Are files the same after Internal HDD is inserted into enclosure?

[TheEndIsNear]

I want to change the HDD on my laptop to an ssd, and use the HDD in an enclosure as a external hard disk.

But will the files be the same on the Hard disk or do i have to format the hard disk to use as a external hard disk?

 

I prefer not needing to tinker the hard disk as i have no external hard disk to temporary put files into.

[iRileyx]

Why wouldnt they be?
Its just the same as running the hdd outside your case, except in a shell.
Everything will be the same.

[TheEndIsNear]

4 minutes ago, RKRiley said:

Why wouldnt they be?
Its just the same as running the hdd outside your case, except in a shell.
Everything will be the same.

then there will also be 2 partitions when i connect the Hard disk through enclosure by usb?

[iRileyx]

Just now, TheEndIsNear said:

then there will also be 2 partitions when i connect the Hard disk through enclosure by usb?

Unless you add a 2nd partition yourself, no.

[SCHISCHKA]

an enclosure is nothing more than a sata to usb adapter. some external adapters do not recognize raid disks. if you are a winblows user you should not notice as all sata to usb adapters should work with NTFS or FAT/exFAT. I have two USB3 adapters; the cheapest one is the most accommodating in terms of filesystem usage; the other is very specific on whether i use fat/ntfs/ext vs raid

1 minute ago, TheEndIsNear said:

then there will also be 2 partitions when i connect the Hard disk through enclosure by usb?

picture please

[TheEndIsNear]

repeated

Edited November 24, 2016 by TheEndIsNear
repeated

[TheEndIsNear]

13 minutes ago, RKRiley said:

Unless you add a 2nd partition yourself, no.

because its has a c:\ and D:\ on my laptop? so if it already has 2 partitons, when i put it in enclosure it will also appear as a same thing?

 

13 minutes ago, SCHISCHKA said:

an enclosure is nothing more than a sata to usb adapter. some external adapters do not recognize raid disks. if you are a winblows user you should not notice as all sata to usb adapters should work with NTFS or FAT/exFAT. I have two USB3 adapters; the cheapest one is the most accommodating in terms of filesystem usage; the other is very specific on whether i use fat/ntfs/ext vs raid

picture please

i haven't change my laptop's hdd out for a ssd yet. it's just that since this hard disk contains the os of this laptop, it worries me that it will cause problem when it is connected. though i will do a fresh install on the ssd.

Edited November 24, 2016 by TheEndIsNear
Typo

[Naeaes]

5 minutes ago, TheEndIsNear said:

then there will also be 2 partitions when i connect the Hard disk through enclosure by usb?

Yes. Everything will be the same. If you created or there originally was two partitions before, there will be two partitions after.  But there probably are more partitions than just two. Windows has a bunch of hidden partitions too. It'll all be as it was before.

 

Speaking of the hidden partitions, one of the windows-generated hidden partitions is what's called the boot sector. It contains info of what operating system is where and how and when to launch them. Some very serious issues can arise if you have two boot sectors in your machine. So don't have the HDD plugged in as you install your new OS onto the SSD. Otherwise you run the risk of no boot secotr on the SSD and the one on your HDD being updated. If that happens, your BIOS won't be able to boot your new OS without the HDD plugged in. Once you've installed an OS onto the SSD and verified that it works fine, I'd suggest you completely remove your old boot sector and your windows folder and programs. Files you can keep if you don't mind the risk of your old viruses/malware bleeding back over to your new OS. (yes I know you've run a malware scan and it found nothing. That means everything may well be fine OR you missed something. You do not know.)

[iRileyx]

3 minutes ago, TheEndIsNear said:

because its has a c:\ and D:\ on my laptop? so if it already has 2 partitons, when i put it in enclosure it will also appear as a same thing?

 

If it already has 2 then yes it will still have 2...

literally EVERYTHING about it will be the same as it is in the system, it'll just be in a fancy shell outside the system.

[SCHISCHKA]

6 minutes ago, TheEndIsNear said:

it's just that since this hard disk contains the os of this laptop

shouldnt be a problem

[TheEndIsNear]

3 minutes ago, Naeaes said:

Yes. Everything will be the same. If you created or there originally was two partitions before, there will be two partitions after.  But there probably are more partitions than just two. Windows has a bunch of hidden partitions too. It'll all be as it was before.

 

Speaking of the hidden partitions, one of the windows-generated hidden partitions is what's called the boot sector. It contains info of what operating system is where and how and when to launch them. Some very serious issues can arise if you have two boot sectors in your machine. So don't have the HDD plugged in as you install your new OS onto the SSD. Otherwise you run the risk of no boot secotr on the SSD and the one on your HDD being updated. If that happens, your BIOS won't be able to boot your new OS without the HDD plugged in. Once you've installed an OS onto the SSD and verified that it works fine, I'd suggest you completely remove your old boot sector and your windows folder and programs. Files you can keep if you don't mind the risk of your old viruses/malware bleeding back over to your new OS. (yes I know you've run a malware scan and it found nothing. That means everything may well be fine OR you missed something. You do not know.)

is there anyway to delete those hidden partitions? then is it save to plug in the hard drive after a new windows os is installed? thanks for the elaborate explanation btw, i appreciate it 

[Naeaes]

8 minutes ago, TheEndIsNear said:

is there anyway to delete those hidden partitions? then is it save to plug in the hard drive after a new windows os is installed? thanks for the elaborate explanation btw, i appreciate it 

Definitely. Once you've installed the new OS and it's up and running (really, make sure it works and can activate and so on) you can enter your new Windows, plug the HDD in, enter Disk Management and delete the old partitions. Some of them are situated on the drive in such a way that sadly you can't re-use the space but luckily we're talking about a few hundred megabytes so you're golden with just leaving them unallocated. 

 

You can go take a look at the Disk Management right away (right-click the start button and go from there or just search for disk management or "create and format partitions") the ones that do have a letter assigned are the ones that you can see in "My computer" or whatever. The ones without letters are hidden. Depending on your OS version and settings, you should see one for Boot sector, one for OS, One for Data, one for back-up, once for recovery, one for re-installing the OS and so on and so forth.

 

Don't touch the partitions yet though. You do not want to lose access to your old OS before you have the new one up and running.