[SOLVED] Shuffling drives between desktops

[sinjinn]

Hey all,

I have two desktops, one that I used and one that my wife uses. Hers does not have a ssd, just a normal hdd. My desktop has died and I want to move my ssd to her desktop.

What steps/equipment/software do I need to do this without 1) losing the information off my ssd, 2) losing the information off her hdd while converting my ssd into her boot drive and having the hdd currently there be just a storage device.

I realise this might require a 3rd drive to copy my stuff off the ssd before formating it? There's also a hdd in my desktop that I could use to transfer all the stuff from my ssd to.

My desktop doesn't boot at all (lightning strike on a nearby network node fried most stuff) so I need to shuffle all 3 drives using just one desktop.

semi-detailed instructions would be greatly appreciated as I have a general idea of what I need to do but I'm not 100% sure on all the steps so that no data gets lost and without having to reinstall windows.

Thanks in advance for any help

 

[theoneandonlyfoohyking]

If the drives are SATA, you should be able to just plug them in (if you have free SATA slots)

 

[sinjinn]

They are sata, but the ssd from my pc was my boot drive so it has windows on it, and the hdd in hers is her only drive so it has windows on it. I'd like to transfer her windows to the ssd to make it her boot drive, have the hdd just be storage, and transfer all my stuff off the ssd before turning it into her boot drive

 

[USAFRet]

The primary consideration here is to keep the OS with its original hardware.
You can't just swap things back and forth.

This can be done, but it will require a 3rd drive, pref USB. And a small flash drive.

What are the sizes of these drives, and how much space is consumed on each?
What OS are they?

 

[sinjinn]

Both are windows 10 64, I have a 3rd drive (the storage hdd from my computer), the ssd is 256gb I believe and the both the hdds (mine and my wifes) are 1tb

 

[popatim]

What, approximately, is the free space on the HDD's?

How many free/open Sata ports does she have in her pc?

What type of information on the drives are you trying to 'keep'?
Programs will be there but usually wont work because they need to be installed to the OS. There are exceptions, like games that use a launcher app like Steam, Origin. Those you can just add the location on the transfered HDD to the library location in Steam/Origin..

 

[sinjinn]

her hdd has 360gb of 1tb free, my ssd should have about half of the 256gb, maybe a bit more, and the hdd should be roughly 500gb of the 1tb. Her pc is her work pc so ideally we'd like to keep everything, reinstalling some programs isn't a big deal but all the files/photos/music/etc we'd like to keep. Since it's the going to be the "same" pc, will windows have a problem with just moving the install from the hdd to the ssd?

I'm not sure what I need to keep off mine, it was the boot drive so most of my stuff should be on the hdd, but sometimes things auto saved there so I'm not 100% sure what's on it. Am I able to put it into her pc and go into the bios and have it boot from the ssd or will the different hardware cause windows to freak out?

 

[USAFRet]

Am I able to put it into her pc and go into the bios and have it boot from the ssd or will the different hardware cause windows to freak out?

No, don't do that. Tears will result.

I'm a bit short of time right now, but later this eve we can design a procedure to properly swap these around.

 

[USAFRet]

To verify:

Currently:
System A:
1TB HDD. ~600GB consumed

System B:
256GB SSD, ~12GB consumed
1TB HDD, ~500GB consumed
System non-functional due to lightning strike

Desired end state:
System A:
256GB SSD with original System A OS
Secondary HDD with current stuff on it

System B:
Save the data from the SSD somewhere.
Still non functional.



Problems appear.
We can't clone from the Sys A 1TB to the 256GB SSD. Not enough space.
With the existing drives, any procedure WILL be a major pain.

Proposed solution:
Invest $100 for a new SSD for the wifes system. We can then do a direct clone from HDD to SSD. All the other drives and data can be worked with easily.

 

[sinjinn]

Ok, I had been hoping to avoid that but it seemed like it would wind up being the easiest solution. Add on question to your comment about tears resulting, is this because of the ssd/hdd being tied to my systems hardware and if that is the case, how will I ever get the data off them?

 

[SkyNetRising]

Proposed solution of getting a new larger SSD seems to be optimal. Easier to do, less things can go wrong.

If you're willing to put more work in to HDD/SSD migration, this could be done in another way too.

1. move HDD from dead system B to working system A.​

2. move user data (pics/music) away from OS HDD to transplanted HDD. Goal here is to reduce used space to below 200GB, so it can fit into existing SSD. May be necessary to uninstall some software too.​

3. connect SSD and image it with Marcium Reflect. Save image on HDD (from system B). Not sure, if there will be enough space on HDD (B). May need additional storage.​

4. clean SSD and clone HDD (sys A) to SSD.​

5. Remove all drives and try to boot from SSD. If that is success, then reconnect all drives and reorganize data on them as needed.​

 

[sinjinn]

If I went with buying another ssd for her pc is there a good way to find a compatible option? I had asked the motherboard manufactuer (gigabtye GA-X58A-UD3R ) and they said because it was old they don't verify any new ssds for it.

 

[USAFRet]

Ok, I had been hoping to avoid that but it seemed like it would wind up being the easiest solution. Add on question to your comment about tears resulting, is this because of the ssd/hdd being tied to my systems hardware and if that is the case, how will I ever get the data off them?

Moving a drive with OS between systems often fails completely.
As a secondary drive, no problem. But trying to boot from it in a different system...problem.

 

[USAFRet]

If I went with buying another ssd for her pc is there a good way to find a compatible option? I had asked the motherboard manufactuer (gigabtye GA-X58A-UD3R ) and they said because it was old they don't verify any new ssds for it.

Any 2.5" SATA III drive will work.
My recommendation would be a Crucial MX500.
$109
https://www.newegg.com/crucial-mx500-1tb/p/N82E16820156174

 

[popatim]

Ok, her PC is an old X58 system. no worries about Uefi or secure boot there.

What was your system?