How to Install OS on SSD but Not Make the SSD the Main Drive?

silverwoods2

Commendable
Jun 10, 2016
13
1
1,515
So about a year ago I bought a 128G SSD. I completely wiped my computer and then plugged in the SSD to install the OS. I didn't have my 1TB HD plugged in when I did this so that I knew that the OS was for sure going to be on the SSD. After the OS was installed, I plugged in my HD. Everything worked fine except I didn't realize that everything was saving to my C: (SSD). Fast forward to current day. I want to wipe my PC for unrelated reasons. How do I get it so that my operating system is on my SSD but my hard drive is the default drive?
 

R_1

Expert
Ambassador
two ways a simple way and a hard way
Simple: setup the drive (ssd) as a cache for the HDD. the OS will be on both the SSD (cached files) and the HDD (Original files). the systems most acessed files will be cached to the SSD. SSD speed without the babysitting. See Primo Cache. See also Intel SRT.
SSD caching is not exactly what you want, but it is the closest thing I can think of.

Hard way: install to SSD, babysit every download and make sure you are forcing it to save/install on the HDD. this is the way you have been using.
the Windows drive will always want to be the C: drive and the default drive for installing files and Downloads in windows is the C:. I do not know if you can change the default drive. Hence all the babysitting.

easy way Linux:
when setting up your drive in the Linux install setup the SSD as the / partition, and the HDD as /HOME. / partition will house the programs and the OS. /HOME will house all your files and downloads. I do not suggest setting separate partitions on a single drive scenario.
 

silverwoods2

Commendable
Jun 10, 2016
13
1
1,515


So how do I go about the non-babysitting method?