How to Use my 250GB HDD as operating drive, and save everything else to my 2TB HDD

[benmc]

Hi,

I built a budget gaming computer last year and since moving into my new house i havent bothered much with it...

I am getting the interest back now things have started settling down but I am only a beginner still in the grand scheme of things.

I am currently running a 250GB HDD for operating and running programs, I am trying to have everything else running from my 2TB HDD however at the moment my 2TB hard drive is only being used for storing data such as pictures, movies, videos, work data etc.

I am wanting to fully wipe my computer to "start from a fresh" (apart from the data saved on the 2TB Drive) but before i do this I want to understand how to run my operating system off the 250GB and save everything else to the 2TB drive

Would i be also be running games from the 2TB drive too or would i be best off leaving them to run from the 250GB drive?
Do all my other programs run from the 250GB drive and all info such as pics still store on my 2TB drive like now?

Can anyone also explain the best way to remove the 2TB drive prior to reboot too without corrupting any data etc so i can ensure i dont wipe anything on this drive?

It honestly has been time since i have done anything like this and even the small amounts of knowledge have been forgotten.

sorry if questions seem a little unclear and confusing and basic, just unsure if I should carry on running my PC how I am now or what changes i should make once i have wiped and rebooted my PC.

Thanks in advance!

Ben

 

[benmc]

I have just thought i can back up my 2TB hard drive on my portable HDD and also totally wipe/re formatt this too.

How ever can anyone still advise on running and saving files in the future i.e

what should be ran off my 250GB HDD and what should be ran from the 2TB?

thanks

Ben

 

[SuperSoph_WD]

Hey there, Ben!

I hope you've unplugged the 2TB HDD from the system when you were installing Windows on the primary 250GB drive. What are the specs of those HDDs of yours? If the 250GB drive is faster in terms of RPM, I'd advise you to install demanding apps like high-end games, software, etc.
If not, then I'd use the 2 TB for everything, including data storage and software programs.
In order to be able to save everything onto it, you'd need to change the default download/save location to that secondary HDD. Here are some tutorials that can help you do this (Don't mind that there is an SSD mentioned, it should work the same way with two HDDs as well):
Win 8.1 - http://www.tomshardware.co.uk/faq/id-1834397/ssd-redirecting-static-files.html
Win 7 & 8 - http://www.tomshardware.co.uk/faq/id-2024314/redirect-folders-drives-windows.html

Hope it helps. Keep me posted if you have more questions!
SuperSoph_WD

 

[benmc]

Thanks for info! Yes the 2TB was disconnected when installing the operating system originally. I didnt come across that info when searching so thanks for that too. Ill check the RPM ratings I ws under the impression the memory on the HDD's was the biggest speed factor, again thanks for clearing that up. I may get away with 1 HDD now if the case is the 2TB is faster.

Can i confirm that when i do this and wipe the full computer and re install it will be like fresh?


Thanks

Ben

 

[SuperSoph_WD]

Hey there again!

You can check the model numbers on your drives (check the labels) and then google that number to determine the specs of the HDDs.
If you decide to turn your secondary 2 TB hard drive into your primary one, you'd need to unplug the 250 GB HDD from the system and re-install Windows on the 2 TB HDD. Afterwards, you should be good to go!

Best of luck! Hope I was helpful!
SuperSoph_WD

 

[benmc]

Thanks for help,

so in the instance that my 2TB drive is the quicker one these are the steps i should take:

- Copy all saved files (pics etc) onto back up HDD
- Delete files and format 2TB HDD
- Turn off machine
- Remove 250GB HDD
- Place 2TB in desired position
- Re install windows

This should basically allow me to start from a "fresh" as if i have just built the computer?

If the 250GB is faster how would i go about wiping that HDD also then re installing windows?

Thanks

and sorry for all the questions

 

[SuperSoph_WD]

You just need to back up all your data from the drives and unplug the one you decide to leave as a secondary HDD.
There's no need to format the drive yourself, though, since the Windows installation could do that for you.
Once you've re-installed Windows onto the new primary drive, you can simply plug back the 250 GB HDD and format it through Disk Management.
There should be no confusion for your system because there would be new boot order of the hard drives.

Hope this answers your question!
SuperSoph_WD