My current hard drive is giving me problems, and I plan on replacing it as I've had it for a long time. I plan on getting an SSD to put windows on, and a serpate, new HDD for the rest of the storage. How would I go about migrating my OS to the SSD and the rest of my data to the HDD, and is it even possible?
Migrating from HDD to SSD+New HDD
- Thread starter Brett_17
- Start date
Solution
SuperSoph_WD
Glorious
- Jul 30, 2014
- 6,758
- 3
- 45,960
Hey there, @Brett_17!
If your current HDD is failing, I'd strongly recommend you do a fresh/clean install of Windows onto the SSD. You shouldn't face any issues with the activation since the OS is tied to the motherboard of your computer. It's not recommended to clone a failing HDD because of the corrupted data that could include system files which would basically affect the performance of the SSD and cause you troubles. If the HDD was perfectly healthy cloning shouldn't be an issue, though.
The best thing to do is clean install Windows onto the SSD while having all secondary HDDs unplugged from the motherboard. If you run the Windows Setup Wizard while having 3 SATA drives connected, you will probably encounter the so-called OS confusion that scatters the system files across all the drives and causes booting issues later on.
NOW, I'd recommend you back up your most important files somewhere off-site (e.g. external HDD or a cloud storage) and then check up on the health and SMART status of your current HDD.
Migrating the OS and programs shouldn't be an issue if your drive is healthy, however, I'd still back it up elsewhere before you start tampering with the storage configuration.
Here's a very detailed Windows Install & Optimization guide for SSDs & HDD that can shed some more light on the step-by-steps regarding clean install & setting up multiple drives.
Keep me posted if you have more questions!
SuperSoph_WD
If your current HDD is failing, I'd strongly recommend you do a fresh/clean install of Windows onto the SSD. You shouldn't face any issues with the activation since the OS is tied to the motherboard of your computer. It's not recommended to clone a failing HDD because of the corrupted data that could include system files which would basically affect the performance of the SSD and cause you troubles. If the HDD was perfectly healthy cloning shouldn't be an issue, though.
The best thing to do is clean install Windows onto the SSD while having all secondary HDDs unplugged from the motherboard. If you run the Windows Setup Wizard while having 3 SATA drives connected, you will probably encounter the so-called OS confusion that scatters the system files across all the drives and causes booting issues later on.
NOW, I'd recommend you back up your most important files somewhere off-site (e.g. external HDD or a cloud storage) and then check up on the health and SMART status of your current HDD.
Migrating the OS and programs shouldn't be an issue if your drive is healthy, however, I'd still back it up elsewhere before you start tampering with the storage configuration.
Here's a very detailed Windows Install & Optimization guide for SSDs & HDD that can shed some more light on the step-by-steps regarding clean install & setting up multiple drives.
Keep me posted if you have more questions!
SuperSoph_WD
Latest posts
-
-
-
Question Buying a used card, what should I look for before purchase?
- Latest: ohio_buckeye
-
-
-
Facebook
Twitter
Instagram