Buying a new SSD - what to do with files on old HDD

[Dave Hedgehog]

After my first SSD died last year I just installed windows onto my 1TB HDD and ran my system like that. Now I want to buy a new SSD but my HDD is full of videos and pdfs I've collected. Will there be a problem accessing all these files if I'm running windows from a new installation on the SSD?

 

What happens if you plug in a random HDD to your PC that already has an OS installed?, can you automatically just access any files on there, or am I going to be forced to buy a storage drive so I don't have to re download everything.

[Scumbag]

I am assuming that you are talking about a desktop computer. If this is correct you can insert the SSD and have the 1TB HDD as a second drive. This is the normal configuration for desktops with SSDs.

[Azumi14]

Most HDD yes. The easier way is to buy a external HDD. You can a get a 1 TB cheap now. Transfer all your stuff there. Also it is good to keep that as a backup. I keep 2 external Hard drives as backup in case my hard drive crashes. 

[Dave Hedgehog]

I am assuming that you are talking about a desktop computer. If this is correct you can insert the SSD and have the 1TB HDD as a second drive. This is the normal configuration for desktops with SSDs.

 

Yes this is what I mean, The problem is the 800GB of downloads. If I make a new installation of Windows on the SSD then plug in the old 1TB HDD will I have immediate access to everything as before?

[Scumbag]

Yes this is what I mean, The problem is the 800GB of downloads. If I make a new installation of Windows on the SSD then plug in the old 1TB HDD will I have immediate access to everything as before?

Yes and then use it to store the files that you have been putting on it already. Leave the SSD for OS and programs.

 

Edited to add that depending on your current setup and where the files are stored there may be a little fiddling to do before you can access the files on the HDD but you will need to cross that bridge when you get to it.

[Dave Hedgehog]

 

 

Edited to add that depending on your current setup and where the files are stored there may be a little fiddling to do before you can access the files on the HDD

 

What could possibly go wrong.......

[T-T-T]

Yes this is what I mean, The problem is the 800GB of downloads. If I make a new installation of Windows on the SSD then plug in the old 1TB HDD will I have immediate access to everything as before?

yes you have to make the sdd the primary drive install the OS get it  working. 

 

shut it down again install the hdd in the secondary slot. dependent on your pc you may need to move some jumper connectors either on the hdd or motherboard. sometimes you dont.  

 

the hdd should show then as a d:drive and sdd as a c:drive. 

 

you can then start to clean up the d:drive delete the old OS files to free up space. 

 

for a faster pc move your paging file also to your d :drive. 

 

personal if you have that much files you want to save i would consider external storage like this 

 

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Synology-DiskStation-DS215j-ST2000VN000-installed/dp/B00P17LB3W/ref=pd_sim_sbs_147_4?ie=UTF8&refRID=08KEN60Q6GTN06VPH0N8&dpID=31TmcRbeYoL&dpSrc=sims&preST=_AC_UL160_SR160%2C160_

[Scumbag]

What could possibly go wrong.......

Nothing, it is a matter of getting access to them. I have had issues like this when I have installed a new drive on on laptop. I put the old drive in a caddy and initially could not access them due to the Windows security on the files. It was not difficult to get around. You will not lose them. Worse case scenario is that you take out the SSD and put the HDD as the primary drive and then move the files to get access before changing it back.

 

This all goes out the windows if you are not using a Windows machine.

[Dave Hedgehog]

Thanks for the help guys.

 

Somebody suggested this for me - http://www.amazon.co.uk/CiT-inch-U3PD-SATA-Enclosure/dp/B00BHARA6O/ref=sr_1_3?s=computers&ie=UTF8&qid=1444823545&sr=1-3&keywords=3.5+enclosure

 

I didn't even know these were available.

 

So worst case scenario is I have a new 1TB ext HDD for a meagre £12, and have to invest in another drive for the machine if I want one.

[Scumbag]

Thanks for the help guys.

 

Somebody suggested this for me - http://www.amazon.co.uk/CiT-inch-U3PD-SATA-Enclosure/dp/B00BHARA6O/ref=sr_1_3?s=computers&ie=UTF8&qid=1444823545&sr=1-3&keywords=3.5+enclosure

 

I didn't even know these were available.

 

So worst case scenario is I have a new 1TB ext HDD for a meagre £12, and have to invest in another drive for the machine if I want one.

If you can you are best to have the drive inside the computer as it will be much quicker accessing the files than if it is in such a box.

 

BTW there is no HDD in the box on the linked page. It is only a caddy into which you insert a HDD. You then attached it to a USB port.

[Dave Hedgehog]

If you can you are best to have the drive inside the computer as it will be much quicker accessing the files than if it is in such a box.

