He sat back in his chair, the adrenaline of the technical procedure fading into a warm satisfaction. He had taken a machine on its last legs and given it a new life.

Use Microsoft’s official tool to turn your USB into a bootable installer.

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Installing Windows 10 on a new hard drive is a straightforward process that involves preparing a bootable USB, configuring your computer to boot from it, and following the setup wizard. Before starting, ensure you have the following:

The desktop appeared. That iconic blue Windows wallpaper, the beam of light shining through the window. The recycle bin sat in the corner, lonely and pristine.

Elias moved the mouse. It was instantaneous. No lag, no waiting for the HDD to spin up and hunt for the data. It was crisp. Responsive. The computer felt ten years younger.

The screen went black. Then, the familiar spinning circle of white dots appeared. Underneath it, the text: Getting devices ready.

A blank USB flash drive with at least 8 GB of storage. Step 1: Create the Windows 10 Installation Media

He barely had time to check his phone before the computer abruptly rebooted.

He slotted the drive into the bay. It was surprisingly light, almost anticlimactic. He screwed it in, the magnetic screwdriver hovering, guided by muscle memory. He connected the SATA cable—the data highway—and the power cable, the red and black wires snapping into place with a satisfying click .

The list showed two drives. Drive 0: The old, dying HDD (931 GB). Drive 1: The new SSD (931 GB).