Looking to breathe new life into your PC with a new hard drive? It doesn’t matter if you have a small hard drive or a defective drive, you won’t have to spend extra cash on a USB port or a flash drive in order to simulate a Windows 11 installation. To perform this, follow a clear and accurate guide that is presented in this article to relocate your Windows 11 to a different drive by use of Windows 11 preinstalled tools.
Step 1: Create a System Image Backup in Windows 11
An image backup will contain everything on your computer including the systems, apps, and files that you have modified.
- Start by typing Control Panel in the Start search box and select Control Panel from the search results.
- Click the Backup and Restore (Windows 7) link under the System and Security category.
- From the left panel, select Create a System Image.
- Press On a hard disk and select your backup location.
- Choose Next, pick the drives you want to save, if applicable, and then click Next.
- Click Start backup and press the No button which is in response to a popup that prompts you to create a repair disk.
- Click Close when the backup has been completed.
With the image prepared you can then refresh the current state of the system onto the new hard disk.
Step 2: Create Bootable USB Recovery Drive
One more thing before moving on, you are required to have your bootable USB at the ready so if anything happens you will be able to reinstall the system onto the new hard drive.
- Get the Windows 11 it from the site we made earlier.
- You’ll find it somewhere with the big letters Create Windows 11 Installation Media. It was a link to download it.
- Navigate to the Media Creation Tool which was recently downloaded)
- Before anything else, agree to the terms and decide your language and edition.
- Get the USB flash drive and put your USB inside then click the Next button.
- You will see your USB in the list. Click on it and then click on the Next button.
- Then click Finish to your setup.
A recovery drive has been made into a bootable USB.
Step 3: Replace the Old Hard Drive with the New One 
- First, you have to turn off your computer and of course, unplug all the peripherals from it.
- Go to the laptop or desktop case.
- Look for the model of the hard drive and obviously, remove it from the computer, but if it’s an SSD type drive then you will remove it using the power and data cables, while if it’s an NME type drive you will remove it by unscrewing and sliding it out.
- For SSD/HDD: Unplug the power and data cables.
- For NVMe: Remove the screws and pull it out.
- Set the new hard disk, fix it, and connect the necessary cables.
- Then, close the case and plug everything back in.
Your upgraded hard drive has been completely protected but the OS is not already in place.
Step 4: Restore Windows 11 from the System Image
- Insert the USB bootable drive and power on the PC to start the repair process.
- Press any key when prompted to boot from USB storage.
- In the Windows Setup, select Next > Repair your computer.
- Click Troubleshoot > System Image Recovery.
- Choose Use the last available system image and click Next.
- Click Finish > Yes to agree to the restoration process.
- If you cannot access BitLocker during the restoration prompt, follow the confirmation procedure to continue and then restart your PC.
Your newest drive exhibits the entire setup of your Windows 11! 
Step 5: Reconfigure Partitions After Recovery
If your fresh new drive has more storage space than the old one, then you might want to add the existing space which is unassigned.
Create a New Partition for Extra Storage
- Select the option of Settings > System > Storage.
- Easy and Simple storage, you go to Advanced storage settings > Disks & volumes and click on the unallocated space there.
- Choose an unoccupied space and go to Create Volume.
- First, enter a name and comment and then choose NTFS in the file system.
- Click on the Format and then click on Finish.
Expand Windows 11 Partition to Use Unallocated Space
- Click on the Start icon type the Disk Management and then execute it.
- Click on the C: drive, and then select Extend Volume from the menu that appears.
- Proceed as a partition extension guide instructs it.
After the reset, you can go to Settings > Privacy & Security to re-enable BitLocker.
Final Thoughts
You are a newbie to Windows 11. You get it installed on a different hard drive by using this.do not have to purchase tools from third-party vendors. This way saves your settings and apps and gives you a restful experience. If you’re moving up to a solid-state drive, you’ll notice a faster boot and better system response.