How to change OS/boot drive to new drive.

[Kkody2]

For how much I search for how to do this, I just keep finding different methods and can't seem to figure it out.

I currently have a
- 320GB 7200rpm HDD with Windows 10 Pro (upgraded from Windows 7 Pro) installed along with some other random files and games.
-1 TB 5400rpm HDD with pure games and programs

What I am planning on doing is buying an SSD (this one in particular https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01F9G43WU/ref=ox_sc_sfl_title_1?ie=UTF8&psc=1&smid=ATVPDKIKX0DER or just a 250gb WD one)

I want to transfer my Windows 10 over to my SSD and make it my boot drive. I also want to delete all windows stuff from my 320gb hard drive to clear more space.
I've seen things like unplug all Drives except the SSD and install windows then, except I am always confused as to how to install windows. Is it with this tool? https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/software-download/windows10 .. If it is, wouldn't you need a massive USB to put it on to fit windows 10 all on it? (as the biggest USB i have is 16gb)

I know what I am doing as I have installed windows 7 pro off of an install disc but this just seems to stump me.
I feel like I am probably overthinking this and it is actually really simple. I just want to know 100% what I am doing before i go and try reinstalling windows.

 

[gardenman]

Hi, there's several questions here and I might be able to help with some of it.

The Windows 10 media creation tool will download and create a Windows 10 boot media on a USB flash drive for you. It needs to be 5GB or better, so any 8GB or 16GB drive will do.

If you are planning on actually transferring / cloning your Windows you may not need the Windows 10 boot media but I highly suggest you create it anyway, in case something goes wrong and you need it.

You are thinking about buying a 240 GB drive, yet your Windows install is on a 320 GB drive. Does your Windows use less than 240 GB of that drive? If so, you can transfer / clone it.

If you are transferring / cloning Windows from your old Hard Drive to the new SSD, you will need both drives hooked up at the same time. You can use a Cloning program to accomplish this. I've heard of people using http://clonezilla.org/ but I didn't like the interface in it. I can't help with it. In order to use CloneZilla, you will also need another USB flash drive because it boots up on it's own like the Windows 10 setup does.

If you are installing a new copy of Windows to the SSD (and are just going to copy files from your hard drive later), then only hook up the SSD and use your Windows 10 boot media to install Windows. Afterwards you can hook your old hard drive up. You will have find all the drivers for your hardware and install all of those, and re-install all of your software. You can copy personal files (such as pictures, media, etc) from your old hard drive to the new SSD later.

BTW, I ordered the same drive (SanDisk) except the 480 GB one. I've had mine up and going a few days now. I used a completely different method because I have a bluray writer. I backed up my system to a 50 GB re-writable bluray then restored it to the SSD, then hooked my old hard drive back up later.

You may want to order an adapter for the small SSD too. I didn't and had to rig one up. SSDs are much smaller than HDDs.

I hope some of this helps. Good luck.

 

[Kkody2]

Hi, there's several questions here and I might be able to help with some of it.

The Windows 10 media creation tool will download and create a Windows 10 boot media on a USB flash drive for you. It needs to be 5GB or better, so any 8GB or 16GB drive will do.

If you are planning on actually transferring / cloning your Windows you may not need the Windows 10 boot media but I highly suggest you create it anyway, in case something goes wrong and you need it.

You are thinking about buying a 240 GB drive, yet your Windows install is on a 320 GB drive. Does your Windows use less than 240 GB of that drive? If so, you can transfer / clone it.

If you are transferring / cloning Windows from your old Hard Drive to the new SSD, you will need both drives hooked up at the same time. You can use a Cloning program to accomplish this. I've heard of people using http://clonezilla.org/ but I didn't like the interface in it. I can't help with it. In order to use CloneZilla, you will also need another USB flash drive because it boots up on it's own like the Windows 10 setup does.

