How to set up PC with SSD and HDD?

[sparklife]

I know this is a really common question, but I'm really new to the custom-build PC scene so would really appreciate some advice.

I recently bought a used gaming PC with a 1TB WD hard drive and would like to add a 256GB SSD to boost the speed.

I know that people typically install their OS on the SSD and save games/files on the hard drive, and that is what I'd like to do.

I think I'll be able to manage with the setting up the SSD and installing windows 7 on it, but my question is about the hard drive: basically, the hard drive currently already has windows 7 installed on it, but I'm not interested in saving anything from this installation. However, I'm not sure how to deal with the hard drive after I've installed windows on the SSD. I mean, do I leave the OS that's already installed on the hard drive? Or do I delete that OS and basically re-format the hard drive so it's completely empty? If so, how do I do that?

Also, how do I set up the hard drive so that I can save files on it?

Thank you!

 

[kanewolf]

Connect JUST the SSD. Install Windows. Install the motherboard drivers. Let windows do updates. Power down. Connect the 1TB disk. Go to disk manager, delete any existing partitions on the 1TB disk. Create a single new partition and format and assign drive letter. You now have SSD as C: and the 1TB as D" (or whatever letter you assigned).

 

[USAFRet]

After you have the OS installed and running on the SSD, wipe the HDD completely. All partitions, not just 'format'.

Read here for killing off ALL the partitions:
https://social.technet.microsoft.com/Forums/windows/en-US/4f1b84ac-b193-40e3-943a-f45d52e23685/cant-delete-extra-healthy-recovery-partitions-and-healthy-efi-system-partition?forum=w8itproinstall

After, you can redirect anything you don't want/need filling up the SSD, here:
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

 

[sparklife]

Thanks for the advice. I did as suggested and connected the SSD - which was pretty straightforward. However, when I tried to switch on the PC afterwards, it wouldn't boot! When I switch on the power supply, the light comes on for the GPU (which I suppose means that the PSU is working) but when I press the power button, the PC doesn't switch on. I was careful not to unplug any wires, but the cables in the case are rather tangled so I might have accidentally messed something up. Is there any way for me to fix this?

Update: Turns out the 18 pin mobo connector was loose. Also had a secondary issue where monitor remained blank (black screen) despite getting a signal from PC. That, too, required a simple fix - just change the jumper switch and remove the CMOS battery for about an hour. Thanks for the help!