HDD Upgrade question

[duckwithanokhat]

So right now I am running a storage setup like so:

One 120gb OCZ Trion 100 SSD (This holds my OS and some essential programs)

One 1tb WD Blue (This holds everything else, my mass storage)

I am looking to upgrade my 1tb WD blue into maybe a 1tb WD black so I was wondering can I just copy and paste my mass storage to the new drive, or do I have to reinstall everything again?

 

Note: I do not have an OEM OS

[Godlygamer23]

Does the hard drive hold any programs?

[duckwithanokhat]

Just now, Godlygamer23 said:

Does the hard drive hold any programs?

Yes it does.

[Godlygamer23]

Just now, duckwithanokhat said:

Yes it does.

Those may need to be reinstalled. 

[HPWebcamAble]

What's wrong with the Blue? Why do you need a new HDD?
Just get another and use that in addition to what you have if you need more space.

[duckwithanokhat]

1 minute ago, Godlygamer23 said:

Those may need to be reinstalled. 

Aww shucks, that's what I thought but I just wanted to confirm.

[duckwithanokhat]

1 minute ago, HPWebcamAble said:

What's wrong with the Blue? Why do you need a new HDD?
Just get another and use that in addition to what you have if you need more space.

My blue is about 4 years old and is slowing down quiet a bit, so I might use it as a backup.

[GetShrektMrKrabs]

if its just videos, documents, pictures. Any file that isn't connected to a program. You could clone the drive. Basically copy pasta

[Roge]

I do believe that you can hook up the second drive in at the same time as the first storage drive, copy everything over (might take some time), and then unplug the first one and use the second one as the primary storage. Sounds good in theory, have never tried it before, so I can't confirm anything.

[Captain_WD]

9 hours ago, duckwithanokhat said:

~snip~

Hey there

 

A few notes from me: 
- If this is a Desktop computer and you have more slots, you can simply pop in another HDD without removing the WD Blue and continue using it without having to go through the trouble of migrating your data. 

 

- If you do need to swap the WD Blue with a new drive and if the new drive is at least as big in capacity as the WD Blue, you can simply clone the WD Blue onto the new drive and the system won't even notice it. If the new drive has a larger capacity you would simply need to manage the remaining unallocated space in Disk Management. This would omit any need for reinstalling any software. 

 

- Check the health of the WD Blue so you have an actual idea of the drive's condition and performance. I'd run WD Data Lifeguard Diagnostic tool and see if the drive passes everything. Also, you can run a benchmark tool and see what speed does the drive have.

 

Post back if there's anything else that I can do for you

 

Captain_WD.