When to upgrade?

I'd back up all my important files off both the HDD and the SSD to an external HDD. That done, you can keep using the old drive if it's meeting your needs.

A drive that old is insanely slow compared to today's models, but again, if it meets your needs then it's good enough.

Two things to think about:

1) Is the drive backed up?
2) If the drive fails, can you live without the data?

If it is backed up on a regular basis, it could work for a very long time...some drives die almost immediately, others seem to live forever - there is no "drop dead date" for a hard drive.

come to think of it, if the computer is idle for a while and i return to it and click on a program or even an mp3 on the old drive, i hear it spin up before it accesses the files. what's weird is i don't have my power settings set to spin the drive down so not sure why it is doing it? that got me thinking maybe it is slowly dying, since it's been doing that for some time.

the drive isn't backed up. i have a few important documents on a USB stick, but not nearly enough information is backed up.

you should worry for your important data even if they are on a brand new hdd and make backups. 10 years is a long time for a hdd and if i were you i'd replace it soon before it fails.

Get a WD or Seagate external drive. Should be able to get one with a USB connector that doesn't require a power brick for about $85.

i'm looking at WD caviar black 1tb, is that a good one?

right now i have all of my programs on the old HDD that i will be replacing, and windows on the SSD. do i need to reinstall windows with a new HDD or can i just uninstall the programs from the old HDD and reinstall on the new HDD? windows will not be changing drives.

WD blacks are good.

Yep, just uninstall your programs and reinstall.

WD Black 1TB is what I use...I swear by them. Quality hard drives.