If you are installing a new copy of Windows to the SSD (and are just going to copy files from your hard drive later), then only hook up the SSD and use your Windows 10 boot media to install Windows. Afterwards you can hook your old hard drive up. You will have find all the drivers for your hardware and install all of those, and re-install all of your software. You can copy personal files (such as pictures, media, etc) from your old hard drive to the new SSD later.

BTW, I ordered the same drive (SanDisk) except the 480 GB one. I've had mine up and going a few days now. I used a completely different method because I have a bluray writer. I backed up my system to a 50 GB re-writable bluray then restored it to the SSD, then hooked my old hard drive back up later.

You may want to order an adapter for the small SSD too. I didn't and had to rig one up. SSDs are much smaller than HDDs.

I hope some of this helps. Good luck.

Thanks so much for the in depth reply! I am glad I am not going to need a new USB drive.
My PC case has a SSD mount and I am going to have to order anothother SATA cable with it so all should work out physically.

My 320GB drive has a ton of games downloaded plus windows and still has like 80GB free so windows is definitely less than 240GB.

I literally just want to reinstall Windows 10 Pro on my SSD and delete all traces of other windows on my 320GB HDD so i get the full storage to use.
So just to clarify would these steps work?

1.Download media creation tool on USB drive
2.Shut Down PC
3. Take out both HDDs
4.Plug SSD in
5.Plug USB in
6.Boot From USB
7.Install WIndows 10 Pro
8.Load up WIndows
9.Make sure it is activated with my MS account Key
10.Shut Down system
11.Plug Other Hard drives back in
12. Make sure Boot priority is the SSD
13. Load up Windows

If all is correct so far... How would I go about deleting all Windows stuff from my hard drive? I want to get rid of everything meant for the system and keep the hard drives purely for edited videos/games.

I could easily just re download all my drivers and software back on my SSD afterwards

Side Question: Is the SSD going to need to be plugged into the SATA port 1 just like my current HDD with the OS on is? or doesnt it make a difference as long as it is plugged into a SATA port

 

[gardenman]

I literally just want to reinstall Windows 10 Pro on my SSD and delete all traces of other windows on my 320GB HDD so i get the full storage to use.
So just to clarify would these steps work?

1.Download media creation tool on USB drive
2.Shut Down PC
3. Take out both HDDs
4.Plug SSD in
5.Plug USB in
6.Boot From USB
7.Install WIndows 10 Pro
8.Load up WIndows
9.Make sure it is activated with my MS account Key
10.Shut Down system
11.Plug Other Hard drives back in
12. Make sure Boot priority is the SSD
13. Load up Windows

You need to download the media creation tool to your current hard drive (Desktop is a good place to save it) and run it from there. It will then download the Windows setup files and allow you to create the USB installation for Windows 10. Keep in mind that anything on the USB drive will be erased.

So:

1a. Download media creation tool (to desktop)
1b. Create USB with media creation tool

The rest of the steps sound good to me.

If all is correct so far... How would I go about deleting all Windows stuff from my hard drive? I want to get rid of everything meant for the system and keep the hard drives purely for edited videos/games.

I haven't done this on my old hard drive yet. I plan on keeping everything in tact on my old hard drive for a few months just to make sure everything with the SSD is going fine. When I'm ready, I will [enable all hidden files and system files in Explorer], and delete the following folders from my hard drive: Windows, Users, ProgramData, Program Files, Program Files (x86). Your setup may be different, it depends on what you want to delete and what you want to keep and how you've structured the folders on your computer.

The one thing that I haven't dealt with yet is the Recovery Drive. Each Windows installation has a "Recovery" partition. You normally don't see it, but once you switch to your SSD, you will see it on your old hard drive. It will take up a drive letter too. I went into Disk Management and removed the drive letter for it so it's basically hidden. Later I may want to delete that partition. Deleting partitions is always risky and its recommended that you backup everything on a drive before doing so. But, the Recovery partition only takes up a little bit of space so it's safe to hide it and leave it alone. Here's how to hide it (on your old hard drive): http://www.intowindows.com/how-to-hide-the-recovery-partition-in-windows-108-17/

Edit: Actually, if there is nothing on the drive that you want to save, I would go into Disk Management and delete all of the partitions on that drive. Then create a new partition that fills up the whole drive. Once that's done, Windows should automatically pop up and ask you to format it.

