Need help moving OS and some apps into SSD

[hps]

I've recently bought an SSD to upgrade my desktop. My plan is to install applications and Windows 10 on the SSD, and use my original HDD for storing games and files that don't get accessed very often.

This seems like a reasonably simple thing, but I can't find anything on what exactly I need to do (probably because I can't find the right keywords).

 

I know I have to install windows into the SSD, to allow my computer to boot off of it. What do I need to do to:

1. Safely (i.e. without having to delete my data) uninstall windows from the old HDD without having to backup the data (the SSD is 250 GB and I have around 800GB in the HDD)

2. Copy the applications and their data into the SSD, while still choosing what to move.

Is this even possible to do easily?

Thanks in advance.

[Techicolors]

1. Do you have Windows 10? download the Media Creation Tool and install W10 on the SSD.

2. Just copy the files over to your SSD. some programs may not work properly if this is done however and require a full reinstallation. 

[hps]

1 minute ago, Technicolors said:

1. Do you have Windows 10? download the Media Creation Tool and install W10 on the SSD.

2. Just copy the files over to your SSD. some programs may not work properly if this is done however and require a full reinstallation. 

 

How do I uninstall Windows from the HDD, though?

 

I considered just copying the data, as you said. I was just wondering if there was an easier method. I'll give it a shot and work from there.

[Mira Yurizaki]

22 minutes ago, hps said:

1. Safely (i.e. without having to delete my data) uninstall windows from the old HDD without having to backup the data (the SSD is 250 GB and I have around 800GB in the HDD)

There's no "uninstalling Windows" other than the brute force method of simply deleting C:\Windows. The problem is that the new install will honor the permissions of the folders and files, even though you won't be needing them. It can make removing some files (like the page file) very hard, if not impossible to remove, because not even an administrator account can modify them.

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2. Copy the applications and their data into the SSD, while still choosing what to move.

It's better to reinstall the applications you'll need. As for their data, they either live in your libraries (most likely the "Documents" folder), the %APPDATA% folder (type that in File Explorer or the run command) or C:\ProgramData. You can copy and paste that without issue, usually.

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Is this even possible to do easily?

Yes and no. Some things won't be that easy.

[hps]

4 minutes ago, M.Yurizaki said:

There's no "uninstalling Windows" other than the brute force method of simply deleting C:\Windows. The problem though is that the new install will honor the permissions of the folders and files, even though you won't be needing them. It can make removing some files (like the page file) very hard, if not impossible to remove, because not even an administrator account can modify them.

 

I'd have to do that while booting from the SSD or a flash drive, right?

[Mira Yurizaki]

1 minute ago, hps said:

I'd have to do that while booting from the SSD or a flash drive, right?

It's best to do it with a Linux distro that can do NTFS writes. Linux ignores NTFS permissions.

[Noyu]

is this what you're looking for?

 

btw I can't confirm if that works seamlessly. but I've read other people do it successfully.

 

me, I just clean install everytime. makes my system snappier too.

[vrod]

If it's possible. Take a backup of your games and other files to a 3rd drive. Then install windows on the ssd, copy things onto it and completely zero the old hdd. This will help greatly to prevent quick fragmentation and it will run faster with just zero's on the platters. Then format the HDD and copy your files back onto it.

[hps]

4 minutes ago, Noyu said:

is this what you're looking for?

 

btw I can't confirm if that works seamlessly. but I've read other people do it successfully.

 

me, I just clean install everytime. makes my system snappier too.

 

I can't do that, unfortunately, the SSD is too small for a simple clone. I'm considering just copying what I want and backing up the HDD (what I can, at least). Then reformating the HDD and reinstalling the applications.

1 minute ago, vrod said:

If it's possible. Take a backup of your games and other files to a 3rd drive. Then install windows on the ssd, copy things onto it and completely zero the old hdd. This will help greatly to prevent quick fragmentation and it will run faster with just zero's on the platters. Then format the HDD and copy your files back onto it.

 

Yeah, this does appear to be the best method. Since I don't have a lot of time right now, I was wondering if I was missing an easy way. I'll see if I can borrow a drive to backup my data.

 

Thanks for the help, everyone!