So far this process has worked nicely.
I was able to do the fresh W10 install, SONAR and Studio One, all the plugs, configured and working before really flipping the switch to this new drive ( doing client work on the prior drive).
New drive is now running lean and mean, cloned with the clone sitting on the shelf for the inevitable SONAR project that returns from the dead and needs to be transferred.
At this point I'm anxious to make the switch to Studio One. For the occasional tweak when it doesn't do something SONAR did, there are 5 other things that it does better and more logically. I'm not sure I'm going to really miss SONAR ( after 20 years of loyalty...)
Onward and forward. Appreciate the input from many of you fellow SONAR users over the years. Think I will miss this community more than the actual software :)