 

BTW there is no HDD in the box on the linked page. It is only a caddy into which you insert a HDD. You then attached it to a USB port.

 

Yeah I was aware mate. Somebody just suggested it would be better to use it to make an ext HDD from an int HDD for £12. It's all video files and PDFs so no worries about access speed.

[Scumbag]

Yeah I was aware mate. Somebody just suggested it would be better to use it to make an ext HDD from an int HDD for £12. It's all video files and PDFs so no worries about access speed.

I would still have it internal if you can. If for nothing else I have found that external drives are more prone to failure. I have never had an internal drive fail but have had a fair few external drives failures.

[halleman]

worked for me in the past...

i started my pc in safe modus and used winzip to make one big zipfile from the whole disk.

Be sure to "output" the zipfile to another disk or partition.

After you can unzip the zipfile to whatever location you want.

But, works only when in safe modus.

And wil take time.

I have 5 old disks as zipfiles... never lost a thing on it.

[CyberPro]

 

 

What happens if you plug in a random HDD to your PC that already has an OS installed?, can you automatically just access any files on there, or am I going to be forced to buy a storage drive so I don't have to re download everything.

 

Assuming Windows recognizes your 2nd drive, you should be able to access all the files unless they were user-encrypted or otherwise access-limited during the drive's prior use.

 

https://www.google.com/webhp?sourceid=chrome-instant&ion=1&espv=2&ie=UTF-8#q=how%20to%20make%20windows%20recognize%20a%20hard%20drive

 

 

Yeah I was aware mate. Somebody just suggested it would be better to use it to make an ext HDD from an int HDD for £12. It's all video files and PDFs so no worries about access speed.

 

An external hard drive and/or cloud storage can invaluable if the internal drive becomes inaccessible due to ransomware as happened to some friends. Cost them close to $1k USD to get their pictures back. For this to work you want the external drive/cloud storage to be normally not connected/synched to the internal storage or the ransomware will encrypt the files on the external storage as well. 

[Newguy1967]

I would still have it internal if you can. If for nothing else I have found that external drives are more prone to failure. I have never had an internal drive fail but have had a fair few external drives failures.

Agree with this external HDD do not have cooling and can fail whereas internal HDD in most cases will have a fan for airflow and keep them cooler.

 

As also stated by Scumbag the HDD will be immediately available as a DATA drive when you have insatlled the SSD with the OS - you will need to ensure that the SSD is first in the Boot Order in your BIOS else the PC will default to whatever settings you previously have in there and may keep booting from the HDD.

 

Once you have it setup correctly you can goto the HDD and reaname the Windows folder in there to Windows.old and that will rule out future problems (you can't just delete Windows as you need elevated permissions - there is a way to do this but not what you have requested yet).

 

What is your model of PC or can you post a pic?

[Roadglide]

yes you have to make the sdd the primary drive install the OS get it  working. 

 

shut it down again install the hdd in the secondary slot. dependent on your pc you may need to move some jumper connectors either on the hdd or motherboard. sometimes you dont.  

 

the hdd should show then as a d:drive and sdd as a c:drive. 

 

you can then start to clean up the d:drive delete the old OS files to free up space. 

 

for a faster pc move your paging file also to your d :drive. 

 

personal if you have that much files you want to save i would consider external storage like this 

 

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Synology-DiskStation-DS215j-ST2000VN000-installed/dp/B00P17LB3W/ref=pd_sim_sbs_147_4?ie=UTF8&refRID=08KEN60Q6GTN06VPH0N8&dpID=31TmcRbeYoL&dpSrc=sims&preST=_AC_UL160_SR160%2C160_

 

Those Synology units are nice, I have a DS413, running 3 WesternDigital red's the thing has been very reliable, and trouble free.  Nice thing about a NAS unit is that you can access your data while your on the road.  Read write speed is nothing to brag about, but for storage it is a good idea to run it in a RAID configuration.  For speed I would suggest something like this http://www.g-technology.com/products/g-raid-removable 

 

The cost for a traditional HDD is also considerably less than for a SSD of the same size, what I did with my macbook pro was to purchase a hybrid drive and install it.  It gives me the snappy feel of a SDD for opening programs and files that I use all the time and it costs much less than a SSD. http://www.amazon.com/Toshiba-HDKCB26-500GB-Hybrid-Drive/dp/B00EUVCUTY 

[Dave Hedgehog]

Thanks again guys. All it took was to plug in the SSD and disconnect the HDD while I make a fresh Windows installation. After that I plugged the HDD back in and it continued booting from the SSD, so all is good.