Side Question: Is the SSD going to need to be plugged into the SATA port 1 just like my current HDD with the OS on is? or doesnt it make a difference as long as it is plugged into a SATA port

Yes, I was actually going to come back and edit my first reply to add this info. It's a good idea to set up your SSD in the same place where your old hard drive was. Just unplug the hard drive, and plug the SSD into the same place with the same cords. Then later add your old hard drive back in a different position.

You do know that you will have to re-install everything don't you? All games, all software. Sorry if this sounds obvious but I can't gauge someone's computer experience with just a few messages between us. You mentioned you have alot of games, all of those will have to re-installed on a new Windows installation.

 

[Kkody2]

I literally just want to reinstall Windows 10 Pro on my SSD and delete all traces of other windows on my 320GB HDD so i get the full storage to use.
So just to clarify would these steps work?

1.Download media creation tool on USB drive
2.Shut Down PC
3. Take out both HDDs
4.Plug SSD in
5.Plug USB in
6.Boot From USB
7.Install WIndows 10 Pro
8.Load up WIndows
9.Make sure it is activated with my MS account Key
10.Shut Down system
11.Plug Other Hard drives back in
12. Make sure Boot priority is the SSD
13. Load up Windows

You need to download the media creation tool to your current hard drive (Desktop is a good place to save it) and run it from there. It will then download the Windows setup files and allow you to create the USB installation for Windows 10. Keep in mind that anything on the USB drive will be erased.

So:

1a. Download media creation tool (to desktop)
1b. Create USB with media creation tool

The rest of the steps sound good to me.

If all is correct so far... How would I go about deleting all Windows stuff from my hard drive? I want to get rid of everything meant for the system and keep the hard drives purely for edited videos/games.

I haven't done this on my old hard drive yet. I plan on keeping everything in tact on my old hard drive for a few months just to make sure everything with the SSD is going fine. When I'm ready, I will [enable all hidden files and system files in Explorer], and delete the following folders from my hard drive: Windows, Users, ProgramData, Program Files, Program Files (x86). Your setup may be different, it depends on what you want to delete and what you want to keep and how you've structured the folders on your computer.

The one thing that I haven't dealt with yet is the Recovery Drive. Each Windows installation has a "Recovery" partition. You normally don't see it, but once you switch to your SSD, you will see it on your old hard drive. It will take up a drive letter too. I went into Disk Management and removed the drive letter for it so it's basically hidden. Later I may want to delete that partition. Deleting partitions is always risky and its recommended that you backup everything on a drive before doing so. But, the Recovery partition only takes up a little bit of space so it's safe to hide it and leave it alone. Here's how to hide it (on your old hard drive): http://www.intowindows.com/how-to-hide-the-recovery-partition-in-windows-108-17/

Edit: Actually, if there is nothing on the drive that you want to save, I would go into Disk Management and delete all of the partitions on that drive. Then create a new partition that fills up the whole drive. Once that's done, Windows should automatically pop up and ask you to format it.

Side Question: Is the SSD going to need to be plugged into the SATA port 1 just like my current HDD with the OS on is? or doesnt it make a difference as long as it is plugged into a SATA port

Yes, I was actually going to come back and edit my first reply to add this info. It's a good idea to set up your SSD in the same place where your old hard drive was. Just unplug the hard drive, and plug the SSD into the same place with the same cords. Then later add your old hard drive back in a different position.

You do know that you will have to re-install everything don't you? All games, all software. Sorry if this sounds obvious but I can't gauge someone's computer experience with just a few messages between us. You mentioned you have alot of games, all of those will have to re-installed on a new Windows installation.

