Switching out hdd without reinstalling windows 7

[pixeldensity]

Hi all currently I have a 500 GB hdd I cannibalized from my old hp computer. So storage space is about to run out (thanks Steam and Humble bundle <_< ). SO I thinking of upgrading my hdd to 1 tb or 2tb. Which leads me to my quesstion. How can I switch my hdd without needing to install win 7 again for free if possible? Thank you

[Sheldon_King]

Is windows 7 installed to the 500GB you are replacing?

 

If yes, then you have 2 options. The first is to get a mirroring program and copy the current HDD over to the new hard drive. This is only really useful if you are running a laptop or a desktop with no free 3.5" or 5.25" bays open. The second way is just plug the drive in, boot the computer, go to disk management and format the new drive. You now have access to the new drive and the old drive at the same time.

 

If no, plug in the new drive and format as above, or mirror the drives if you want to.

[pixeldensity]

Okay if i do add a new hdd which raid should I use

[Gronnie]

Don't use raid at all if one drive has your OS and the other is a storage drive.

[pixeldensity]

Don't use raid at all if one drive has your OS and the other is a storage drive.

Why, is it unnecessary or will it cause some complications. Sorry, I'm a noob when it come to this kind of stuff

[Sheldon_King]

Don't use raid at all if one drive has your OS and the other is a storage drive.

Who said anything about RAID? Mirroring the drives just means copying the drive itself using a program such as Acronis True Image.

 

Why, is it unnecessary or will it cause some complications. Sorry, I'm a noob when it come to this kind of stuff

It is unecessary, unless you are looking to get 2 of the same drive and need either more speed or redundancy. You are wasting money either way (as you will only get the capacity of x times the smallest drive with RAID 0 or number of drives minus divided by 2 for RAID 1.

[Gronnie]

Who said anything about RAID? Mirroring the drives just means copying the drive itself using a program such as Acronis True Image.

 

The op did....

[Sheldon_King]

The op did....

Sorry, I missed that response.

 

To the OP again, don't do RAID as it will be a waste of your new harddrive, unless you get a 500GB one, which is irresponisible considering the price is not much lesss than a 1TB.

[pixeldensity]

Sorry, I missed that response.

 

To the OP again, don't do RAID as it will be a waste of your new harddrive, unless you get a 500GB one, which is irresponisible considering the price is not much lesss than a 1TB.

Yeah I plan on adding a 1TB hdd to the 500GB hdd I have right now so sitting in my computer in the near future will be a 500GB and 1TB hdd. So do I just plug it in and go?

[Sheldon_King]

It is not exactly that simple, but on a step by step basis, here is what you do.

 

1. Shut down the computer.

2. power off the PSU (use the switch, or pull the plug) *this is safety step whenever you open the chassis*

3. Open the side panel.

4. Find the drive bay mounting point (it will be where the 500GB drive is).

6. Install the DATA and Power cables to the 1TB drive.

7. Insert it into the drive bay and fasten it down. (Using the correct steps for your chassis.)

8. In reverse order perform steps 3 to 1.

9. Boot up the computer.

10. Go to start and right click on mycomputer and select manage.

11. On the right side you will see Storage and Disk Management. Click on that.

12. Once it loads up (takes a second), look for the uninitialized disk.

13. Right click on it, and choose initialize drive (it is something close to that. I don't remember the exact phrase).

14. Now you will see a 931GB unallocated partition. Right click on it and choose new simple volume. If you want 1 partition, just click next on everything. If you want more partitions choose the size you want the largest to be and follow the same steps, but repeat for the other partitions. Make sure you choose quick format (takes hours to days if you don't), and wait for it to be done.

15. Wait for it to format. When it is done you will be able to go to my computer and click on it just as any disk. Transfer anything you want to it, and if you want programs to use the drive, make sure to change the install path from C:// to D:// (or whatever the letter the computer assigns is) and create the right folder. To keep the drive clean, use folders. Like on mine, instead of making games go to D://, they instead go to D://Games/Steam/.

[pixeldensity]

Thank you for your help.