[Laptop/Help]Install windows 10 with uefi in newly added ssd.

Hi,
I have a MSI GE62 2QD Apache notebook equipped with 1TB HDD and running windows 8.1 core edition in legacy mode. I've recently installed a new m.2 SSD to this system and willing to install windows 10 on new ssd with uefi enabled.

First thing I want to know is the existing HDD is formatted for legacy (MBR) and if I change bios mode from efi firmware to uefi and continue installing windows, still the data on my HDD is accessible through the new uefi enabled o/s in GPT SSD?

Secondly I also want to delete "C" drive entirely in the current HDD as I want my new windows installation on SSD to be in "C" drive. Is this possible in the wizard after changing bios mode to uefi ? I want to make sure that non of my data in other partitions of the HDD is getting deleted.

Thirdly is it oky to have GPT and MBR formatted disks in one system? Will it cause any performance issues later?

Please help. Thanks in advance.

WhyMe said:

Hi and welcome to the forum :)

If you open Disk Management it will show you if there is an EFI System Partition on your current HDD

Hi WhyMe,

There is no efi partition in my current HDD as it's formatted in MBR and running windows on legacy bios. I don't want the entire "C" drive or the previous installation of windows including program files in the HDD but I want to preserve data in other partitions of the hard drive. I have 5 partitions, C/D/E/F and 350mb system reserved partition.

In other words, what I simply want to do is to do a clean installation of windows 10 in the newly added SSD without losing any data(exclude "C") on HDD. Is it possible?

Thank you.

osandakj said:

Secondly I also want to delete "C" drive entirely in the current HDD as I want my new windows installation on SSD to be in "C" drive.

The Windows installation partition is automatically set to the C: drive, when you install Windows on new hdd/ssd.

osandakj said:

Thirdly is it oky to have GPT and MBR formatted disks in one system?

Yes.

Windows and GPT FAQ - Windows 10 hardware dev

What about mixing and matching GPT and MBR disks on the same system?

GPT and MBR disks can be mixed on systems that support GPT, as described earlier. However, you must be aware of the following restrictions:

• Systems that support UEFI require that boot partition must reside on a GPT disk. Other hard disks can be either MBR or GPT.
• Both MBR and GPT disks can be present in a single dynamic disk group. Volume sets can span both MBR and GPT disks.

osandakj said:

Will it cause any performance issues later?

No.

osandakj said:

In other words, what I simply want to do is to do a clean installation of windows 10 in the newly added SSD without losing any data(exclude "C") on HDD. Is it possible?

Yes.

Here is info about UEFI Boot Mode (installing using the GPT partition style) and Legacy BIOS Boot Mode (installing using the MBR partition style). -> link

genet said:

The Windows installation partition is automatically set to the C: drive, when you install Windows on new hdd/ssd.

Here is info about UEFI Boot Mode (installing using the GPT partition style) and Legacy BIOS Boot Mode (installing using the MBR partition style). -> link

Hi genet,
Thank you very much for sharing all these information :) The thread you posted on eightforums was really helpful.