I would like to rate myself of knowing more than average with all things computer related, except the one thing that I slack on is the whole Operating System software nonsense. I just don't want to screw something up and lock up my computer or something stupid...

I always heard that when you reinstall windows all other files remain.. Do you mind elaborating what you mean by "everything" is deleted? Like is everything on my other 1TB HDD going to remain because nothing windows related is on it?
I don't have too much to lose and can easily reinstall everything so i am not "too" worried. .The only thing is that i only have 10Mb/s download speed so it could take some time to reinstall about 500GB of stuff if it is literally "everything"

 

[gardenman]

I would like to rate myself of knowing more than average with all things computer related, except the one thing that I slack on is the whole Operating System software nonsense. I just don't want to screw something up and lock up my computer or something stupid...

I think you'll be fine. Do like I did, make sure you have your Tom's Hardware login and password wrote down on your phone / laptop / tablet just in case something goes wrong. Make that Step #1.

Also keep in mind that since you will be removing all drives except for the SSD, that means if something goes wrong while trying to get Windows installed on the SSD, you can simply unplug the SSD, replug your hard drives back up, and be able to boot into Windows to seek more help if needed. (Leave your hard drives untouched for several days, just in case!)

I always heard that when you reinstall windows all other files remain.. Do you mind elaborating what you mean by "everything" is deleted? Like is everything on my other 1TB HDD going to remain because nothing windows related is on it?
I don't have too much to lose and can easily reinstall everything so i am not "too" worried. .The only thing is that i only have 10Mb/s download speed so it could take some time to reinstall about 500GB of stuff if it is literally "everything"

You won't be re-installing Windows. You will be installing Windows for the first time on the SSD, correct? There will be no leftovers on the SSD. There will be no software installed for that Windows. You will have to re-install all drivers and all games and everything else that you need.

When you say you have games on these other drives, I do hope you are talking about original setup files. If it's games that you have installed, you will have to re-install them for the new Windows which means you'll need the setup files for these games. You can't run games that were previously installed on a different copy of Windows, they need to be re-installed so the Windows registry knows about them. (A lot of people have trouble understanding that). If you want to keep your Windows that has all of the games installed in it, then we need to re-think this, because you will be wanting to transfer / clone your system and not install a fresh copy of Windows.

Nothing should be deleted from your 1TB HDD (unless you delete things from it?). In fact, don't plan on deleting anything at all for the first few weeks. Wait until you are comfortable with your new setup before even thinking about that stuff. When ready, you can then look up more info and delete Windows from your 320 GB (or delete everything from it if that's your choice). I briefly explained both ways above but I'm sure there's more info to be found about that.

From what I understand, this is how your system will look:

1TB - games and programs
320 GB - Old Windows + random files + games
240 GB - New SSD with Windows.

The only real thing deleted is everything on the USB flash drive when you use the Windows 10 Media Creation tool. It will warn you first.

If your BIOS has a boot menu, it probably will allow you to easily boot to the USB flash drive. (Look when PC is first starting up for something like "Press F12 for boot menu"). If not, you may have to go into BIOS and change the boot order to boot from the USB flash drive first.

 

[Kkody2]

I would like to rate myself of knowing more than average with all things computer related, except the one thing that I slack on is the whole Operating System software nonsense. I just don't want to screw something up and lock up my computer or something stupid...

I think you'll be fine. Do like I did, make sure you have your Tom's Hardware login and password wrote down on your phone / laptop / tablet just in case something goes wrong. Make that Step #1.

Also keep in mind that since you will be removing all drives except for the SSD, that means if something goes wrong while trying to get Windows installed on the SSD, you can simply unplug the SSD, replug your hard drives back up, and be able to boot into Windows to seek more help if needed. (Leave your hard drives untouched for several days, just in case!)

