Can I maintain data from an old HDD on new build/motherboard?

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Jaturna

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Mar 7, 2015
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Been looking through the forums and haven't seen something particular to my case(forgive me if I overlooked the forums if there is indeed something that addresses my issue)

Alright, so I'm building a new PC, with a new motherboard and have a fresh SSD that I will be installing my OS (Win8 Pro) on. I have 2 HDD drives from my old rig, one with Win7 and another for storage.

I'm curious what will happen if I connect the old HDD with Win7 on it to my new system after installing Win8 on my fresh SSD. Will I be able to access all my old files (not access Win7, just the personal files like music, zips etc) on the HDD or will I have to format it since it has Win7 on it?

Also, can I just connect my other HDD (the one for storage) to the new system and keep my data? Again, this is after installing my OS on the SSD.

Thanks for any advice!
 
Solution
VJ_Gamer
You will be able to access the files if you connect the HDD. You can use it for storing docs and files. But the question is, Do you need to dual boot windows 8 and windows 7 on your system or just windows 8 is fine? if dual boot then check the below thread,

http://www.tomshardware.com/forum/1029-73-dual-booting-windows-separate-hard-drives

Choose via the Windows boot manager or Choose via the BIOS selection

Edit:- Which is your motherboard. Are you trying to connect all three drives?(1 SSD and 2 HDD).

Good Luck.:) Peace.
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VJ_Gamer

VJ_Gamer

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Aug 8, 2017
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You will be able to access the files if you connect the HDD. You can use it for storing docs and files. But the question is, Do you need to dual boot windows 8 and windows 7 on your system or just windows 8 is fine? if dual boot then check the below thread,

http://www.tomshardware.com/forum/1029-73-dual-booting-windows-separate-hard-drives

Choose via the Windows boot manager or Choose via the BIOS selection

Edit:- Which is your motherboard. Are you trying to connect all three drives?(1 SSD and 2 HDD).

Good Luck.:) Peace.
 
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Solution
J

Jaturna

Reputable
Mar 7, 2015
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4,510


At this point Win8 is fine and the motherboard I have is a Gigabyte B250-HD3, I was hoping I could connect all 3 but the main concern is preserving my files and having access to them (not reformatting them since I don't have a large enough external HDD to back everything up and my old rig so far is SOL)

So again, after installing Win8 on the SSD, I can just connect my old HDD and access the files like before? :D
Thanks very much for replying and providing me with extra info.

Cheers!


 
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