HDD and SSD setup?

Solution
P.S: Back up your registry before doing this... Do so by opening regedit (mentioned below) and clicking File > Export > Save. That will save you in case of failure :)

Open regedit (Start > Run > "regedit"). Then find "HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion". Now look in the right pane. Change "ProgramFilesDir", "ProgramFilesPath", "ProgramW6432Dir" and "ProgramFilesDir (x86)". If your secondary drive letter is D:\, then change them to "D:\Program Files", "D:\Program Files", "D:\Program Files" and "D:\Program Files (x86)", in that order that I just mentioned. You should be good to go from here.

Good luck!

Yogi

EonW

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With an SSD, it is usual now to put your operating system on this, as it will boot much faster. From there, unless you have a very big SSD, then you can put most of your other programs onto the HDD, including games. I would suggest, though, keeping any antivirus programs and office programs on the SSD as well. After that it is your choice.
 
P.S: Back up your registry before doing this... Do so by opening regedit (mentioned below) and clicking File > Export > Save. That will save you in case of failure :)

Open regedit (Start > Run > "regedit"). Then find "HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion". Now look in the right pane. Change "ProgramFilesDir", "ProgramFilesPath", "ProgramW6432Dir" and "ProgramFilesDir (x86)". If your secondary drive letter is D:\, then change them to "D:\Program Files", "D:\Program Files", "D:\Program Files" and "D:\Program Files (x86)", in that order that I just mentioned. You should be good to go from here.

Good luck!

Yogi
 
Solution

popatim

Titan
Moderator
When you install a program it typically will tell you where its going to install to while also giving you the option to change it. You would change it to your HDD , probably called D: so I suggest making a folder on you D: drive and name it Programs to give you a folder to install to. Maybe make a games folder too if you want to seperate them out from programs.

If the install doesn't give you this option then back up and go with the "Custom" installation option.
 

gamer2121

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Thanks guys. Hey guys, is a quick format for a basically new but slightly used ssd enough to completely prepare it for a clean installation of windows? The thing is, I tried to migrate my hdd data to my new ssd without reinstalling windows 7 and something prevented it from all working correctly even though I pretty much followed a tutorial for that on the lifehacker website but the info was partially incorrect, so I had to make a slight improvisation and that's the gist of it. I then quick formatted it. I then went and followed one of the tutorials on this website instead of coming back here to check this thread and when I got it all set up, it was downloading device drivers slower than I'd ever seen and advanced system care said there were a large amount of errors on it(registry errors already). How is that possible? Please help me. Thanks again.
 


It is best to perform a "Secure Erase" to wipe the previous information from an SSD. Check the utilities CD that came with your SSD for this program.

Yogi

 

gamer2121

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I didn't have a utilities cd-it was an semi-oem I guess the term would be lol-I just got a box with an ssd in it. Nothing more. Would a format from the windows installation cd suffice? The advanced menu?

 

EonW

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If you try to move programs across from one drive to another, it can end up with broken links.You may be better wiping the SSD and reinstalling Windows fresh onto it, using the installation cd, then reinstalling your programs onto the HDD. If you have data not directly linked in with a program (eg documents) you could save these on a USB drive, and format your HDD as well, so you are starting off with a clean slate all round.
 


No, a format is not as good as a secure erase.

Who made it?

Yogi

 

gamer2121

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Thank you very much. So you mean to just keep the hdd plugged in this time around and upon arrival at the screen where it says advanced or something click that and choose to format both the hdd and ssd?
 

gamer2121

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Crucial brand. Where would I be able to go to perform a secure erase this case with a non existent utilities cd? Thanks

 

EonW

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Yes, though you can format the HDD directly from Windows prior to reinstalling on the SSD if you do not have the OS on it (Windows won't let you wipe itself). When you boot into the computer with the installation cd, just follow instuctions to put Windows on the SSD, and this will give you an option to wipe the present copy of Windows on the SSD and install a fresh one. Just make sure then that AHCI is enabled in BIOS for the SSD, and all the chipset drivers are loaded (check in device manager after install).
Good luck.

 


Look here: http://forums.crucial.com/t5/Solid-State-Drives-SSD/How-to-Secure-erase-an-M4-Drive/td-p/117076
And here: http://forums.crucial.com/t5/Solid-State-Drives-SSD-Knowledge/SSDs-and-Secure-Erase/ta-p/112580 and note the following from the last paragraph in that article: "Once you've followed these steps, you will need to let the drive sit idle for an extended period, ideally at least overnight. This will allow an in-built function called Garbage Collection to clean all the cells and effectively prepare the drive for re-use. Avoiding this step could result in poor performance when re-using the SSD."

Yogi

 

gamer2121

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Thanks a lot. Gonna try now.

 

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