New hdd questions

[erikraatze1339]

I have purchased a new hdd. Its a 1 tb WD blue hdd. I have multiple other sata ports on my motherboard, but is there anything else I need to do besides formatting? Just plug it in and go?

My new hdd: https://www.amazon.com/Blue-Cache-Desktop-Drive-WD10EZEX/dp/B0088PUEPK/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1523914228&sr=8-1&keywords=western%2Bdigital%2Bhdd&th=1

My old hdd is only being used for windows since it is so small, but if I plug in the new one will it boot with that or the old one? I tried to check my BIOS and see if I could change my boot drive, but it only has a ram and hdd test, not a "select boot drive" option. Since the new one is bigger, will it boot with that one or still the original? I am only planning on using the new one for game. And when I install it, there is nowhere to put it. Could I somehow duct tape or Velcro it to the top of my case? I am considering a new case but that is nowhere in the near future.

 

[USAFRet]

Having a second drive is very, very common.
The system does not 'boot' from that, because there is no OS on it, nor should there be.
It appears as just another drive letter.

"nowhere to put it"?
What case do you have, exactly? That's pretty unusual to not have space for 2x drives.
You don't want to tape or velcro a spinning drive. It needs to be actually mounted.

 

[USAFRet]

For space management between the two drives:

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


Steam games:
Steam games location
In the steam client:
Steam
Settings
Downloads
Steam Library Folders
Add library folder

 

[erikraatze1339]

Having a second drive is very, very common.
The system does not 'boot' from that, because there is no OS on it, nor should there be.
It appears as just another drive letter.

"nowhere to put it"?
What case do you have, exactly? That's pretty unusual to not have space for 2x drives.
You don't want to tape or velcro a spinning drive. It needs to be actually mounted.

My case is the one that came stock with the hp pavilion 500 164. It only has 1 slot above the disk drive for a hdd. My other sata cable is too short to reach the bottom of the case, so I have to like set it on the floor or on top of my case when I want to use it.

 

[USAFRet]

My case is the one that came stock with the hp pavilion 500 164. It only has 1 slot above the disk drive for a hdd. My other sata cable is too short to reach the bottom of the case, so I have to like set it on the floor or on top of my case when I want to use it.

"when I want to use it".
Presumably you wouldn't be connecting/disconnecting this all the time? Hopefully not?

And a bare drive sitting on top of the case is a really bad idea. That's just asking to get knocked off.

How large is your old drive?

 

[erikraatze1339]

My case is the one that came stock with the hp pavilion 500 164. It only has 1 slot above the disk drive for a hdd. My other sata cable is too short to reach the bottom of the case, so I have to like set it on the floor or on top of my case when I want to use it.

"when I want to use it".
Presumably you wouldn't be connecting/disconnecting this all the time? Hopefully not?

And a bare drive sitting on top of the case is a really bad idea. That's just asking to get knocked off.

How large is your old drive?

Well, I won't be disconnecting it and reconnecting it all the time, except for when I have to move it around. That is usually once every two weeks, due to my parents being divorced and that I have to go back and forth as I am still in high school. My old drive is a small 256 gb hdd. There is not enough storage on there for what I want to do on my pc, so I bought a new one.

 

[USAFRet]

Well, I won't be disconnecting it and reconnecting it all the time, except for when I have to move it around. That is usually once every two weeks, due to my parents being divorced and that I have to go back and forth as I am still in high school. My old drive is a small 256 gb hdd. There is not enough storage on there for what I want to do on my pc, so I bought a new one.

You might consider just cloning your current drive contents to the new 1TB, and then removing the old drive completely.
What OS is this? And can you post a screencap of your current Disk Management window.

 

[mjslakeridge]

Based on what you have described, I would get a longer SATA cable and lay the new HDD on the bottom of the case. When you do move your computer, take it out and transport it in the box it came in.

