How to Configure a PC with an SSD and a HDD

This How.com.vn teaches you how to configure an SSD and HDD on a Windows PC. An SSD (solid state drive) is a hard drive with no moving parts. They are typically much faster and more reliable than a hard disk drive (HDD), but they also typically have much less storage space. The best way to configure both is to install your operating system and frequently used software on the SSD, and save all your files (pictures, videos, music, and documents) to the HDD. How this is done depends on whether you're setting up a new computer, or if you are installing a new hard drive on an existing computer setup.

Method 1

Method 1 of 5:

Installing Windows On a New Computer with an SSD and an HDD

If you are setting up a brand new computer, you need to connect the keyboard and mouse, as well as install both the SSD and HDD. Read "How to Install an SSD Into a Desktop Computer", "How to Install an SSD into Your Laptop", and "How to Install a Hard Drive" to learn more about how to install your various hard drives.
You can install Windows using a USB drive or DVD. Read "How to Install Windows From a USB Drive" to learn how to create a Windows USB Installation Media.
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Power on your computer. Press the power button on your computer to turn it on. With the Windows Install disk inserted, the computer will boot from the disk.
- If the computer does not boot from the disk, you may need to reboot your computer and enter the BIOS and change the drive order that your computer boots from. Read Read "How to Install Windows From a USB Drive" to learn how to change the boot order on your computer.
If you need to change any of the information from the default, use the drop-down menus to select the language, time and currency format, and keyboard input. Click Next when you are done.
This begins the Windows 10 install process.
If you have a product key for Windows, type it in the bar and click Next. If you don't have a Windows product key, click "I don't have a product key". You can purchase one online later.
There are 4 Windows 10 versions to choose from. Windows 10 Pro, Windows 10 Home, Windows 10 Home Single Language, and Windows 10 Education.
Checking the checkbox indicates that you agree to the applicable notices and license terms. You can read the terms in the window. After you click the checkbox, click Next.
This is the option you select to install Windows on a brand new computer with no previous Windows installations. If you already have a previous version of Windows installed on either your SSD skip to the next Method 3. If you need to migrate your current Windows installation from an HDD to an SSD, skip to Method 4.
All hard drives you have installed on your computer will be listed as "Drive [number] Unallocated Space". The SSD is the drive you want to install Windows on. Make a note of which drive number the SSD is and click it to select it. An SSD typically has less space than an HDD. If you're not sure which drive is the SSD, check to see how much space the SSD and the HDD have, and select the drive with the amount of free space that most closely corresponds to the SSD.
It's next to the icon that resembles a sun below the list of drives.^{[1]XResearch source}
This applies the default settings to the drive.
After you click Apply a pop-up window appears telling you that Windows may create additional partitions on the drive to work properly. Click Ok to accept.
The list of drives now displays a variety of partitions Windows needs to create. Select the partition of the SSD that says "Primary" to the right and click Next. All SSD partitions will have the same drive number as the SSD before the partition. This will install Windows on your SSD.
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Method 2

Method 2 of 5:

Configuring a New Hard Drive On Windows

Right-clicking on the Windows Start menu displays an options menu.
This displays the Disk Management menu. Both the SSD and the HDD should be listed. If the drives are listed as "Healthy", then it is already properly configured and no further steps are needed. If either drive is listed as "Unallocated", continue to the next step.
If the either drive is listed as "Unallocated", then it is currently unusable. Right-click it to display a menu.
It's the first option in the pop-up menu when you right-click an unallocated drive. This opens a wizard to help you create a new simple volume for the unallocated drive. Click Next to continue.
This applies the default amount of disk space to the drive.
Use the drop-down menu across from "Assign the following drive letter" to select a drive letter. By default, the drive that has the Windows installation is the "C:" drive. Any additional drives will be assigned "D:" and so on by default. You can use the drop-down menu to assign any drive letter that is not currently being used by another drive. Click Next to continue.
If you wish to create a label for the drive (for example, "Data Drive"), type it in the box across from "Volume Label". Click Next when you are ready to continue.
The drive will be usable in just a few minutes.
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Method 3

Method 3 of 5:

