How would i remove the OS from my old SSD and turn it into a storage drive?

[UKickAss]

Hey, today I got a Samsung 850 EVO 500GB SSD and installed it into my PC. I managed to clone my old unbranded 128GB SSD to my new Samsung one (using the included Samsung data migration software) and set it to my main boot drive so now I am booting off the new SSD. However, now I want to turn the old 128GB SSD into purely a storage drive where I can store mainly my steam games and some other documents but I don't know the best way to go about this (I'm currently running Windows 10 Pro 64-bit on the main boot drive):

1. Should I format the SSD using the windows formatting options? (Should I do a full format or quick format?) If so then how would I safely remove windows from the SSD (as Windows 10 will not let me format the SSD without removing the OS on there first)?

2. Should I do a secure erase? If so then how would go about doing that?

3. I also have a bootable 2TB HDD with windows 10 pro on it. Do I even need this? Or should I just remove the OS from my HDD as well? I was thinking of keeping an alternate OS the HDD in case something happened to the Samsung SSD.

4. How would I backup my Samsung SSD? What I mean by that is, if something messed up on the SSD (like it got a nasty virus or something), how would I create a backup that I could revert back to.

Sorry if these questions are really stupid, I don't know a lot about disk management.

 

[Paul NZ]

Just do a quick format in disk management

When you turn this on, do you get a menu so you can select what hdd / OS to boot from / into?

If you dont then you should be able to format the old sata as above

 

[UKickAss]

Just do a quick format in disk management

When you turn this on, do you get a menu so you can select what hdd / OS to boot from / into?

If you dont then you should be able to format the old sata as above

When i right-click on the 128GB SSD the option to 'Format' is greyed out.

 

[USAFRet]

Before you do anything with the old drive, TEST:

Power off
Disconnect ALL drives except your new 500GB SSD.
Power up
Does it boot properly?

 

[UKickAss]

Before you do anything with the old drive, TEST:

Power off
Disconnect ALL drives except your new 500GB SSD.
Power up
Does it boot properly?

Okay so i did everything you said, i powered down the computer, disconnected the 128GB SSD, 2TB HDD, and even the optical disc drive and it managed to boot properly. I now reconnected all the drives and nothing has gone wrong so far.

 

[USAFRet]

Before you do anything with the old drive, TEST:

Power off
Disconnect ALL drives except your new 500GB SSD.
Power up
Does it boot properly?

Okay so i did everything you said, i powered down the computer, disconnected the 128GB SSD, 2TB HDD, and even the optical disc drive and it managed to boot properly. I now reconnected all the drives and nothing has gone wrong so far.

OK.
It is ALWAYS advisable to start from a known condition, before you go deleting things.

To completely wipe that old OS drive, either a Secure Erase from the manufacturer, or just diskpart at the commandline, to delete ALL partitions.

https://www.windowscentral.com/how-clean-and-format-storage-drive-using-diskpart-windows-10
The clean command is what you're looking for.
Be absolutely sure you are interacting with the correct drive when you do this.

 

[UKickAss]

Before you do anything with the old drive, TEST:

Power off
Disconnect ALL drives except your new 500GB SSD.
Power up
Does it boot properly?

Okay so i did everything you said, i powered down the computer, disconnected the 128GB SSD, 2TB HDD, and even the optical disc drive and it managed to boot properly. I now reconnected all the drives and nothing has gone wrong so far.

OK.
It is ALWAYS advisable to start from a known condition, before you go deleting things.

To completely wipe that old OS drive, either a Secure Erase from the manufacturer, or just diskpart at the commandline, to delete ALL partitions.

https://www.windowscentral.com/how-clean-and-format-storage-drive-using-diskpart-windows-10
The clean command is what you're looking for.
Be absolutely sure you are interacting with the correct drive when you do this.

Okay, so I decided to backup the data on the new SSD (which took FOREVER), with the use of another tutorial that was linked in the webpage you sent me, to an external HDD in case I messed up the diskpart process. I successfully managed to clean the drive and set it up and now i'm able to use it as a storage drive. Thank you for the help!

Finally, about the OS on the 2TB HDD, should I remove the OS and if so, how would I do that without wiping all the data HDD? Thanks again!

 

[USAFRet]

Finally, about the OS on the 2TB HDD, should I remove the OS and if so, how would I do that without wiping all the data HDD? Thanks again!

Basically, the same way.
Move anything you need off that drive, and wipe it.

 

[UKickAss]

Finally, about the OS on the 2TB HDD, should I remove the OS and if so, how would I do that without wiping all the data HDD? Thanks again!

Basically, the same way.
Move anything you need off that drive, and wipe it.

Alright, thank you so much for the help!