Adding an SSD and Wiping HD

[Volfenshteinya]

Hello, I'm adding a SSD to my computer and with that I am going to wipe my old hard drive. I'm going to install windows on the SSD and have the computer boot off of it. And I want to keep my hardrive as a storage device for big downloads. Will I have to Reinstall windows on my Hardrive or can I leave it blank?

 

[USAFRet]

Hello, I'm adding a SSD to my computer and with that I am going to wipe my old hard drive. I'm going to install windows on the SSD and have the computer boot off of it. And I want to keep my hardrive as a storage device for big downloads. Will I have to Reinstall windows on my Hardrive or can I leave it blank?

You leave it blank and use as desired.
You don't want/need the OS on both drives.

 

[SkyNetRising]

Connect SSD,
disconnect HDD,
install windows on SSD.
reconnect HDD,
format HDD,
Done.

Why do you need to reinstall windows on HDD, when you already have windows on SSD?

 

[SuperSoph_WD]

Hey there, @Volfenshteinya!

Just like the others mentioned you won't need the OS installed on both HDDs and you need to disconnect the secondary hard drive from the SATA ports on the motherboard while installing Windows on the SSD. This way you will avoid the potential OS confusion that might cause a lot of booting issues later on. Follow the steps @SkyNetRising mentioned and you will be good to go. If you need further assistance, check this Windows Install & Optimization Guide for SSDs & HDDs. It is super detailed and will shed some light on the step-by-steps.

Hope it helps you! Best of luck!
SuperSoph_WD