[HeyImDre]

Hello fellas...

I bought a new SSD last week and I'm stuck on what to do with my current drives.

The thing is, C: is my OS drive and D: is my storage. I want the SSD to be my new C:

But is it possible to Install the OS on SSD first, plug in HD, shrink C: and extend it to D:?

 

[burksdb]

you can install windows on the ssd without any issues.

For moving the partitions around i want to say you will have to format the C partition move the files you want to keep over from the D partition delete it and then expand the C partition.

i dont think it will let you expand free space on the drive that starts before the partition you want to extend.

someone correct me if i'm wrong, but i think thats how i had to do it in the past.

 

[HeyImDre]

Quote:

Originally Posted by burksdb

you can install windows on the ssd without any issues.
For moving the partitions around i want to say you will have to format the C partition move the files you want to keep over from the D partition delete it and then expand the C partition.
i dont think it will let you expand free space on the drive that starts before the partition you want to extend.
someone correct me if i'm wrong, but i think thats how i had to do it in the past.

What if im running the OS on the SSD already and i change the Drive Letters? Would it work?

 

[TheYonderGod]

The letters have nothing to do with it, it's the physical space on the HDD. The windows partition manager can't extend the beginning of a partition, so you'll have to move the files to the first partition and then delete the second one and extend the first one like burksdb said, but you will have a problem if the second partition is bigger than the first because you wont have enough room on the first one, then you would have to shrink the second partition and make a third and move the rest of it there, then delete the second and extend the first and repeat until you have everything on the first partition. OR An alternative is to use a different partition manager, like Parted Magic, which you can install on a usb drive with UNetbooin. I believe it still has to copy everything over, but it will do it automatically, but it still does take a while.

 

[HeyImDre]

Oh I get it now, in Disk Management, it is in order.. Darn.

Oh might as well get to work! Thanks guys!

 

[HeyImDre]

Just wondering, Any way to speed up this process with 3rd party software?

 

[Kramy]

Quote:

Originally Posted by HeyImDre

Just wondering, Any way to speed up this process with 3rd party software?

No. It takes many many hours to copy that much data. Once it starts it can't be interrupted. You'll just have to let it go for 4-8 hours. (depending on the speed/capacity of your drive)

Btw, you should reinstall Windows on the SSD without other drives connected. That way everything required for booting gets put on the SSD, rather than left on the HDD that you plan to clear.

After plugging your HDDs back in, they will detect as D: and E: (unless your DVD drive(s) take those letters - but you can always rename them from Disk Management...)