Setup SSD for software only and all files on 2nd hard drive

[kwiggit]

I bought a computer thru cyberpowerpc (awful experience) and had it built with a 120gb SSD. The OS (win7) is on the SSD. Before using, I want to install a 750gb hybrid SSD to house all files (my documents, etc).

The thought is that the computer will run faster if all software is on the SSD and all files are on the hybrid SSD.

Can anyone explain how I should go about setting it up so that the "My Documents" folder and all other files get saved to the 750gb drive by default?

Thanks for any help you can offer!

 

[cin19]

Check the link " How to Move Windows 7 Personal Folders Like My Documents to Another Drive ". You can move the other folds (downloads, video, etc) too.
http://www.techsupportalert.com/content/how-move-windows-7-personal-folders-my-documents-another-drive.htm

 

[nukemaster]

This is another way to do it(robocopy + mklink). Slightly more complex, but works a bit better(also works with unreal based games a bit better) as it keeps all appdata(most temps files wind up in that folder) on the HDD as well.

http://lifehacker.com/5467758/move-the-users-directory-in-windows-7

You may also be interested in moving a program from the SSD to the hard drive, it can be done with the same basic idea, but does not normally worry about permissions. Thus a copy + paste then mklink or junction link magic.

http://www.tomshardware.com/forum/294557-32-guide-move-software-games-drive-reinstalling

 

[geofelt]

120gb is plenty for the os and a few games. Most files and photos are relatively small, and do not take up much space on the ssd. I would concentrate more on putting very large files on the hard drive.
Examples might be video files or backup image copies.
I would let installations default for a while and start reallocating only when your ssd starts to get full.

 

[nukemaster]

I went as far as to mount my HDD into the c : \ user \ mylogin \ documents folder

Not recommending it until I test it further.

I also moved the other folders within that folder with the location tab.

Depending on your use, a 128gigabyte drive can get filled quick enough.

My Windows/programs/games take about 232 gigabytes and that was cleaned up.

On my other system it is about 75 gigabytes(4gigabytes is page file and I moved off some games to the hard drive.).

 

[kwiggit]

Thanks for the great info! I had tried to reply last night from my old computer and just as I finished writing, I got the blue screen stating "A problem has been detected and windows has been shut down to prevent damage to your computer"... What are the odds?? I've tried a few dozen times to fire it up (the old one) and I still get the blue screen every time. Annoying, to say the least!

As for my original question- seems like cin19 fond a good way to do it. Just trying to keep it simple. I'll give it a go and see how things go!

 

[geofelt]

With the exception of video's, most of those system files are small. Check your current usage to verify.

My plan would be to keep things even simpler and do nothing.

Monitor your space, and only move files to the hard drive when the usage becomes inappropriate.

And... for what it is worth, do not get caught up with SSD "tweaks" They make you less flexible and really do not save much space.
As to longevity, even heavy usage will not run you out of updates for 10 years or more.
Long after it becomes obsolete.
Should that happen, your current ssd will still be readable, letting you copy it to a new ssd.

 

[kwiggit]

With the exception of video's, most of those system files are small. Check your current usage to verify.

My plan would be to keep things even simpler and do nothing.

Monitor your space, and only move files to the hard drive when the usage becomes inappropriate.

And... for what it is worth, do not get caught up with SSD "tweaks" They make you less flexible and really do not save much space.
As to longevity, even heavy usage will not run you out of updates for 10 years or more.
Long after it becomes obsolete.
Should that happen, your current ssd will still be readable, letting you copy it to a new ssd.

Thanks for that. Good point! I guess that would be the simplest way! There isn't much to installing the 750gb drive is there? I figured that I just shut the computer down, plug the cables in, turn it on, a window will automatically pop up and that's about it, right?

 

[nukemaster]

Most times windows will ask you to initialize a new drive.

If it does not, you can just goto disk management(Start + R then type or copy + past diskmgmt.msc) and do it.

Even before SSD's I always had files on a separate drive so it is not strange to me to have things moved about.

 

[kwiggit]

Most times windows will ask you to initialize a new drive.

If it does not, you can just goto disk management(Start + R then type or copy + past diskmgmt.msc) and do it.

Even before SSD's I always had files on a separate drive so it is not strange to me to have things moved about.

Cool- I'll do this tonight!

 

[kwiggit]

Best answer selected by kwiggit.

 

[Y0GI]

Next problem, went to clone my hard drive but it will not do it as the new hard drive is smaller than the original.
What can I do ?
Cheers SRR

Does the original drive contain to many GB of data or is the partition too big?

If you have too many GB of data, you'll just have to go through the files and reduce the size by deleting/moving/uninstalling until the size is acceptable.

If the partition is too large, go into Windows Disk Management and shrink the partition size to something more appropriate.

Yogi