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October 30th, 2022 05:00
Fresh install Windows 10 on SSD in Inspiron 5570
Inspiron 5570
Hi,
I have a Dell Inspiron 5570 which originally came with 1 TB HDD. I recently added a 500GB SSD in the M.2 slot and want to fresh install Windows 10 on it. I have lots of data in my HDD and don't want to touch it. The HDD has 4 logical drives and C: contains Windows. After installing Win10 on SSD, I just want to format the C drive, retain the data in other partitions and use the C drive to store data normally. I have created a bootable USB using Windows media creation tool and have another USB created as recovery drive (just in case).
How can I achieve this?
I saw one video where the HDD was physically taken out before installing Win10 on SSD, but I do not want to do that. Will disabling the drive slot from BIOS do this job?
Also, in BIOS, in the Boot Sequence option, I see UEFI selected (and Legacy disabled) which shows only Windows Boot Manager. Will I have to change anything around this setting too? and/or Secure Boot as well?
Any help would be appreciated.
Thanks.
NJDave
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404 Posts
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October 31st, 2022 12:00
Disabling the HDD in BIOS will accomplish the same thing as removing it in the video (probably the video creator didn't have that option available). It's a good step because the system will reboot a couple of times during the install, and you don't want confusion about which device to boot from. It also prevents you from inadvertently erasing the wrong device. Leave Secure Boot turned on as well. You will probably want to edit the boot sequence in BIOS, especially if you plan to go for any length of time with both the SSD and HDD enabled before you re-format the HDD. Move the SSD ahead of the HDD but leave Windows Boot Manager at the front of the list.
All that said, I believe you'll be happier backing up the data on the HDD, reformatting it as one big (NTFS) volume, and restoring from the backup. You'll get back the space now used for boot and recovery partitions and you won't have to manage around them going forward.