I always heard that when you reinstall windows all other files remain.. Do you mind elaborating what you mean by "everything" is deleted? Like is everything on my other 1TB HDD going to remain because nothing windows related is on it?
I don't have too much to lose and can easily reinstall everything so i am not "too" worried. .The only thing is that i only have 10Mb/s download speed so it could take some time to reinstall about 500GB of stuff if it is literally "everything"

You won't be re-installing Windows. You will be installing Windows for the first time on the SSD, correct? There will be no leftovers on the SSD. There will be no software installed for that Windows. You will have to re-install all drivers and all games and everything else that you need.

When you say you have games on these other drives, I do hope you are talking about original setup files. If it's games that you have installed, you will have to re-install them for the new Windows which means you'll need the setup files for these games. You can't run games that were previously installed on a different copy of Windows, they need to be re-installed so the Windows registry knows about them. (A lot of people have trouble understanding that). If you want to keep your Windows that has all of the games installed in it, then we need to re-think this, because you will be wanting to transfer / clone your system and not install a fresh copy of Windows.

Nothing should be deleted from your 1TB HDD (unless you delete things from it?). In fact, don't plan on deleting anything at all for the first few weeks. Wait until you are comfortable with your new setup before even thinking about that stuff. When ready, you can then look up more info and delete Windows from your 320 GB (or delete everything from it if that's your choice). I briefly explained both ways above but I'm sure there's more info to be found about that.

From what I understand, this is how your system will look:

1TB - games and programs
320 GB - Old Windows + random files + games
240 GB - New SSD with Windows.

The only real thing deleted is everything on the USB flash drive when you use the Windows 10 Media Creation tool. It will warn you first.

If your BIOS has a boot menu, it probably will allow you to easily boot to the USB flash drive. (Look when PC is first starting up for something like "Press F12 for boot menu"). If not, you may have to go into BIOS and change the boot order to boot from the USB flash drive first.

Ok, I completely understand what you mean about the whole needing to install everything again. That is indeed something I have never heard of before.. I always understood this as having to "re-install" windows whenever you want to move it or get a fresh copy of it.
I do know how the whole boot setup and everything works in the BIOS so that shouldn't be a problem.

Now do you think it would be easier to to redownload everything (i can back up the very important files i have without a problem) Or do you recommend this transfer/copy
I never feel comfortable using programs to do the "dirty work" for me I would much rather figure out how to do it myself unless there is really no other way.

(if you feel its better to private message me about this please do, I don't want to spam this forum)

Funny side note: So many things you are saying are literally a massive slap in the face to me because I am definitely overthinking this whole thing and I actually get quite the laugh out of it to be completely honest :lol:

EDIT: I've been contemplating what I should do, I got the creation tool Windows 10 installation files downloaded on my USB drive (doing it really early, dont even have the SSD ordered yet :lol: )
I was thinking, I'm the type of person who likes to keep the drives cleaned out (deletes temp files a lot, goes through unnecessary pictures and files etc.) and I was thinking that I should maybe just completely reinstall windows and then wipe the hard drives clean and just go through and redownload EVERYTHING (sadly)
The whole thing that about "I should keep the drives exactly how they are for a while until i'm comfortable with the SSD" might limit that.

I want to just order the SSD and just "try" it.. Its not like its that difficult to literally unplug and plug in my sata cords from my pc that is constantly sitting right next to me until I get it to work how I want.

Im assuming If i try to launch, for example, Garry's Mod (which is installed on my 320GB drive) it will come up with an error then since I had it previously installed on a different install of windows?

Again... I am probably way overthinking this :/

 

[gardenman]

Ok, I completely understand what you mean about the whole needing to install everything again. That is indeed something I have never heard of before.. I always understood this as having to "re-install" windows whenever you want to move it or get a fresh copy of it.
I do know how the whole boot setup and everything works in the BIOS so that shouldn't be a problem.

