Questions about migrating to an SSD

Dr IllumiNAUGHTY

Commendable
May 25, 2016
1
0
1,510
Hey there!

I've just bought my first SSD (http://amzn.to/1NMSJzT) and it is coming tomorrow. I don't want to clone my current HDD because I will be using the two concurrently, with the HDD as the main storage drive and the SSD reserved for my OS (Windows 10 Pro 64-bit) and games I'd like to slash the loading times on (BF4, Arma 3, etc..).

As I understand, my best option would be to install a fresh copy of my OS on the new drive and just set it as my boot device. However this opens up more questions than it closes. I've never migrated OS to a different drive on the same system. Will I be able to use the programs I've installed into the OS on my other drive, or will they be unusable as they're 'keyed-in' to two different registry tables? Will I be able to install new programs into my old Program Files directory without it detecting my old OS installation and saying 'Yep, here's the OS', causing problems during use?

If anyone could shead light on the specifics of OS Migration and what I can expect come tomorrow, I'd be very grateful.
 
Solution
Just make sure the HDD is disconnected when you're installing Windows on the SSD, and when you connect it back up, make sure the SSD is at the top of the boot priority list.
You won't be able to use the programs installed on the HDD unless you install them again with the SSD, but the old OS installation shouldn't cause any problems. It'll pretty much just be ignored if you boot from the SSD.

Mattib 050

Honorable
Nov 24, 2013
332
0
10,960
Just make sure the HDD is disconnected when you're installing Windows on the SSD, and when you connect it back up, make sure the SSD is at the top of the boot priority list.
You won't be able to use the programs installed on the HDD unless you install them again with the SSD, but the old OS installation shouldn't cause any problems. It'll pretty much just be ignored if you boot from the SSD.
 
Solution