Question Changing drives for new PC

[Pbandme24]

Hey everyone! I might be overcomplicating this issue, but in my reading I haven't recognized any guide I've found as completely applicable to my exact situation, only parts of it, so I figured I'd just ask on here to make sure my plan is solid.

I'm about to build a new gaming PC, all the parts are in and it's ready to go whenever I want to sit down and build it. The only things I'm salvaging from my current PC are the GPU (GTX 1070, probably gonna upgrade soon but not right now) and the drives. The thing is, I don't want to use the drives I have now in exactly the same way in the new build.

Currently I have a 300 GB HDD as my boot drive with all the normal Windows stuff, and a 2 TB HDD where I keep game installations and video content. As part of my new PC, I have also bought a 1 TB SSD (Samsung 860 EVO), but that is not a part of my current system.

For my new PC, I want the 1 TB SSD to be the boot drive AND hold my game installations. The 2 TB HDD will become solely for video content, and the 300 GB HDD which is currently my C: drive will become extra space for files (maybe schoolwork, haven't decided yet).

My question is simply what the best process for achieving that setup from my current one would be. What I imagined I would do is simply build the new PC with the 1 TB SSD alone, install Windows as normal (I have installation media prepared), and then later simply install the two HDDs from my current machine and move the files around however I want, easy, done. I realized though that because the 300 GB HDD has a Windows installation on it, things may not be that simple, as from what I know you don't just "delete" those files.

Am I trying to do too many things at once? Or am I making this more complicated than it is? Most tutorials I found were for moving a Windows installation to another drive for the same PC, or moving a copy of Windows to a new PC (hardware issues might ensue because it's a new machine though). I guess my only question is whether or not moving the 300 GB HDD which has Windows installed for my current PC onto a new computer where Windows is already installed on its boot drive (the SSD) would cause problems harder to fix than just deleting the old installation (drive cleanup wouldn't mark it as old, though, because Windows wasn't installed again on the same machine, right?).

If doing that WOULD cause problems, then how should I proceed? Do I just need to reformat my current boot drive when it gets to the new PC? Should I clone it to the SSD BEFORE moving it over? If I do that, would installing Windows on a new PC onto a drive that already has a Windows installation on it just overwrite the old installation or would the whole thing bork? Thank you very much in advance! I feel like this is a lot simpler than I'm making it, but I just want to be sure I have a plan before I make the switch.

Also, if possible I'd like to minimize the number of switches between computers I'd have to make, as each time I'd have to move the power supply and reconnect all the cables. Thanks!

 

[Oussebon]

My question is simply what the best process for achieving that setup from my current one would be. What I imagined I would do is simply build the new PC with the 1 TB SSD alone, install Windows as normal (I have installation media prepared), and then later simply install the two HDDs from my current machine and move the files around however I want, easy, done. I realized though that because the 300 GB HDD has a Windows installation on it, things may not be that simple,

It is that simple, or it can be.

As long as the SSD is set above the other drives in the boot order in the BIOS, it should just boot from that and not care what the other drives have on them.

Personally I would also take the opportunity to wipe the old 300gb drive, to get the space back,

The process could be something like:
1) Put SSD into new PC as the only drive. Install Windows.
2) Install your 2 HDDs into the new PC
3) Copy the files you want off your 300gb HDD to your almost empty SSD
4) Format the HDD in disk management (delete all partitions, create a new partition from the unallocated space)
5) Use now-empty drive as desired

One thing to note - I'm not 100% on this, but I think some folders on your old drive may not be accessible on the new system because you're under a different user that the folder permissions won't recognise - e.g. user folders like My Documents, My Pictures, etc. Solutions include
a - copy the files to an external drive while the 300gb HDD is still in your old PC
b - Put the 300gb HDD in your new system. Use Macrium Reflect to create an image of the 300gb HDD (which you could put on the SSD). Explore the image, tell Macrium to give you access to protected folders in the imaged version (which it can do), and copy the stuff out.
b - move the files to a folder that isn't a user account folder while the 300gb HDD is still in your old PC

I might have made that up about user folders on drives moved to a new PC, or it might no longer be relevant, but I seem to recall it being an issue so flag up in case.

NB: you should always have a backup of your important data. If you do, you can use that to copy any important files over to the SSD before formatting the HDD and moving the files back (such that there are always at least 2 copies of your files in existence at any one time). if you don't have a backup of your important data back it up now before you do anything else.

NB2: If you have user folders on your 2TB HDD (e.g. you changed the location of My Videos to be on it) I suppose the same warning above about permissions may apply.

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Other things:

Should I clone it to the SSD BEFORE moving it over?

Do not clone your existing Windows install to the new drive, or boot the new PC from your old Windows install. You will (presumably) have different chipsets, drivers, etc as part of the old install that will conflict with those for the new hardware.

If I do that, would installing Windows on a new PC onto a drive that already has a Windows installation on it just overwrite the old installation or would the whole thing bork?