Now do you think it would be easier to to redownload everything (i can back up the very important files i have without a problem) Or do you recommend this transfer/copy
I never feel comfortable using programs to do the "dirty work" for me I would much rather figure out how to do it myself unless there is really no other way.

(if you feel its better to private message me about this please do, I don't want to spam this forum)

Funny side note: So many things you are saying are literally a massive slap in the face to me because I am definitely overthinking this whole thing and I actually get quite the laugh out of it to be completely honest :lol:

EDIT: I've been contemplating what I should do, I got the creation tool Windows 10 installation files downloaded on my USB drive (doing it really early, dont even have the SSD ordered yet :lol: )
I was thinking, I'm the type of person who likes to keep the drives cleaned out (deletes temp files a lot, goes through unnecessary pictures and files etc.) and I was thinking that I should maybe just completely reinstall windows and then wipe the hard drives clean and just go through and redownload EVERYTHING (sadly)
The whole thing that about "I should keep the drives exactly how they are for a while until i'm comfortable with the SSD" might limit that.

I want to just order the SSD and just "try" it.. Its not like its that difficult to literally unplug and plug in my sata cords from my pc that is constantly sitting right next to me until I get it to work how I want.

Im assuming If i try to launch, for example, Garry's Mod (which is installed on my 320GB drive) it will come up with an error then since I had it previously installed on a different install of windows?

Again... I am probably way overthinking this :/

It's OK, we're not spamming the forum. This is how it suppose to be used. It's your choice whether to do a fresh new install, or do a clone. Either way should be possible for you. There's positives either way. With a clone, you don't have to re-install everything or download everything again. With a fresh install, you get a clean faster system that will likely have less bugs and problems. It's just whatever works best for you.

I went with the clone option because my system has been up and running 7 years and I have tons of software installed. I didn't want to spend the time re-downloading and re-installing everything. It basically took me two hours to restore my system from the backup on the bluray that I created. I still have minor things that I'm working on fixing up (a few days later). It would have taken me weeks to re-install and re-download everything. I'm not trying to discourage you from doing a fresh install though, like I said, it has it's advantages.

Either way, you will still have time to back things up AFTER you get the SSD. If you do a fresh install, just leave the hard drives alone and you can back them up with your new Windows installation once it's installed before redoing them however you like. If you do a clone, you won't need to backup the hard drives since you will be using the same software.

You are correct about the Garrys Mod situation. You might run across a few programs that will work even on a new installation of Windows, but the majority of them likely will not. This is because they modify the registry on the Windows they were installed on and expect those registry keys to be how they were set up. They may also place special DLL files and such in the Windows folder and expect them to be there. If they are not, they throw errors and crash.

You can also begin downloading ALL of your drivers while you wait for the SSD to be shipped to you. Put them all in a special folder on one of the hard drives. This will make things easier once you being setting up Windows.

I think you'll do OK with it. Order it and give it a try. Be prepared but take it one step at a time, don't worry about deleting stuff from your hard drive or re-doing them until you get to that stage and if you have questions, they'll be people here to help.

 

[Kkody2]

Ok, I completely understand what you mean about the whole needing to install everything again. That is indeed something I have never heard of before.. I always understood this as having to "re-install" windows whenever you want to move it or get a fresh copy of it.
I do know how the whole boot setup and everything works in the BIOS so that shouldn't be a problem.

Now do you think it would be easier to to redownload everything (i can back up the very important files i have without a problem) Or do you recommend this transfer/copy
I never feel comfortable using programs to do the "dirty work" for me I would much rather figure out how to do it myself unless there is really no other way.

(if you feel its better to private message me about this please do, I don't want to spam this forum)

Funny side note: So many things you are saying are literally a massive slap in the face to me because I am definitely overthinking this whole thing and I actually get quite the laugh out of it to be completely honest :lol:

EDIT: I've been contemplating what I should do, I got the creation tool Windows 10 installation files downloaded on my USB drive (doing it really early, dont even have the SSD ordered yet :lol: )
I was thinking, I'm the type of person who likes to keep the drives cleaned out (deletes temp files a lot, goes through unnecessary pictures and files etc.) and I was thinking that I should maybe just completely reinstall windows and then wipe the hard drives clean and just go through and redownload EVERYTHING (sadly)
The whole thing that about "I should keep the drives exactly how they are for a while until i'm comfortable with the SSD" might limit that.

