Install ssd directly into open SATA slot on desktop for cloning

I have been replacing the HDD with SSD on machines with only a single HDD Drive so DATA to USB cable is required.
For a desktop with several HDD drives in addition to the Boot drive , I should be able to connect the target SSD directly to an open SATA slot in the Mobo and dispense with the SATA/USB cable ? Maybe I should disconnect the other drives for safety and leave only the boot drive and the SSD ? Any advise.

Berton said:

If I understand it correctly you need to use a data cable and a power cable when using a motherboard SATA port. The data cable goes from the board to the drive and power from the power supply to the drive. But then you could be asking about the M.2 socket on the board that provides both power and data [different type of drive], don't know if the power supplied will be enough for a standard SSD drive, may draw down too much for other devices to work properly. Also don't know if the screw attachment at the other end of the M.2 is simply for securing or if it is a conductor such as for grounding, haven't checked a schematic for such boards.

No . I have 2 unused SATA ports and ample SATA power supply connectors for the SSD . The Mobo has 6 SATA ports and only 4 have been used.

I should be able to connect the target SSD directly to an open SATA slot in the Mobo and dispense with the SATA/USB cable ? Maybe I should disconnect the other drives for safety and leave only the boot drive and the SSD ? Any advise.

Yes, you only need a sata cable and a power connector for each sata connected disk.

You could then set whichever you want to use as boot disk as first boot device in bios. The drawback is the other disks would also power on, which obviously is a waste of electricity and extra wear on the unused disks.

If you want to retain easy acess to the other disks, you could use hotswap caddies. The advantage is that you only power them on when you need to access them. That saves having them powered up all the time, saves electric, saves drive wear, and saves unnecessary heat inside the pc case.

You need to use ahci for hotswapping, which you should be able to set in the bios.

You need hotswap caddies with power switches to do that.

Some examples:

Here is a double that takes a 3.5 plus a 2.5 in disk
Dual Bay 3.5 SSD Tray Caddy POP | eBay

Here is a single that takes a 3.5in disk
ORICO 5.25 SATA HDD Drive Internal Caddy Adapter 659436413344 | eBay

If you are using hotswap bays, a little free program is useful to detach the drives before turning off the power to a bay.






HotSwap!

I forgot about the power consumption & wear of the other 2 HDD which would be active even though I may not be accessing them . I dont think that's too important because I only use this computer intermittently .

BTW after changing the bios to boot from the SSD , is it OK to leave the original HDD in the computer or its better to disconnect it to avoid confusion.

If you disconnect the others, you won't be able to access them unless you open the case, reconnect them, and then restart the pc.

That is why if you need to access the other disks from time to time, hotswap bay is a better solution.

I have no idea what you mean by "confusion". If you set the ssd as boot device in bios, then that is what you will boot into. Any other connected disks will show up in disk management, and you will be able to access their contents.

If that is going to confuse you, then perhaps you should disconnect them.

SIW2 said:

If you disconnect the others, you won't be able to access them unless you open the case, reconnect them, and then restart the pc.

That is why if you need to access the other disks from time to time, hotswap bay is a better solution.

I have no idea what you mean by "confusion". If you set the ssd as boot device in bios, then that is what you will boot into. Any other connected disks will show up in disk management, and you will be able to access their contents.

If that is going to confuse you, then perhaps you should disconnect them.

I was just wondering whether having 2 bootable disks in the computer is a good idea even though I point the Bios to boot from the SSD.