Installing windows 7HDD question

[Krankyboi]

Hello! Basically I am about to upgrade to my new parts, aka CPU, SSD and Motherboard. Now I already have 2 HDD's and one has Windows on it currently, obviously, and other one is just for files. I plan to install OS onto the brand new SSD. 

 

Now my question is, when I am installing Windows 7 and I get to the drives part, what do I do with the 2 drives that already have files on them, I want to completely erase them so do I put the ''New'' or do I ''Format'' and for the brand new, untouched SSD that I want to put my OS into, do I 'format' or 'New', just saw these two options in a few videos and got confused as to what to do. 

[Goodman2265]

Format those 2 drives.

For the SSD it should be formatted already so you just select that drive for install. If not just click New and then Ok and then continue

[Flavortown2k16]

I havent done this for while now but theres option to clear all the files and do fresh install. Also after that if the ssd doesnt allow to be set as boot device then u need to format it

[Krankyboi]

Thank you guys  

[Naeaes]

When you're installing the OS, only plug in the SSD. Do not plug in the HDDs at all until the OS is fully installed. I'll edit to elaborate.

 

Edit:

Each time you install an operating system, on one of the drives (usually the one that's in the first sata port) an extra partition called the Master Boot Record or MBR is created. That small and hidden partition contains the information about what filesystems and format tables you have but also what operating systems there are and where they're located. In a fully functioning system there can only be one MBR which has lists of everything. SO in order to keep it this way, the installation looks for old MBRs and only updates them with new information about the new OS.

 

Currently your MBR is likely located on the HDD that has the OS. If you keep that HDD plugged in, your new installation will find the old MBR on it and install the OS on the SSD as you planned. You'll be none the wiser. But the result of all this will be that in order to find the OS on the SSD, the HDD has to be spun up and read first. It'll result in long boot up times. Way longer than what you'd expect from an SSD.

 

The only sure-fire way to prevent this is to only plug in the SSD. Once you've installe dthe OS, you can then boot up with the HDDs plugged in and remove the partitions on them. Remove being key, formatting what used to be your C:\, won't remove the old and now obsolete MBR.

[Krankyboi]

6 minutes ago, Naeaes said:

When you're installing the OS, only plug in the SSD. Do not plug in the HDDs at all until the OS is fully installed. I'll edit to elaborate.

But then once Windows is up and running, I know I can install the HDD with only files on it, but won't it cause problems with the other HDD that has the same version of Windows on it? 

[Krankyboi]

12 minutes ago, Naeaes said:

When you're installing the OS, only plug in the SSD. Do not plug in the HDDs at all until the OS is fully installed. I'll edit to elaborate.

 

Edit:

Each time you install an operating system, on one of the drives (usually the one that's in the first sata port) an extra partition called the Master Boot Record or MBR is created. That small and hidden partition contains the information about what filesystems and format tables you have but also what operating systems there are and where they're located. In a fully functioning system there can only be one MBR which has lists of everything. SO in order to keep it this way, the installation looks for old MBRs and only updates them with new information about the new OS.

 

Currently your MBR is likely located on the HDD that has the OS. If you keep that HDD plugged in, your new installation will find the old MBR on it and install the OS on the SSD as you planned. You'll be none the wiser. But the result of all this will be that in order to find the OS on the SSD, the HDD has to be spun up and read first. It'll result in long boot up times. Way longer than what you'd expect from an SSD.

 

The only sure-fire way to prevent this is to only plug in the SSD. Once you've installe dthe OS, you can then boot up with the HDDs plugged in and remove the partitions on them. Remove being key, formatting what used to be your C:\, won't remove the old and now obsolete MBR.

Oooh I see I see, thanks for this. Quickly though, once I do have the OS installed on the SSD and then I connect the HDD's and reboot, how do I delete ''Partitions'' if formatting won't remove it? 

[Naeaes]

3 minutes ago, Krankyboi said:

But then once Windows is up and running, I know I can install the HDD with only files on it, but won't it cause problems with the other HDD that has the same version of Windows on it? 

It's fine. Windows is only "aware" of itself when it's booted op. It's not like your old OS will in anyway tell the new OS that it's there and there should be a problem. Your old Windows will just be a collection of files in the eyes of the other OS. If you use the same license key, the way MS does it is that the old one will lose it's activation and there's no need (or even way) to un-activate. That's how you need to do it with Adobe and others, but not Microsoft.

[Naeaes]

1 minute ago, Krankyboi said:

Oooh I see I see, thanks for this. Quickly though, once I do have the OS installed on the SSD and then I connect the HDD's and reboot, how do I delete ''Partitions'' if formatting won't remove it? 

Open Disk management. In there you can do it all. Remove, resize, re-format, re-activate... Here's a how-to but basically it's just right-click -> remove -> right-click -> create new. BTW, that 300MB partition in the picture in that link is the MBR. You can see yours in similar way in your disk management.

[Krankyboi]

4 minutes ago, Naeaes said:

Open Disk management. In there you can do it all. Remove, resize, re-format, re-activate... Here's a how-to but basically it's just right-click -> remove -> right-click -> create new. BTW, that 300MB partition in the picture in that link is the MBR. You can see yours in similar way in your disk management.

Oh I see, thanks a lot