[SOLVED] command promt help w/ formatting two identical ssd's

[mcr1324]

I was wondering how you would tell the difference in the command prompt between two drives that are the same size..I was going to buy another samsung evo ssd 2tb to replace my samsung qvo that is getting old also 2tb..I was going to install windows all that on the new ssd and then format the old ssd I had and run steam games and whatnot on there..I'm just wondering if there is an obvious way to tell the difference between two identical drives in the command prompt, I have never really used it before and didn't want to format the wrong drive lol..would my boot device ssd always be disk zero and then the second ssd would be disk one? is it always in that order? how do you guys know which drive is which is there an obvious way to know if both drives are the same size? I just didn't want to format the wrong drive..thank you for any help I appreciate it..

 

[Colif]

would my boot device ssd always be disk zero and then the second ssd would be disk one?

no, as my disk 0 isn't my boot drive
are either of the drives labelled?
running diskpart and list vol shows labels at least. and its likely the system partition will be on the boot drive unless it shows 2

I don't think this shows enough info - https://www.windowscentral.com/how-...irmware-version-and-more-using-command-prompt

unless you record serial number of new one before putting it in, so you can tell difference

have you tried using disk management to tell them apart? it would at least tell you which is drive 0.

 

[Colif]

if you going to install win 10 on new ssd, make sure its only drive in PC when you do so
then once pc boots from it fine
turn off PC and put other ssd back in
look in bios and make sure old drive isn't in boot order

one way to make sure you format right drive would be to only have it in PC when you deleted it.
could boot off the installer USB and run diskpart /clean

Spoiler

Boot from installer

On screen after language choice, pick repair pc, not install

Pick troubleshoot

Pick advanced

Pick Command Prompt

Type diskpart and press enter

Type list disk and press enter

This will show the list of drives currently attached to PC, make note of the drive number of the drive you want to wipe

If Disk 1 is the drive you want to clear, type select 1) and press enter. A message will confirm it is selected

Warning: Diskpart Erase/Clean will permanently erase/destroy all data on the selected drive. Please be certain that you are erasing the correct disk.

Once you sure its right disk, type Clean and press enter

The Command Prompt window will display the message "DiskPart succeeded in cleaning the disk". Close out of the Command Prompt window by clicking the red X in the upper right hand corner.

what motherboard do you have? I only ask as some have Boot override which lets you boot off USB once and not need to mess with boot order.

 

[mcr1324]

if you going to install win 10 on new ssd, make sure its only drive in PC when you do so
then once pc boots from it fine
turn off PC and put other ssd back in
look in bios and make sure old drive isn't in boot order

one way to make sure you format right drive would be to only have it in PC when you deleted it.
could boot off the installer USB and run diskpart /clean

Spoiler

Boot from installer

On screen after language choice, pick repair pc, not install

Pick troubleshoot

Pick advanced

Pick Command Prompt

Type diskpart and press enter

Type list disk and press enter

This will show the list of drives currently attached to PC, make note of the drive number of the drive you want to wipe

If Disk 1 is the drive you want to clear, type select 1) and press enter. A message will confirm it is selected

Warning: Diskpart Erase/Clean will permanently erase/destroy all data on the selected drive. Please be certain that you are erasing the correct disk.

Once you sure its right disk, type Clean and press enter

The Command Prompt window will display the message "DiskPart succeeded in cleaning the disk". Close out of the Command Prompt window by clicking the red X in the upper right hand corner.

what motherboard do you have? I only ask as some have Boot override which lets you boot off USB once and not need to mess with boot order.

Hey thx for your response..the motherboard I have is a B450 Aorus Pro Wifi ..okay so it's gunna be tough for me to tell the difference..I could do the serial number that's not a bad idea..I'm looking at your screen shot though I don't see anything with the serial number on there.. what about the free space on the drive would that work to differentiate them? the one I have now has around 1.2 tb of free space so maybe I could use that to identify them and then new install ssd would have almost all of the available space on it..would that work also? and I could record serial numbers also even though I'm not seeing that listed anywhere..and maybe you were saying using disk manager could tell me which drive is which also? I appreciate your help I haven't worked on my computer in a few years and I've never actually formatted a drive before, I've just built my pc so I appreciate the help..

 

[Colif]

just a guess
boot override in Aorus bios is likely on save & exit screen. Its is where it is on the X570

Is there anything on old install you want to put on new one?
if not, you can wipe it before you put new ssd in and not need to wonder which is which.

get a win 10 installer USB
put USB in before PC starts
on startup, go into bios
go to save and exit screen
choose boot override
pick USB from list - PC will restart and boot from USB

Boot from installer

On screen after language choice, pick repair pc, not install

Pick troubleshoot

Pick advanced

Pick Command Prompt

Type diskpart and press enter

Type list disk and press enter

This will show the list of drives currently attached to PC, make note of the drive number of the drive you want to wipe

If Disk 1 is the drive you want to clear, type select 1) and press enter. A message will confirm it is selected

Warning: Diskpart Erase/Clean will permanently erase/destroy all data on the selected drive. Please be certain that you are erasing the correct disk.

Once you sure its right disk, type Clean and press enter

The Command Prompt window will display the message "DiskPart succeeded in cleaning the disk". Close out of the Command Prompt window by clicking the red X in the upper right hand corner.

that wipes SSD.

Now I would still only have 1 ssd in when you install windows for 1 reason. It likes to share. If you give it extra free space (another drive) to pick from when installing, it might put the boot partition on the other drive making it annoying if you ever remove drive or it stops working or you format it...

 

[mcr1324]

alright perfect I appreciate the instructions and you walking me through this..I think this is exactly what I'll do..yeah I know how to boot from the usb without changing the boot priorities there is a way to do it..so I'll just end up wiping my existing ssd exactly the way you just laid out, that seems like the easiest way..and then I'll hook up the new ssd and run windows from that and all my stuff and just use the ssd I just wiped for stream games and stuff like that..alright cool I really appreciate it..It's a little intimidating for some reason I just have never done it before, but I think I'll be able to manage here you made it pretty easy for me..ty for your help, I appreciate it..