How can I reorganize my HDD and SSD?

[Flawnex]

I have a 1TB hd and a 128GB boot ssd running Windows 10. I got the ssd a few months ago and the hd has been loyal to this setup for a few years. They seem to be fine, if not a bit slow, but they're terribly organized. When I got the ssd my files got split up between the drives and I haven't found an efficient way to organize my files and folders. I don't really know how to make this thread because I'm not really sure what I'm looking for but I know what I want the result to be. I'd like my folders to be logically organized between the drives and efficiently split up.

I've considered completely emptying my hdd and ssd but I don't have a third drive to backup my important files to at the moment. (If this is the best option, I could buy one) I'm pretty sure I would manage to organize the files myself if I started from scratch.

I hope these attachment of my main folders work:

 

[USAFRet]

Any "reorganization" is to be done manually. There is no automagic way of doing that.

For a 128GB SSD, you need to move things off it that do not need the speed, and suck up space.
Movie and music library.
Large games.


For doc/movie/music:
Win 7 & 8: http://www.tomshardware.com/faq/id-1834397/ssd-redirecting-static-files.html
Win 8.1 & 10: http://www.tomshardware.com/faq/id-2024314/windows-redirecting-folders-drives.html


For Steam games on multiple drives:
Steam games location
In the steam client:
Steam
Settings
Downloads
Steam Library Folders
Add library folder

To move an already installed game
Games library
Right click the game
Properties
Local Files
Move Install Folder

 

[Flawnex]

Any "reorganization" is to be done manually. There is no automagic way of doing that.

For a 128GB SSD, you need to move things off it that do not need the speed, and suck up space.
Movie and music library.
Large games.


For doc/movie/music:
Win 7 & 8: http://www.tomshardware.com/faq/id-1834397/ssd-redirecting-static-files.html
Win 8.1 & 10: http://www.tomshardware.com/faq/id-2024314/windows-redirecting-folders-drives.html


For Steam games on multiple drives:
Steam games location
In the steam client:
Steam
Settings
Downloads
Steam Library Folders
Add library folder

To move an already installed game
Games library
Right click the game
Properties
Local Files
Move Install Folder

Thanks for responding USAFRet. How would I move programs to new locations as many of them have necessary folders hidden in appdata or something without breaking them? Also as a sidequestion I might want to do a reformat anyways to get rid of files/programs/hidden stuff I don't want anymore but haven't noticed. What would be the best way to do that without losing videos, photos and without having to redownload large games? (My internet is pretty slow)

 

[USAFRet]

Thanks for responding USAFRet. How would I move programs to new locations as many of them have necessary folders hidden in appdata or something without breaking them? Also as a sidequestion I might want to do a reformat anyways to get rid of files/programs/hidden stuff I don't want anymore but haven't noticed. What would be the best way to do that without losing videos, photos and without having to redownload large games? (My internet is pretty slow)

Programs, you cannot move. At all.
Take that thought out of your mind.

For a reformat, you WILL need another drive to hold things.
Doc/music/video/downloads...copy that to a different drive.
Steam games, move them as the above instructions.

For a reformat and reinstall, you disconnect all drives except the SSD.
Then, do a full reinstall.
How to do a CLEAN installation of Windows 10
Section II, Step 6 & 7 speak to deleting all existing partitinos so you can start with a fully clean drive.

 

[Flawnex]

Thanks for responding USAFRet. How would I move programs to new locations as many of them have necessary folders hidden in appdata or something without breaking them? Also as a sidequestion I might want to do a reformat anyways to get rid of files/programs/hidden stuff I don't want anymore but haven't noticed. What would be the best way to do that without losing videos, photos and without having to redownload large games? (My internet is pretty slow)

Programs, you cannot move. At all.
Take that thought out of your mind.

For a reformat, you WILL need another drive to hold things.
Doc/music/video/downloads...copy that to a different drive.
Steam games, move them as the above instructions.

For a reformat and reinstall, you disconnect all drives except the SSD.
Then, do a full reinstall.
How to do a CLEAN installation of Windows 10
Section II, Step 6 & 7 speak to deleting all existing partitinos so you can start with a fully clean drive.

Thanks for the quick response, I'll look into it but for now I guess I can't do anything about my programs. I'll come back for this if and when I get another drive.