Adding HDD's and an SSD

NoNameNoNumber · 30 Nov 2012 at 11:51

Hi there,
Basically My setup consists of a single spinpoint F3 1Tb drive which I'm aware isn't ideal as it isn't backed up anywhere...
So I propose to add another spinpoint F3 1TB, should I delve into the unknowns of RAID 1 setup with these two drives?

But then I want to move windows and a couple of other programs onto a 128Gb SSD, is there a guide on how to transfer windows etc to a new drive. Whats the easiest way to do what I'm trying to achieve?

I know this is a bit vague but in case you hadn't noticed I'm a little lost here... I'm a fitter for christ's sake!!!

andy_mk3 · 30 Nov 2012 at 11:54

If you're considering RAID as some kind of back-up then think again as it's not by any means a safe way to do it!

I believe it is possible to move windows and programs off your drive to an SSD, but it would be a lot less hassle to do a fresh install, you'd have so many broken shortcuts and all sorts of potential issues.

NoNameNoNumber · 30 Nov 2012 at 12:00

I have a hard copy of windows 7 but I downloaded W8, would this be lost or what... how does that work.

NoNameNoNumber · 30 Nov 2012 at 15:54

Anybody?

wazza300 · 30 Nov 2012 at 18:02

best way is to just do a clean install of windows onto the ssd(just have the ssd drive attached to pc and set to ahci in the bios) once done plug in the hdd and then delete off what you dont need ect and or re install games/programs if need be

reynoldsjrmy · 30 Nov 2012 at 19:14

hi puma,

You can move a Windows installation from an HDD to an SSD using appropriate imaging/cloning software. There are some issues though -

i) the software needs to ensure that correct alignment is achieved on the SSD (i.e. restored/cloned partitions are correctly aligned to 4k boundaries)

ii) some imaging/cloning software does not like resizing partitions so that, for example, it wont support moving Windows to an SSD that is smaller than the originating HDD

I can personally recommend the use of Acronis TI and it handles both alignment and resizing. I also know quite a few people who use Casper (and this may have the advantage of being available for you use for free or for a trial period - I'm not sure as I've not had any first hand experience of Casper)

The Windows 7 backup/restore image software is an option. It does maintain correct alignment but it is fussy about resizing.

Regds, JR