How can I recover files from an SSD that still has my old operating system?

You may be able to boot the new PC directly from the old SSD, but using it only as a secondary drive is generally safer. The old Windows installation may have laptop-specific drivers and could behave poorly on completely different hardware. Copy the files to a separate drive first, then decide whether to reuse or erase the SSD.

If the files are especially important, make a full clone or image of the SSD before changing anything. That gives you a backup in case the drive is failing or something goes wrong during recovery. Specialized cloning software can copy the entire drive to another SSD, while ordinary file copying is enough if you only need selected documents.

You can usually install the SSD internally in the new computer as a secondary drive, then boot from the new system drive and copy your files over. An external USB enclosure or adapter is another option if you’d rather not install it inside the PC. Don’t format the old SSD until you’ve confirmed that everything important has been backed up.

One possible complication is encryption. Recent Windows installations may have BitLocker enabled automatically, especially if the laptop was connected to a Microsoft account. You’ll need the recovery key to unlock the drive; check your Microsoft account’s device recovery-key page and any saved records. Without that key, the encrypted files may not be recoverable.