Adding SSD to Laptop with Existing HDD

[Speedster_ELuu39]

I currently have a Lenovo Legion Y530 with a 1TB Seagate Barracuda HDD and a 16GB Intel Optane H10 Memory occupying the M.2 SSD slot. I want to remove the Optane drive and replace it with an NVMe SSD while keeping the HDD. Is there any way I can make the SSD the Windows boot drive while keeping the data on the HDD and do I have to remove any software and drivers from the Optane drive installed on the laptop?

[Windows7ge]

With a new drive you would have to clone the HDD or (which I would recommend more) perform a clean install of Windows on the NVMe drive.

 

Once you do this you can move your files over to the M.2 and from there use the HDD as general storage.

[Speedster_ELuu39]

2 minutes ago, Windows7ge said:

With a new drive you would have to clone the HDD or (which I would recommend more) perform a clean install of Windows on the NVMe drive.

 

Once you do this you can move your files over to the M.2 and from there use the HDD as general storage.

If I do a clean install, I have to reset the laptop and get the file for the USB boot drive right? If so, do I have to reinstall the programs and drivers that came with the laptop like Lenovo Vantage?

[Windows7ge]

2 minutes ago, Speedster_ELuu39 said:

If I do a clean install, I have to reset the laptop and get the file for the USB boot drive right? If so, do I have to reinstall the programs and drivers that came with the laptop like Lenovo Vantage?

You would be starting from scratch yes. You'd want to create a Windows.ISO bootable thumb drive and install from there. Whatever programs/drivers Windows doesn't decide to self-install you'd have to install manually. This includes any Lenovo suite tools.

 

Make sure you have your Windows Product Key tied to a Microsoft Account first. This will enable you to re-use the old Product Key.

[Speedster_ELuu39]

29 minutes ago, Windows7ge said:

You would be starting from scratch yes. You'd want to create a Windows.ISO bootable thumb drive and install from there. Whatever programs/drivers Windows doesn't decide to self-install you'd have to install manually. This includes any Lenovo suite tools.

 

Make sure you have your Windows Product Key tied to a Microsoft Account first. This will enable you to re-use the old Product Key.

Ok, whats the minimum capacity on the usb flash drive that you would recommend for me to get when getting the boot drive since I have seen like usb drives being used to update car multimedia systems and the files are small but they recommend certain capacities max?

[Windows7ge]

5 minutes ago, Speedster_ELuu39 said:

Ok, whats the minimum capacity on the usb flash drive that you would recommend for me to get when getting the boot drive since I have seen like usb drives being used to update car multimedia systems and the files are small but they recommend certain capacities max?

For installing Windows 10 I would recommend at least an 8GB. You can use larger drives if you'd like to put all of your drivers & software installers on it to just for convenience when installing them after Windows.

[Speedster_ELuu39]

Just now, Windows7ge said:

For installing Windows 10 I would recommend at least an 8GB. You can use larger drives if you'd like to put all of your drivers & software installers on it to just for convenience when installing them after Windows.

Ok,Thanks for your help

[palespartan]

Another option would be something like MiniTool Partition wizard which can transfer your os to the new drive and leave files stored on the old one. Or you can do a full clone of one drive to the other.

[Speedster_ELuu39]

On 11/4/2019 at 2:09 PM, palespartan said:

Another option would be something like MiniTool Partition wizard which can transfer your os to the new drive and leave files stored on the old one. Or you can do a full clone of one drive to the other.

I want to remove the hdd after transferring windows to the usb flash drive, add the SSD and install windows on it. After that works, I want to reinstall the hdd and format it as if I got the SSD in the laptop first. I’ve already backed up my files so I want a fresh reinstall as if it was a factory reset machine. Are there any ways for me to format the hard drive after SSD windows install or do I need a program to do that?