Cloning an HDD with a Windows Installation to an SSD

If you have an existing Windows installation on an HDD, you will need to clone your existing Windows installation to the new SSD in order to boot your computer from the SSD. Before you begin, it's highly recommended that you backup your existing HDD. This is to protect your files in case something goes wrong, and because you will need to significantly reduce the size of your HDD to clone it to an SSD. You can back up your existing hard drive to an external hard drive, flash drive, or a cloud based service such as Google Drive, iCloud, or Dropbox. Make sure the backup drive has enough hard drive space to back up your entire HDD. Read "How to Back Up A Computer" to learn more about how to back up your drive.
An SSD typically has much smaller storage space than an HDD. In order to clone your current HDD with the Windows installation to an SSD, you will need to make sure that the amount of hard drive space currently being used on the HDD is less than the capacity of the SSD. Remove all but the most essential programs. If you have backed up your files, you can recover them and transfer them back to the HDD after the cloning process is completed.
Defragging your hard drive reorganizes all the information on your hard drive and makes it easier for your computer to read. Defragging your hard drive before cloning it may help speed up the process. Click the Start menu and type Defragment to access the Defragment and Optimize Drives app. Read "How to Defrag Windows 10" to learn more about how to defrag your hard drive.
Go to https://www.macrium.com/reflectfree. Macrium Reflect is a tool you can download to help you clone your hard drive. It's free for home use.
5
Download and Install Macrium Reflect. Use the following steps to download Macrium Reflect.
- Click Home Use on the webpage.
- Click the "ReflectDLHF.exe" file in your web browser or Downloads folder.
- Click Download in the install wizard
  - Click Yes to allow Macrium to make changes to your device.
- Click Next.
- Click "I agree to the terms in the License Agreement" and click Next
- Click Home and click Next.
- Type your name and email and click Next.
- Click Next.
- Click Install.
- Click Finish.
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Open Macrium Reflect. Macrium Reflect will open automatically after the installation finishes. If you need to open it at a later date, it's the app that has a white circle icon with two blue curved arrows.
- If asked to create a rescue media, click No if you already backed up your hard drive. If you have not backed up your hard drive, click Yes and follow the instructions.
Marcium displays a list of all the current hard drives you have installed. Click the row that has the your HDD with your Windows installation. Click the checkbox to the left to select all partitions on the disk that may exist.
It's below the row with all the partitions on your current HDD.
It's in the center of the box labeled "Destination" on the bottom. This displays a list of installed drives you can clone to.
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Click your SSD drive. If your SSD is installed properly, it should be listed in the list of drives you can clone to.
- Make sure the SSD has enough space to clone the entire contents of your HDD. If it doesn't have enough space, you may need to delete some more files.
It's at the bottom of Macrium Reflect.
Macrium gives you the option to schedule a time to clone your drive. If you wish to do this, click Add Schedule and follow the instruction to create a scheduled clone time. Continue to the next step if you want to proceed immediately.
This displays a list of all the partitions that will be cloned to the SSD.
It's in the lower-right corner of the Macrium.
This begins the process of cloning your HDD to the SSD. This process may take several hours to complete.^{[2]XResearch source} After the HDD is cloned to the SSD, you may need to boot your computer in BIOS and change the boot drive order to get your computer to boot from the SSD. Read "How to Install Windows From a USB Drive" to learn how to change the boot order on your computer.
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Method 4

Method 4 of 5:

Formatting a Drive on Windows

It's the button with the Windows logo. It's in the left side of the task bar at the bottom of your screen. This displays a pop-up menu.
This displays the disk management menu. This displays a list of all your drives installed on your computer.
This displays a pop-up menu for the HDD.
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Click Format. After you clone your hard drive, you end up with two drives with identical contents. You don't need a second drive with a Windows installation. Formatting the hard drive will wipe all the contents from the drive.
- Make sure all the contents you want to save form this drive are backed up before you format it.
If you want, you can create a new name for the HDD after it is formatted. For example, "Data Drive".
Use the drop-down menu to select NTFS or exFAT. NTFS only works on Windows, where as exFAT works with both Mac and PC, but has it's own limitations.^{[3]XResearch source}
A pop-up menu appears asking if you want to backup the hard drive before you format it. It can't be stressed enough how important it is to backup all files you want to keep on a hard drive before you format it. After the format is complete, you will not be able to recover any of the information on it.
This confirms that you want to format the drive. After it is complete, you will have an SSD with a Windows installation, and a blank HDD you can use for storage space. If you wish to create Quick Access folders on the HDD, continue on to the next method. Otherwise, you can begin transferring your backed up data back to the HDD.
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Method 5

Method 5 of 5:

Creating Quick Access Folders on the HDD in Windows

It's the app that resembles a folder. This opens the File Explorer which allows you to browse folders on your computer. Your Quick Access Folders and drives are displayed in the sidebar to the left.
The HDD is listed under "This PC" in the Quick Access sidebar to the left. If you gave it a new label, it will have that label as it's name as well as its drive letter (The drive letter is usually "D:" unless you gave it a different letter).
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Create folders in the HDD that correspond to your Quick Access folders. Your Quick Access folders are listed in the side bar of the File Explorer. They typically include Desktop, Documents, Downloads, Music, Pictures, and Videos. Create a folder for each of these in the HDD using the following steps
- Click the HDD.
- Right-click a blank space in the File Explorer.
- Click New
- Click Folder
- Type a name for the folder (i.e. Documents, Pictures, Videos, ect)
To open the folder, double-click on it. It will most likely be empty.
The address bar is long bar at the top of File Explorer that displays the current location of the folder. Right-click the address bar displays a
The copies the current location of the folder.
For example, if you are creating a folder called "Videos", right-click the "Videos" folder listed under Quick Access in the File Explorer. This displays a drop-down menu for that folder.
It's the last option in the drop-down menu when you click on a Quick Access folder in File Explorer.
It's one of the tabs at the Properties window. This displays the current location of the Quick Access folder.
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Paste the location of the new folder in the location bar. The location bar is in the center of the Properties window. Use the following steps to paste the location of the new folder in the location bar.
- Click and drag to highlight the entire address.
- Right-click the address bar.
- Click Paste.
It's in the lower-right corner of the Properties window. This applies the new location to the Quick Access folder.
This closes the Properties window. Repeat these steps with all folders in the Quick Access folder. This ensures that certain files will be saved to the HDD which has larger hard drive space, instead of the much smaller SSD. You can now paste any files you have saved to these folders to the new location on the HDD. Once you have all the Quick Access folders set up on the HDD, you can begin transferring any backed up data you have to the HDD.
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If I have a laptop with an SSD with the OS installed on it and an additional HDD. Can I extend the SSD to include the HDD so that both drives are seen as C:?
Community Answer
The short answer is no. Mapping two physical drives to one logical drive makes the logical drive a "spanned volume". No commonly-used OS would support that at bootup for a system boot drive. You would have to set one of the drives as the physical boot drive, and then dynamically implement the volume spanning after the kernel loaded, and before additional files were loaded from the second physical drive. It would also play havoc with the file system or directory structure with duplicate files on both drives.
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