Partition advice needed

darael · 19 Jun 2014 at 16:30

Right now I have two harddrives, arranged like so:
HDD1 - C: (Windows, programs); E: (downloads);
HDD2 - D: (files);

I have bought a new SSD and new harddrive. Can I do the below, without reinstalling, using partition software?
SSD - C: (Windows, programs);
HDD - D: (files); E: (downloads);

If so, what partition software would be best? Will I need to change anything in Windows?

My ultimate goal is copy a few partitions and not have to reinstall Windows.

lurkio · 19 Jun 2014 at 16:44

Best advice is to only have your SSD only connected and install windows on it

Then connect you HD after that

KIA · 19 Jun 2014 at 16:45

You can use Macrium Reflect to clone individual partitions.

Confused · 19 Jun 2014 at 16:46

Using an application like Macrium Reflect, you should be able to copy your existing Windows partition to the new SSD. However, it would be best to do a fresh installation, and make sure you remove your other hard drives during the installation, and ensure that the SATA is set to AHCI in the BIOS before doing the installation.

You could also re-size the partition on your HDD, but I'd personally leave the drive partitioned to the full size, and just copy your downloads onto the HDD from the old HDD.

Partitioning imposes limits on what you can store on each section of the drive, meaning you could be left with no free space on your "downloads" partition, but plenty of free space on your "files" partition, whereas if it was just a single partition on the drive, you wouldn't need to worry, unless you filled the whole drive.