Upgraded my hard drives

[foggog2]

I bought a new computer and I got an SSD and new hard drive. I want to put windows on the ssd I just bought but don't want to erase all of the data on my old hard drive, is it possible for me to move my notepads and images onto my new hard drive, wipe the old one and then reinstall windows onto the ssd?

[NinJake]

Of course. That's actually the recommended way. Clean install windows on the SSD. Store any media on your hard drive. Just don't have the new hard drive plugged in when you install windows to ensure you don't accidentally reformat it.

 

Programs and software and games might not transfer so easily as they may write to the registry.

[foggog2]

1 minute ago, NinJake said:

Of course. That's actually the recommended way. Clean install windows on the SSD. Store any media on your hard drive. Just don't have the new hard drive plugged in when you install windows to ensure you don't accidentally reformat it.

 

Programs and software and games might not transfer so easily as they may write to the registry.

All I want to transfer over are images, videos and notepads

[NinJake]

Just now, foggog2 said:

All I want to transfer over are images, videos and notepads

Then you'll be fine. You can even reformat your (old/current) hard drive once it's all said and done and keep it as a backup drive. (2 places to store data is better than 1!)

[foggog2]

2 minutes ago, NinJake said:

Then you'll be fine. You can even reformat your (old/current) hard drive once it's all said and done and keep it as a backup drive. (2 places to store data is better than 1!)

I will be using my new hard drive, old one and the new ssd, should I just unplug the one with all the notepads and stuff on it and then replug it once I have the fresh install of windows?

[NinJake]

Just now, foggog2 said:

I will be using my new hard drive, old one and the new ssd, should I just unplug the one with all the notepads and stuff on it and then replug it once I have the fresh install of windows?

This is not necessary but it's highly recommended to create a system image of your current drive before anything else.

 

I would just plug in your new hard drive, and format it with a drive letter like Z:

Transfer your media to Z:

Unplug the Z: drive once complete (confirm all data is there first)

 

Once Z: is unplugged, unplug your current drive as well and only plug in your new SSD.

Install windows on SSD. Confirm windows boots.

 

Plug the Z: drive back in and once again verify there are no issues.

 

Only once your new SSD and HDD are 100% working, then you can go ahead and reformat your old drive.

[foggog2]

Just now, NinJake said:

This is not necessary but it's highly recommended to create a system image of your current drive before anything else.

 

I would just plug in your new hard drive, and format it with a drive letter like Z:

Transfer your media to Z:

Unplug the Z: drive once complete (confirm all data is there first)

 

Once Z: is unplugged, unplug your current drive as well and only plug in your new SSD.

Install windows on SSD. Confirm windows boots.

 

Plug the Z: drive back in and once again verify there are no issues.

 

Only once your new SSD and HDD are 100% working, then you can go ahead and reformat your old drive.

I thought that if I did that it wouldn't load since I would have windows on my old hard drive and my ssd

[NinJake]

Just now, foggog2 said:

I thought that if I did that it wouldn't load since I would have windows on my old hard drive and my ssd

In BIOS you can manually select which device you want to boot from.

[foggog2]

Just now, NinJake said:

In BIOS you can manually select which device you want to boot from.

Is it possible for me to just delete windows from the old drive so I can keep all of the other stuff I have installed?

[NinJake]

13 minutes ago, foggog2 said:

Is it possible for me to just delete windows from the old drive so I can keep all of the other stuff I have installed?

It's possible but I'd recommend reformatting.

[seagate_surfer]

If the 2 drives are connected at a time just locate the pictures or the folder containing the pictures, and press Ctrl+C. Then, in File Explorer, go to the location you want to copy the pictures in the new drive, and paste them by pressing Ctrl+V.