Hello Everyone,
I just installed a new 500 gb SSD and successfully moved the Operating System and data. I want to use the old HDD that still has an OS for storage. What do I need to do next? I downloaded AOMEI Petition Assistant but am not sure which option(s) I should choose. Perhaps AOMEI is not the answer? Any advice would be appreciated.
The first thing you need to do is leave the HDD disconnected. Boot the computer with only the SSD connected. That will ensure that you won't have any problems when you set up the HDD for storage. If the computer boots with only the SSD connected, then you can reconnect the HDD.
I like to use MiniTool Partition Wizard free, so that is what I am familiar with. Whatever program you use, you will want to delete every partition on the HDD. That will erase everything on it. Then create at least 1 partition, formatted NTFS, for data storage. How many data storage partitions you create is up to you. Also make sure the program is set to assign a drive letter to the partitions that you create. Make sure to click the apply button if the partitioning program has one!
MiniTool Partition Manager—Partition Wizard
You can also use Windows built-in disk management to do that, and in command line using diskpart. But I like MiniTool Partition Wizard because it is easier and more versatile.
Thank you NavyLCDR! That's just what I needed to know. One last question: for mostly storing photographs and general files, what are your thoughts on how many partitions I should create on this 1 TB drive? Any pros or cons that would be good to know? Thanks again for the helpful reply!
I would just do one. There's only 1 real advantage to doing more than one. If you are going to have a bunch of data that isn't going to change very frequently then you might want that on a separate partition. That way if you are going to make backup images of your partitions you can do that partition less frequently and do the partition that contains frequently changing data more often.
When using Mini Tool Partition Wizard, check no partitions on the HDD are active and set them inactive if so - this will avoid boot problems and may improve boot time.
You could install your spare HDD in an external disk caddy to use it as a USB portable drive.
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