How to set up an SSD with an HDD for storage

[Austin Long]

So for black friday deals I plan on ordering the 850 evo m.2 ssd to plug into my Gigabyte Z97X-Gaming 3 (I believe they are compatible as it has an m.2 port on it). I am currently using a standard HDD for everything and I want to make my new SSD my main drive for windows as well as games I play a lot of that could benefit from faster load times. What would be the steps (and I mean step by step as I am not great at this) for formatting my HDD, plugging in and installing my OS and getting the SSD set up as well as having my HDD set up on the side for storage.

Thanks in advanced for any helpful replies.

 

[gokul36]

Back up Important files like Movies,Pictures,Music etc from HDD to some External Source.
Now Clone your HDD to SDD using Cloning software. After cloning plug-in and check the SSD s working properly.
If it works., Format HDD and use it for storage.

 

[SuperSoph_WD]

Hey there, @Austin Long!

What @gokul26 suggested is one great option for you to transfer the OS onto the SSD. However, I see that you consider doing a fresh install onto the SSD which is actually the recommended way to go about upgrading your primary storage drive. This is how you will avoid transferring any redundant system files from your previous OS install onto the HDD.

When performing a clean install on a new drive, you should make sure that you unplug all secondary storage devices and leave only the installation media and the destination boot drive connected to the motherboard. This is how you will avoid the so-called OS confusion that results in a lot of booting issues. Once you have the OS up and running from the new SSD, you can simply plug back the 1 TB HDD and re-format it through Disk management to get rid of the old Windows install.

You can also refer to this step-by-step guide about Windows Install & Optimization for SSDs & HDDs.

P.S. Don't forget ot backup all your data off-site before you proceed with the storage upgrade. Better safe than sorry, right?

If you have more questions. Let us know!
SuperSoph_WD