SSD to HD back to SSD Question

[jlfx64]

Story: I completed my first computer build in late January of this year. This is mostly a gaming rig with some light internet usage by the rest of the family. My original build only had a 500gb Samsung SSD for storage. I received a WD 1TB HD for my birthday in February. Upon installing the HD, I somehow managed to break the SATA pin connection on the SSD. (This is still a mystery to me how this happened...) So, I RMA the SSD back to Samsung. However, since I had installed an HD, I figure I can go ahead and load Windows 10 and Steam on there an still play my games while my SSD is being repaired. That works fine. Today (3/9), my newly repaired SSD will be delivered. While my HD as worked just fine in it's absence, I can't wait to get the fast Windows 10 load time back! Now, given there was no internal SSD damage that I am aware of, I'm assuming it will come back with all my old data on it. So, question is, how do I address the following:

Windows 10 - I definitely want this on the SSD. My intended course of action is as follows; Install the SSD and unplug the HD. Correct the boot order in the BIOS. See if Windows 10 boots correctly.
If it does boot up correctly, should I: a. Unplug the SSD, plug the HD back in, boot up and run an uninstall of Windows. b. Plug them both in, but make sure the boot order pulls from the SSD, then manually erase the Windows 10 files from the HD. c. Other
If it does not boot correctly, I would assume I need a fresh install of Windows 10 on the SSD. I would assume this will set me back to 0 as far as updates, drivers, etc. In that case, I would try to transfer the Windows 10 files from the HD to SSD. I know there are tutorials for this, so I won't go into detail there.
Anything I am missing here for Windows 10?

Steam - All my games except for Diablo 3 are on Steam. Again, I will now have SSD Steam files and HD Steam files. Good to note here, I only really played 1 game while my SSD was gone, so the SSD files are the ones to keep if I have to choose. That being said, I feel like I can copy what is on the HD to the SSD for the 1 game I played if I feel strongly about keeping the saved data. The game is Counter Strike and I have only been playing casual games trying to learn how to play, so probably not the end of the world if I can't save that. Anything I am missing for Steam game files?

MIsc Other - So, for programs like MSI Afterburn (I have my R9 390 overclocked), Steam, etc..., there will now be two files for each program. I intend to pick and choose which programs stay on which drive. For example, I will erase the Unigine Heaven from my SSD, but leave it alone on the HD. My question here is, will I need to do these things with only one drive plugged up, or can I have them both plugged up without causing any issues? In the example above, I have Heaven on both the HD and SSD. Will that cause an issue once booted up? My thought would be that I would simply have 2 icons for each instance, which shouldn't be an issue, but want to check.

If you made to the end, thanks for your time! Any help, suggestions, or guidance is greatly appreciated.

Build: i5-4690k CPU, R9 390 GPU, Gigabyte Z97-HD3 Mobo, Critical 8gb Ram

 

[Rogue Leader]

IMO, if you're all set up and working on your HD, put the SSD in, format it, and then clone the HD over to the SSD using this:

http://www.easeus.com/partition-manager/epm-free.html

The whole process will take you under an hour, and you don't have to worry about goofing around with stuff. JMO.....

Once you're up and running, format the hard drive and use it. done

 

[Jaime3d]

You can clone your HDD over to the SSD. There are quite a few products out there that will do that for you, that way you won't have to worry about re-installing Windows 10. One that I've used is EaseUS Todo Backup - you should be able to boot to the HDD, tell EaseUS to clone it to the SSD. Once done, I would then boot to SSD and format HDD once you're certain SSD is working as expected. Then you can worry about moving/re-installing games/apps over to HDD if that's what you want to do.

 

[jlfx64]

Thanks guys, this definitely sounds like the way to go. Question on this though, since Windows 10 will already be on my SSD, would cloning put 2 instances of Windows 10 on the SSD. (1. The instance already on the SSD 2. The cloned instance from my HD)

In contemplating this further, the only thing I really want to try to keep from the SSD are some Steam game files. Would formatting my SSD essentially wipe it clean? If so, would the following maybe be the best course of action:
-Boot up with HD
-Clone steam files from SSD to HD
-Format SSD (assuming that means wipe it clean)
-Clone HD to SSD

 

[Rogue Leader]

Thanks guys, this definitely sounds like the way to go. Question on this though, since Windows 10 will already be on my SSD, would cloning put 2 instances of Windows 10 on the SSD. (1. The instance already on the SSD 2. The cloned instance from my HD)

In contemplating this further, the only thing I really want to try to keep from the SSD are some Steam game files. Would formatting my SSD essentially wipe it clean? If so, would the following maybe be the best course of action:
-Boot up with HD
-Clone steam files from SSD to HD
-Format SSD (assuming that means wipe it clean)
-Clone HD to SSD

Formatting your SSD would wipe it clean, so if there is stuff you need to save on the SSD then boot up the PC and hook the SSD up as a secondary drive, and copy the stuff over to your hard drive, and then format the SSD. When you format the SSD you don't need to worry about the Windows 10 on it, it will be long gone. Then clone the HD to it, make sure everything works, and then you can format the HD to use.

I just hope your SSD still has its files if you need them, last time I sent one in for warranty they sent me back a refurb (was not Samsung though).

 

[Jaime3d]

So, it sounds like you're assuming Samsung will repair your SSD and return it to you? I personally think that is unlikely - they will just send you a new one which will already be empty. Either way, when you clone your HDD over to your SSD, it will wipe it completely clean first, so you'll just have a copy of your HDD on your SSD.

If by chance you do get your old SSD back, with all of the data intact, I would make a copy of it somewhere, and then clone. Once cloned and booted to the SSD, you can cherrypick the files you want from the backup you made.

 

[jlfx64]

The only reason I am assuming I am getting my original back is because Samsung made it seem like they repaired it through their messages and updates to me. Obviously not a guarantee that I am getting my old SSD or that the data wasn't compromised in some way. The good news is, really, I would only be losing a few weeks of progress in a couple of games. If that data is lost, its really only a minor issue.

Thanks again for your help Jaime3d and Rogue Leader. I will report back on my results this evening or tomorrow.

 

[Rogue Leader]

No prob good luck

 

[jlfx64]

Just wanted to throw and update out there. I did get my original SSD back from Samsung. Plugged it up, BIOS picked it up right away. Windows 10, however, would not recognize it until it was formatted. I probably could have tried a bit harder, but there really wasn't much on there, so I just formatted it and moved on with my life. Used Easeus and actually used it correctly on the second try and got my full HDD cloned over the SSD. Booted up Windows 10 just fine from the SSD. I tried to format my HDD to clear it, but I was shot down as a program was still running from the HDD, so I called it quits for the night and will pick it up again this evening. Just wanted to say thanks again for the help!

 

[Rogue Leader]

Glad it worked out