Will my files/documents be safe on my F: or even C: drive?

[TheMightyChuckaboo]

I'm looking to upgrade my HDD boot drive to a completely new, faster m.2 SSD. It will be my first time doing a clean install as last time I simply upgraded from windows 7 when 10 was available. The reason for the upgrade is so that my OS and applications respond faster as my current boot HDD just isn't doing the job any longer. I also work with a lot of video/Photo files that I edit so having a faster system is essential. I just want to know if the current files I have on my F: drive or even C: drive will need backing up? Or can I simply disconnect these drives during the new clean install and reconnect them after the installation? Thanks for the help.

 

[amecurty]

As long as you don't format your hdd, your files will be perfectly safe. They will probably be assigned to different drive letters after installing windows on your new ssd but it wont delete your files in your hdd. And disconnecting your hdd wont delete files either.

 

[Rocky Bennett]

Changing your system to a new M.2 SSD will not have any effect on the speed that you will be able to edit videos or photos, but it will make your boot time faster.

 

[USAFRet]

I'm looking to upgrade my HDD boot drive to a completely new, faster m.2 SSD. It will be my first time doing a clean install as last time I simply upgraded from windows 7 when 10 was available. The reason for the upgrade is so that my OS and applications respond faster as my current boot HDD just isn't doing the job any longer. I also work with a lot of video/Photo files that I edit so having a faster system is essential. I just want to know if the current files I have on my F: drive or even C: drive will need backing up? Or can I simply disconnect these drives during the new clean install and reconnect them after the installation? Thanks for the help.

Disconnect those drives during the new install.
Reconnect them after.

 

[rgd1101]

And always do backup

 

[Rocky Bennett]

And always do backup

This is the best advice. You can not have too many back ups. I have 5 back ups of my crucial information stored in various places. It is essential to always back up, back up, back up your data.

 

[TheMightyChuckaboo]

And always do backup

This is the best advice. You can not have too many back ups. I have 5 back ups of my crucial information stored in various places. It is essential to always back up, back up, back up your data.

What forms of backups do you use? I've pretty much manually mirrored what was on my C: drive to my F: drive albeit a few applications. I may have an older seagate 2tb HDD lying around that could serve as a backup if I reformat it? Thanks for the help.

 

[Rocky Bennett]

You need to have a back up that is totally disconnected to the computer. Like I said I have 5 separate back ups of my data. I have approx. 12 terabytes of data stored;

1. My main connected to the PC
2. My secondary connected to the PC
3. One in my closet in case something happens to the PC
4. One at my oldest Daughter's house in case my house burns down or floods or whatever
5. One at my youngest Daughter's house

My 12 terabytes of data has my music collection and my family photos going back to 1880s as well as tax documents and other stuff that span over 130 years of my family history.

Every one has different needs, but you must back up your data.

 

[TheMightyChuckaboo]

You need to have a back up that is totally disconnected to the computer. Like I said I have 5 separate back ups of my data. I have approx. 12 terabytes of data stored;

1. My main connected to the PC
2. My secondary connected to the PC
3. One in my closet in case something happens to the PC
4. One at my oldest Daughter's house in case my house burns down or floods or whatever
5. One at my youngest Daughter's house

My 12 terabytes of data has my music collection and my family photos going back to 1880s as well as tax documents and other stuff that span over 130 years of my family history.

Every one has different needs, but you must back up your data.

Okay thanks for some insight on the importance of backing up data . With regards to your first comment; is there no benefit other than a faster boot time then? Will it not be possible for me to have better real time video playback within premiere pro? I don't particularly mind when it comes to export times I just need a more responsive work space. Thanks.

 

[Rocky Bennett]

Some other member might have a better insight that I do but I think that the benefits of a new m.2 SSD is limited to just the increased boot time. Also, if you have just a terabyte or two of data I would highly recommend cloud storage. It is very efficient and the price is getting to be competitive.

 

[USAFRet]

For a boot drive in regular consumer use, an NVMe drive is not really any faster than a regular SATA SSD.

Better than an HDD? With either, absolutely. OS and all your applications will be far snappier.
I wouldn't have a PC without a SSD. But the jump from SATA SSD to NVMe is far smaller than the jump from HDD to SSD.


Also, be careful about the "m.2" distinction.
M.2 is simply the form factor and physical connection type.
M.2 drives can be had in either SATA or NVMe drive types. Some motherboards can handle either, or only one or the other.
What can your board use?

 

[TheMightyChuckaboo]

The manual states that the M.2 port supports either M.2 SATA 6Gb/s module or M.2 PCIe module.

The SATA5 and SATA6 ports will be unavailable when installing a module in the
M.2 port.
Intel RST only supports PCIe M.2 SSD with UEFI ROM, and does not support Legacy
ROM.
The M.2 PCIe interface does not support RAID 0, RAID1, RAID 5 and RAID 10.

 

[TheMightyChuckaboo]

Some other member might have a better insight that I do but I think that the benefits of a new m.2 SSD is limited to just the increased boot time. Also, if you have just a terabyte or two of data I would highly recommend cloud storage. It is very efficient and the price is getting to be competitive.

Unfortunately I have a bit more than 1tb or 2 of data. Over the past year I have accumulated just under 7tb of footage (through 5 external HDD) from my travels around asia and I both A. Want to edit this footage and B. Make sure it's safe in the event of a HDD failure. Just trying to figure out my storage and efficiency solutions.

 

[USAFRet]

Read here for my, and others, backup solutions:
http://www.tomshardware.com/forum/id-3383768/backup-situation-home.html