Convert Mac OS X system drive to regular media drive - without formatting??

[peanutismint]

I have a Mac OS X install on a hard drive which I've removed from my system due to installing a new SSD with a brand new install of OS X. I'd like to use the old 500GB drive as a storage/backup drive, but the file system/all my data is still intact on the drive. This could be useful as I want to keep all my data and would save me having to copy across to another drive, format the entire disk and then copy it all back.

I'm just a bit worried about what to do with the system files that were on there... can I just move all the files I want to keep out of the usual Mac home folders and then just delete all the system folders as if they were never there? Or do I have to re-format/re-partition to get the most out of the 'new' media drive?

 

[peanutismint]

Ah cool; I had heard there was a hidden system partition or something, but as long as it's not taking up a massive amount of space I don't mind....How much space are we talking here??

Also, if I wanted to slice a small partition into the drive on which to install Windows 7 via Bootcamp, any ideas if there's a way to do that without formatting?? Or will it not allow you to install Windows on a 'non-system' drive??

 

[peanutismint]

Cool, thanks for the tip - I'll give it a go once I've had time to back up my bits!