Windows 10: After SSD Installation What Do I Do With Old HDD

Hello Everyone,

I just installed a new 500 gb SSD and successfully moved the Operating System and data. I want to use the old HDD that still has an OS for storage. What do I need to do next? I downloaded AOMEI Petition Assistant but am not sure which option(s) I should choose. Perhaps AOMEI is not the answer? Any advice would be appreciated.

:)

 

Need help knowing how to properly do a clean installation

I just bought a brand new ssd that i want to install into my pc. It runs on a really slow hdd which is my only hard drive. I want to do a fresh reinstall of windows 10 and transfer my old windows that is on the hdd onto the ssd. I know that i will need to
install the ssd and i need a windows installation usb drive. So when i plug in the usb drive and boot from it, at the installation screen i will click custom installation and it will show a list of my hard drives to install windows to. I am pretty sure the
ssd will show up as unallocated because it is brand new and the hdd will show up as whatever space it occupies on it. I just want to make sure do i select the ssd and press new at the bottom, then press ok for the default size in megabytes and then what do
i do?

And after windows is on the ssd, will there be a windows remaining on the hdd?

I would like to use ssd for windows, and hdd for a mass storage device.

 

Upgraded to Win10 in old HDD - Now want to do clean install in new SSD

Hi All,

I successfully upgraded from Win 8.1 to Win 10 (both Pro 64-bit) in PC's old HDD. Now I want do a clean install on a brand new SSD. I have a few questions before I buy the SSD.

1. First off, is it possible to do a clean install of Win 10 in the new SSD especially after I upgraded from Win 8.1 to Win 10 in the old HDD?

2. If 1 is possible, should I use the Win 10 Media Creation tool to create the ISO
or just download an untouched Win 10 Pro 64 bit ISO, burn it to a DVD and do a straightforward install?

3. At any point do I need to enter the Win 10 license key or will the new SSD take the license info from the motherboard during the clean install? I have used a Win 10 license key viewing tool to find
out what it is.

4. What happens to the Win 10 in the old HDD? Does it get deactivated on its own?

5. I only plan to use the SSD and discard the HDD if all is successful.

Thanks!

 

The first thing you need to do is leave the HDD disconnected. Boot the computer with only the SSD connected. That will ensure that you won't have any problems when you set up the HDD for storage. If the computer boots with only the SSD connected, then you can reconnect the HDD.

I like to use MiniTool Partition Wizard free, so that is what I am familiar with. Whatever program you use, you will want to delete every partition on the HDD. That will erase everything on it. Then create at least 1 partition, formatted NTFS, for data storage. How many data storage partitions you create is up to you. Also make sure the program is set to assign a drive letter to the partitions that you create. Make sure to click the apply button if the partitioning program has one!

MiniTool Partition Manager—Partition Wizard

You can also use Windows built-in disk management to do that, and in command line using diskpart. But I like MiniTool Partition Wizard because it is easier and more versatile.

 

Thank you NavyLCDR! That's just what I needed to know. One last question: for mostly storing photographs and general files, what are your thoughts on how many partitions I should create on this 1 TB drive? Any pros or cons that would be good to know? Thanks again for the helpful reply!

 

I would just do one. There's only 1 real advantage to doing more than one. If you are going to have a bunch of data that isn't going to change very frequently then you might want that on a separate partition. That way if you are going to make backup images of your partitions you can do that partition less frequently and do the partition that contains frequently changing data more often.

 

When using Mini Tool Partition Wizard, check no partitions on the HDD are active and set them inactive if so - this will avoid boot problems and may improve boot time.

You could install your spare HDD in an external disk caddy to use it as a USB portable drive.