SSD as boot drive, HDD as main storage

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ChrisDenton

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Jan 4, 2014
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I recently got a Crucial M500 240GB SSD which I would like to have my Windows 7 operating system installed on along with a few games, however, Windows 7 is currently installed on my 2TB HDD which also contains all my programs and files. My problem lies with the fact that Windows 7 was pre-installed onto the computer when I bought it and so I do not have the installation disk for it, therefore I cannot install it onto the SSD using an installation disk. My question is how would I be able to install Windows 7 onto my SSD and set it as my main boot drive, whilst keeping all my current files and data on my HDD. Any information will be greatly appreciated.
 
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lilpopjim

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Mar 7, 2011
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Well, first question would be, how much data do you currently have on your 2TB drive because this would be a big factor in a minute.

Secondly, If it's larger than 250GB would you be able to slim it down to <250?

Thirdly, both intel and samsung provide migration software which basically allows you to clone your main drive and copy it onto the SSD. You can then use the SSD as your main drive and then just reformat the 2TB drive and use that as your storage drive!

I'm not entirely sure is both of these software allow you to do so, i'm pretty sure that samsungs one is only for their drives as for Intel i would expect that to open, as in it would allow you to clone any drive, to any drive!

Hope this helps!
 
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SimonGranstrom

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Aug 20, 2013
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There should be a sticker on your case with the W7 version and product key, download a ISO version of your OS and install with your key.
You can do as i did with my SSD, install the new OS on the SSD and don't format the HDD. The downside is that about 30gb will be allocated on your storage drive for the old OS.
 
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Y0GI

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Jul 22, 2013
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1) D/L, install and run Belarc Advisor to get your Win 7 product key: http://www.belarc.com/free_download.html

2) D/L a free, legal copy of Win 7 which you can burn to a CD/DVD: http://www.w7forums.com/threads/official-windows-7-sp1-iso-image-downloads.12325/

3) Burn the downloaded .ISO file to a disk using imgburn: http://www.imgburn.com/

4) Disconnect you HDD and install Win 7 on the SSD. Install all drivers and Windows updates.

5) Reconnect your HDD and copy over frequently accessed files. Re-install any needed games or applications on the new SSD.

6) Enjoy!

Yogi
 
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ChrisDenton

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Jan 4, 2014
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Thanks for the great response! But how would I go about disconnecting my HDD?
 
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