SSD/HDD question

dellis03

Honorable
Dec 30, 2012
4
0
10,510
I recently built a computer and did not buy an SSD right away, however I am thinking of buying one in the near future, mainly to install my OS on.

What I am wondering is: How do I go about installing the OS onto an SSD and then use my HDD as storage? Will I have to completely wipe the data off my HDD, or is there a way to simply uninstall the OS? The Hard drive isn't old, so it isn't in need of a clean up, so I would like to keep everything on it if possible.

Is it possible to just install the OS onto an SSD and as long as I set it to boot from that everything should be ok, as long as I plug in the hard drive after I have the OS up and running off the SSD?

Any info would be helpful!
 
When you install your SSD, you may want to follow this tutorial to avoid pitfalls and to get the best performance out of it.
http://www.computing.net/howtos/show/solid-state-drive-ssd-tweaks-for-windows-7/552.html

I would start fresh with out Windows on the HDD because like popatim said, you will have to re-install all your programs anew anyway. And your personal data can easily be backed up for moving to the new system.

If you are only wanting a small SSD for the O/S, you may want to consider using something like this for a hi-speed cache to your HDD. It can be installed as-is. No changes to your O/S or HDD. And after a few sessions to get the SSD to learn your usage, you will think your whole HDD has become a SSD. I have one on my 2nd machine caching a 2GB drive.
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B008U3038I/ref=oh_details_o05_s00_i00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Here's a review if you are interested: http://www.hardocp.com/article/2012/10/17/sandisk_readycache_32gb_ssd_review/#.USLUlWfTWWg