 

[erikraatze1339]

Well, I won't be disconnecting it and reconnecting it all the time, except for when I have to move it around. That is usually once every two weeks, due to my parents being divorced and that I have to go back and forth as I am still in high school. My old drive is a small 256 gb hdd. There is not enough storage on there for what I want to do on my pc, so I bought a new one.

You might consider just cloning your current drive contents to the new 1TB, and then removing the old drive completely.
What OS is this? And can you post a screencap of your current Disk Management window.

I am one windows 10. I have considered cloning, but can't find a good tut with a free cloner.

i am not sure how to upload one directly from tomshardware, but here it is on imgur:

https://imgur.com/a/a9NnZ

 

[USAFRet]

Cloning made easy...


(this was written for cloning to an SSD< but works exactly the same with your drives.)
Specific steps for a successful clone operation:
-----------------------------
Verify the actual used space on the current drive is significantly below the size of the new SSD
Download and install Macrium Reflect (or Samsung Data Migration, if a Samsung SSD)
Power off
Disconnect ALL drives except the current C and the new SSD
Power up
Run the Macrium Reflect (or Samsung Data Migration)
Select ALL the partitions on the existing C drive
Click the 'Clone' button
Wait until it is done
When it finishes, power off
Disconnect ALL drives except for the new SSD
This is to allow the system to try to boot from ONLY the SSD
Swap the SATA cables around so that the new drive is connected to the same SATA port as the old drive
Power up, and verify the BIOS boot order
If good, continue the power up

It should boot from the new drive, just like the old drive.
Maybe reboot a time or two, just to make sure.

If it works, and it should, all is good.

Later, reconnect the old drive and wipe as necessary.
Delete the 450MB Recovery Partition, here:
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
-----------------------------

 

[mjslakeridge]

Acronis makes available a free data migration software available to owners of WD HDD's. Here is a link to a tutorial. I have used Acronis True Image for years to make disk images for backups and data migration (I have the paid version).

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OG-EwXwIdDo

 

[erikraatze1339]

Cloning made easy...


(this was written for cloning to an SSD< but works exactly the same with your drives.)
Specific steps for a successful clone operation:
-----------------------------
Verify the actual used space on the current drive is significantly below the size of the new SSD
Download and install Macrium Reflect (or Samsung Data Migration, if a Samsung SSD)
Power off
Disconnect ALL drives except the current C and the new SSD
Power up
Run the Macrium Reflect (or Samsung Data Migration)
Select ALL the partitions on the existing C drive
Click the 'Clone' button
Wait until it is done
When it finishes, power off
Disconnect ALL drives except for the new SSD
This is to allow the system to try to boot from ONLY the SSD
Swap the SATA cables around so that the new drive is connected to the same SATA port as the old drive
Power up, and verify the BIOS boot order
If good, continue the power up

It should boot from the new drive, just like the old drive.
Maybe reboot a time or two, just to make sure.

If it works, and it should, all is good.

Later, reconnect the old drive and wipe as necessary.
Delete the 450MB Recovery Partition, here:
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
-----------------------------

I could make a clone, but 250 gb makes a difference when you're really low on storage. It would be simpler in the long run just to clone, but I think I might want that 250 gb for later.

 

[erikraatze1339]

Acronis makes available a free data migration software available to owners of WD HDD's. Here is a link to a tutorial. I have used Acronis True Image for years to make disk images for backups and data migration (I have the paid version).

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OG-EwXwIdDo

I may clone, but im not sure yet...

 

[USAFRet]

I could make a clone, but 250 gb makes a difference when you're really low on storage. It would be simpler in the long run just to clone, but I think I might want that 250 gb for later.

Either way, you're left with a spinning HDD and no mount for it.

 

[erikraatze1339]

I could make a clone, but 250 gb makes a difference when you're really low on storage. It would be simpler in the long run just to clone, but I think I might want that 250 gb for later.

Either way, you're left with a spinning HDD and no mount for it.

Yup. I have to find somewhere to put it I guess