drive and since i have no windows recovery since the old one is corrupted how can i install windows on a fresh ssd drive?  will it still detect the rest of my hardware and let me go through without buying a new windows 10?  i know how to install a fresh windows  (usb restore stick) but i'm concerned that i will have to buy a whole new license.  if so no big deal but i'd like to know ahead of time what i'm in for.

[Dexterian]

The easiest way to install Windows 10 is to get the official ISO via Microsoft Media Creation Tool Download Windows 10 (microsoft.com) to a USB stick. As you said you are familiar with the process, then you are ready to go. The Windows 10 licence is tied to the bios, so the installation process will find it and install the proper version. It's really convenient and you have the advantage of a clean windows without any preinstalled software. Most drivers if not all will be installed via Windows Update. If there are more driver installations needed, you will find the apropriate drivers on the HP Drivers & Download site: Official HP® Drivers and Software Download | HP® Customer Support.

Hope it helps!

[Paul_Tikkanen]

Hi, @theimortal1974 

Your notebook is also supported by the HP cloud recovery tool which you can use to create a bootable USB recovery drive that will reinstall W10, the drivers and the software that originally came with your notebook.

Here is an info link for how to use that utility...

HP Consumer PCs - Using the HP Cloud Recovery Tool (Windows 10, 11) | HP® Customer Support

[theimortal1974]

thanks for your help.  lastly which of these ssd hard drives would you recommend?  https://www.bestbuy.com/site/searchpage.jsp?id=pcat17071&qp=storepickupstores_facet%3DStore%20Availa... 

i want a 1tb gen 4 ssd stick so not everything on that page is relevant.

basically 

WD - WD_BLACK SN850 NVMe Gaming 1TB PCIe Gen 4 x4 Internal Solid State Drive

Samsung - 980 PRO 1TB PCIe Gen 4 x4 NVMe Gaming Internal Solid State Drive 

there are others that are not in stock but i need this today.

[Paul_Tikkanen]

You're very welcome.

I looked up the part numbers of the NVMe SSD's HP supplies in that model series and they are only PCIe generation 3.

The processor your PC has indicates the PCIe revision is 3.0.

Intel® Core™ i7-10750H Processor (12M Cache, up to 5.00 GHz)

So are you sure that the PCIe gen 4 NVMe SSD's are going to run at their full potential?

I recommend that you compare the manufacturers info and read consumer reviews on each of them and decide which would be your best option.

Data Sheet: WD_BLACK SN850 NVMe SSD (westerndigital.com)

980 PRO | Consumer SSD | Samsung Semiconductor

[theimortal1974]

i didn't realize that the motherboard would be optimized for gen 3.  makes sense though.  i'm 100% new to purchasing ssd drives for something other that game system.  so with that in mind you think to get the best bang for my buck i should stick to gen 3?  i really want to avoid western digital.  had really bad experiences with their external drives.  i got a samsung ssd for my ps4 and it's worked beautifully so far.

[Paul_Tikkanen]

I would go with the 980 Pro (if you plan on moving the drive to a PC that supports PCIe gen 4.0 in the future).

Otherwise I would go with the regular Samsung 980 PCie 3.0 SSD.

Samsung 980 1TB PCIe Gen 3 x4 NVMe Gaming Internal Solid State Drive MZ-V8V1T0B/AM - Best Buy

[theimortal1974 · Accepted solution]

i got the hp one.  it's way faster then my old ssd.  windows 10 installed in like 10 minutes.  usually it would take almost an hour in old computers (i never had to reinstall windows on this computer).  my computer goes from booting up to windows desktop in about 15 seconds.