I currently have a cloned 8.1 drive that is unplugged and was done only for back-up before installing 10. Question, since I have no plans to go back to 8.1 I wonder if I should just use it as a test bed for new 10 releases? I guess I could hang on to it but it seems like a waste (until I need it). Maybe just pop-in a new HDD, they are fairly cheap now a days. Opinions?
I'm running Win 7 but I'd keep the cloned 8.1 HDD and obtain another spare HDD.
I use 2 spare "spinner" HDD's for my 2-week C: HDD cloning. Since spinner HDD's are inexpensive, it's worth it for me to have a plug-play spare bootable HDD to allow fast recovery from numerous problematic circumstances.
If your HDD's are SSD's, then cost may be a factor to consider with buying another spare for storage use.
If I decide to go with the free Win 10 upgrade by next July, I'll do the same and keep a cloned Win 7 HDD on the shelf for awhile to enable me to get familiar with Win 10 and be able to switch back to Win 7 for a while (not running simultaneously - will shut down, swap HDD's, boot up, etc).
I have 2 Sata hot-swap trays in my tower for quick HDD installs and removals.
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