I want to just order the SSD and just "try" it.. Its not like its that difficult to literally unplug and plug in my sata cords from my pc that is constantly sitting right next to me until I get it to work how I want.

Im assuming If i try to launch, for example, Garry's Mod (which is installed on my 320GB drive) it will come up with an error then since I had it previously installed on a different install of windows?

Again... I am probably way overthinking this :/

It's OK, we're not spamming the forum. This is how it suppose to be used. It's your choice whether to do a fresh new install, or do a clone. Either way should be possible for you. There's positives either way. With a clone, you don't have to re-install everything or download everything again. With a fresh install, you get a clean faster system that will likely have less bugs and problems. It's just whatever works best for you.

I went with the clone option because my system has been up and running 7 years and I have tons of software installed. I didn't want to spend the time re-downloading and re-installing everything. It basically took me two hours to restore my system from the backup on the bluray that I created. I still have minor things that I'm working on fixing up (a few days later). It would have taken me weeks to re-install and re-download everything. I'm not trying to discourage you from doing a fresh install though, like I said, it has it's advantages.

Either way, you will still have time to back things up AFTER you get the SSD. If you do a fresh install, just leave the hard drives alone and you can back them up with your new Windows installation once it's installed before redoing them however you like. If you do a clone, you won't need to backup the hard drives since you will be using the same software.

You are correct about the Garrys Mod situation. You might run across a few programs that will work even on a new installation of Windows, but the majority of them likely will not. This is because they modify the registry on the Windows they were installed on and expect those registry keys to be how they were set up. They may also place special DLL files and such in the Windows folder and expect them to be there. If they are not, they throw errors and crash.

You can also begin downloading ALL of your drivers while you wait for the SSD to be shipped to you. Put them all in a special folder on one of the hard drives. This will make things easier once you being setting up Windows.

I think you'll do OK with it. Order it and give it a try. Be prepared but take it one step at a time, don't worry about deleting stuff from your hard drive or re-doing them until you get to that stage and if you have questions, they'll be people here to help.

UPDATE:
I got my 240GB SSD in the mail this morning.. Installed it and got Windows 10 Installed on it (after some frustration because I guess it doesnt work using a USB2.0 in a 3.0 jack)
Downloaded programs such as Chrome, Itunes, Steam, MSI Afterburner, Drivers, Minecraft etc. then I plugged my other drives back in.
I tried some things to make it so I didn't have to redownload games (10Mb/s sucks) but I couldn't get it to work.
I didn't really have anything i needed to backup (a few things, but I transfered to my SSD)
So then I deleted the partitions off of my other drives (I know i should have kept it for a while, but I will keep the bootable USB drive on hand just in case)

I'm really happy I was able to get this all to work out. Now I get to download around 1TB of games with 10Mb/s download speed.. "yay"

Thanks for all the help!

 

[gardenman]

I'm glad you got it figured out! If it's Steam games, you MIGHT be able to copy or move them from the hard drive. I know you said you tried, and I don't know exactly how it's done either, but there is info for this on the net (or maybe someone else here can help). Maybe start a new question and I'm sure someone will be able to help.

https://www.howtogeek.com/269515/how-to-move-a-steam-game-to-another-drive-without-re-downloading-it/

http://www.tomsguide.com/answers/id-1974084/moving-steam-games-ssd.html

https://www.giantbomb.com/steam/3015-718/forums/moving-steam-from-hdd-to-an-ssd-or-hybrid-option-555236/

I'm glad I could help. Enjoy the new SSD! Take care.