 

I have access to my Films & TV folder which was the worry, but like was suggested above I can not delete every old Windows folder/file due to permisions. I found a couple of vids trying to explain it on Youtube so when I get time I'll try and tidy it all up.

 

One last question. Would it be possible to create a partition around my Films & TV folder and then format the rest?

[Scumbag]

One last question. Would it be possible to create a partition around my Films & TV folder and then format the rest?

No you can't do that. Your best option is to work out how to delete what you don't want on the drive. Since you don't have much space on the drive there is no easy way around it.

 

Just remember that there may be some files that you may want under \Users\<your user name>. This is the default location of My Documents, Desktop items and a bunch of other stuff.

[Para]

I would still have it internal if you can. If for nothing else I have found that external drives are more prone to failure. I have never had an internal drive fail but have had a fair few external drives failures.

 

Totally agree especially if the drive that is to become external is a 2.5" and you use a slimline case without power. Also whilst you say speed isnt important running it internally means you will be using the SATA interface which is significantly faster than a USB2 external. Also agree that the failure rate for an internal is significantly less against an external. 

 

Those Synology units are nice, I have a DS413, running 3 WesternDigital red's the thing has been very reliable, and trouble free.  Nice thing about a NAS unit is that you can access your data while your on the road.  Read write speed is nothing to brag about, but for storage it is a good idea to run it in a RAID configuration.  For speed I would suggest something like this http://www.g-technology.com/products/g-raid-removable 

 

The cost for a traditional HDD is also considerably less than for a SSD of the same size, what I did with my macbook pro was to purchase a hybrid drive and install it.  It gives me the snappy feel of a SDD for opening programs and files that I use all the time and it costs much less than a SSD. http://www.amazon.com/Toshiba-HDKCB26-500GB-Hybrid-Drive/dp/B00EUVCUTY 

 

Roadglide IMO a NAS box configured with RAID for redundancy is a amazing solution but possibly over the requirements of the OP's needs. Hybrid drive are easily the best balance of performance against cost available.

 

No you can't do that. Your best option is to work out how to delete what you don't want on the drive. Since you don't have much space on the drive there is no easy way around it.

 

Just remember that there may be some files that you may want under \Users\<your user name>. This is the default location of My Documents, Desktop items and a bunch of other stuff.

 

Good advice.

 

You could install the old device and run 'Windows Easy transfer' to get your config files off the old drive and onto your new. But I believe a clean build whilst time consuming is often better than copying all your old system crap over.

 

Removing c:\windows and the c:\program files and c:\program files(86) is fine but you may want to check c:\ProgramData which is hidden as well as c:\users\%your user name%.

 

Why do you want to partition and format the slave drive?

[Dave Hedgehog]

Why do you want to partition and format the slave drive?

 

Just as a lazy fix to avoid working out how to change the permissions on the folders I can not delete. I've got 668GB of stuff I want to keep the rest is crap and Windows folders which won't allow me to delete them. I've tried following videos on Youtube about changing permissions but it's not working.

[Para]

Just as a lazy fix to avoid working out how to change the permissions on the folders I can not delete. I've got 668GB of stuff I want to keep the rest is crap and Windows folders which won't allow me to delete them. I've tried following videos on Youtube about changing permissions but it's not working.

 

OK understand. To change properties you need to 'take ownership' while logged in with admin access.Right click on the slave drive and then select properties and security. In the top section make sure your login account with the new computer name is in there and you have 'full control'. In the bottom section click the advance button the 'owner' tab and again ensure your admin account is there. If that doesnt work go to the 'effective permissions' and click 'select' so you can add you new machine name user account and make sure you select the apply to sub folders.

 

Failing that boot from a Linux distribution thats burned to a USB key and hack away as it will ignore all Windows permissions.

[Dave Hedgehog]

OK understand. To change properties you need to 'take ownership' while logged in with admin access.Right click on the slave drive and then select properties and security. In the top section make sure your login account with the new computer name is in there and you have 'full control'. In the bottom section click the advance button the 'owner' tab and again ensure your admin account is there. If that doesnt work go to the 'effective permissions' and click 'select' so you can add you new machine name user account and make sure you select the apply to sub folders.

 

Failing that boot from a Linux distribution thats burned to a USB key and hack away as it will ignore all Windows permissions.

 

https://gyazo.com/8bcf591604cfc55e6448369af801d4d5

 

Seems I have full control, but still can't delete some folders.

[Para]

https://gyazo.com/8bcf591604cfc55e6448369af801d4d5

 

Seems I have full control, but still can't delete some folders.

 

You have full control but you are not the 'owner' TrustedInstaller is. Change that to system and apply to sub folders.

 

Whats the error message when you try and delete the locked folders?

 

Let me know.