Irrelevant because don't do that

Your 300gb HDD can't be very new? And it can't be very fast either. If you need overflow storage from your 2TB HDD, I'm not sure I would use that 300gb HDD at all.

What is your current system?
And what are you upgrading to?
Why are you upgrading i.e. what do you want to get from the upgrade specifically?
What do you use the system for?
When do you expect to upgrade the GPU? And what to?
If you game on the PC, what sorts games?
What resolution and refresh rate is the monitor?

 

[Pbandme24]

It is that simple, or it can be.
As long as the SSD is set above the other drives in the boot order in the BIOS, it should just boot from that and not care what the other drives have on them.

Okay thanks! I'll just make sure that BIOS prioritizes the SSD (it should if it's the boot drive) when I move the HDDs over.

One thing to note - I'm not 100% on this, but I think some folders on your old drive may not be accessible on the new system because you're under a different user that the folder permissions won't recognise - e.g. user folders like My Documents, My Pictures, etc. Solutions include
a - copy the files to an external drive while the 300gb HDD is still in your old PC

Gotcha, thanks for the heads up!

Your 300gb HDD can't be very new? And it can't be very fast either. If you need overflow storage from your 2TB HDD, I'm not sure I would use that 300gb HDD at all.

No, it's not haha. In fact the 1070 is the newest part of the whole PC. I built it back in 2012 and I'm honestly surprised it's kept up as well as it has. And yeah, I don't NEED to hang on to the 300 GB HDD, it's likely going to get replaced soon anyway if I ever need more storage, but 300 GB is 300 GB.

What is your current system?
And what are you upgrading to?
Why are you upgrading i.e. what do you want to get from the upgrade specifically?
What do you use the system for?
When do you expect to upgrade the GPU? And what to?
If you game on the PC, what sorts games?
What resolution and refresh rate is the monitor?

Current: Intel i5-3550, 32 GB DDR3 (overkill for 2012 I know), GTX 1070
New: AMD Ryzen 7 3700X, 32 GB DDR4 (likely still overkill honestly but I'm getting into video production, also why I'm switching to AMD), that same GTX 1070

I'm not looking for a crazy high end system, but I'd like to be able to load games on the same day I open them again, lol. The PC is gonna be used mostly for gaming and content creation, but I'm holding off on upgrading the GPU until the new GeForce 30 series makes the 20 series drop a bit in price. I may end up going with a 30 series anyway (maybe just a 3070) just to have a flashy new toy for a change, but for my purposes I don't think I really need it. I play competitive games like Valorant and Overwatch on low settings anyway, and in singleplayer games like the Assassin's Creed series (Valhalla came with my processor, haha), I don't much mind having very good quality instead of EXTREME quality. ALSO, because both of my monitors are 1080p 60 Hz anyway, I wouldn't even be getting value out of a card capable of 4k at 144 Hz. So yeah, GPU and monitor upgrades are next on the list, but I'm more concerned right now with getting the computer running first.

Thanks so much for the help!

 

[Oussebon]

To be honest the load times will be vastly improved by the SSD alone.

Though for content creation / video editing a better CPU will of course help a lot as well, and can be a valid case for 32gb RAM And games like AC:OD may well perform a bit better; with a more powerful CPU presumably Valhalla too.

Regarding the CPU, AMD are releasing their Zen 3 CPUs soon with the announcement set for 8th Oct. I'd strongly suggest waiting for AMD to show their hand with those before buying anything.

With regards to the 20 vs 30 series GPUs, it's rarely the case that old gen GPUs drop off in price enough to make them genuinely worth it versus new alternatives. Which only becomes more the case as newer games come out with optimisations for specific features of the new architecture.

Also, you're not upgrading the GPU immediately so by the time you do AMD's Radeon RDNA2 GPUs will be out, and maybe things like the RTX 3060 and so on. Perhaps an RTX 3060 / equivalent and a 1440p 144hz monitor (which are relatively affordable these days) would be a nice pairing.

 

[Brian Boru]

I'd strongly suggest waiting for AMD to show their hand with those before buying anything.

Too late:

all the parts are in and it's ready to go

user folders like My Documents, My Pictures, etc

Is your current system Windows 10? Assuming yes:
Copy your current User document folders—Documents, Videos, Music, Downloads, Pictures—to your 2TB drive.

After Windows 10 install on your new SSD, use the same User when it asks you. Win10 will then setup the usual User folder system.
Now copy the User folders from the 2TB onto the SSD and have them overwrite the corresponding empty new User folders. Now you have what you had.

As Oussebon said, make sure you backup/copy your important personal files before you start.

Tip: After you install Windows and programs on your new SSD, spend some time to configure them how you like them. Then do a disk image of C: with eg Macrium Reflect—this gives you an ~30 minute recovery base.

 

[Oussebon]

Too late:

I would go so far as to recommend returning the part(s) for a refund, assuming the OP's country provides return rights. If the other parts are compatible with Zen 3 they could just return the CPU and wait.