Just installed my SSD!!

[TDUBS]

Hey,

I just got my Samsung 840 EVO in the mail today, installed a fresh copy of WIndows 7 to it, etc. I've still got my 1TB HDD in place which I'd like to use to install all other programs to. How can I do this without messing anything up? I've got what I want on my SSD, the rest will need to be on my HDD. I went ahead and changed the path in Regedit, but won't I need all those extra folders?

Thanks!!

 

[Entomber]

wait, why did you change a path in regedit?

You can simply plug in your HDD at the same time as your SSD and when installing programs choose a location on your HDD. I'm not sure why you're messing with the registry...

 

[TDUBS]

wait, why did you change a path in regedit?

You can simply plug in your HDD at the same time as your SSD and when installing programs choose a location on your HDD. I'm not sure why you're messing with the registry...

I can easily change it back, it took 2 seconds. But some programs don't allow me to choose what location I want to install to.. it'll automatically go to my SSD which I don't want. Also, there's nothing on my HDD, so won't I need the Program Files, App Data, etc in order for programs to install properly? My HDD is already plugged in and so is my SSD.

 

[Entomber]

Most programs allow you to choose the installation path if you choose the custom/advanced install options. On your HDD, you don't need any of those folders. Programs work just fine whether they're installed in Program Files or in New Folder. AppData is only used by your OS, and will be created anew in your SSD.

 

[Deleted member 217926]

Unless you bought a tiny SSD ( like 64GB or less ) you should really install all your programs to the SSD to take advantage of buying the SSD in the first place. You may want to install large game files to a mechanical drive assuming you have a smaller SSD but that would be all. If you have a large enough SSD ( 250-500GB ) then everything can go on the SSD. Use the mechanical drive for storage of files, pictures, videos, music etc.

The whole point of having an SSD is to make the system faster overall. It won't work if things are not installed on it. I used a 120GB OCZ Vertex 2 for about 3 years until upgrading to a 500GB Samsung 840 Evo last November. Even with the 120GB drive, Windows, all my programs and 3 or 4 games at a time fit fine and still left me well over the 20% of the drive it is recommended to keep as free space for TRIM to work correctly.

 

[JohnnyLucky]

I purchased my very first hard disk drive 29 years ago. It was a Seagate 10MB hard drive and cost $350.00. They were so expensive we couldn't afford multiple drives. Installing a software program to the C: drive was the only option for us. I can't believe it is almost 3 decades later and we still have a few software applications that will only allow installation to the C: drive.

There is one more solution. You could use "symbolic links" in Microsoft Windows to specify the location of an application on a different drive.

Here is a link to an assortment of articles and how-to's explaining symbolic links:

https://www.google.com/#q=symbolic+links+windows

However, I agree with anort3. You should install the operating system, software applications, and utilities on an ssd to gain maximum benefit. Use a hard disk drive to store data files and backups.