Updating drive to SSD

Question

Hi,

I have an old XPS 8930 with a HDD that I would like to update to an SDD. From reading other posts, I understand that my license is saved in the motherboard so I can simply install windows on the new drive and it will automatically be activated. But is that still the case if both drives are still in the PC and are running windows on them?

Ultimately, I would like to run windows on the SSD and use the HDD to store files only. So how do I make sure my XPS boots on the SSD and how do I transform my old HDD into a storage drive?

Thanks a lot

redxps630 · Answer

do a clean install of OS on the ssd while temporarily disconnect data cable of old hdd.

if pc is able to boot successfully from ssd, reconnect data cable to old hdd, boot again from ssd, you can use an external hdd to back up data of old hdd then wipe the old hdd clean (delete partition and create new partition) to use it as data drive

NilokasKane · Answer

@redxps630​ Thanks a lot. How do I make sure the PC will boot on the SSD when I reconnect the old HDD? Will it do it automatically or do I need to change some BIOS parameters somewhere? Also, can I wipe the old HDD (delete partition, etc.) in windows directly or do I need to use a particular tool / software for that? Thanks again for the help!

Vic384 · Answer

@NilokasKane To make sure the PC will boot from the SSD with the old HDD connected, boot the PC using the F12 Boot Menu (that is hit the F12 key while booting from a cold boot start). When the Boot Menu appears, select to boot from the SSD.

Wipe the HDD using DiskPart from a Command Prompt. In the Command Prompt window, type DiskPart. At the DiskPart prompt, type "List Disk" to obtain a list of the disk drives. Type "Select Disk #" where # is the number of the HDD from the Lisk Disk results. Make sure you are selecting the correct disk otherwise, the next command will wipe the incorrect drive. Type "Clean" to wipe the drive. Type "Convert gpt" to format the drive to GPT format. Type "create partition primary" to create a primary partition. Type "quick format fs=ntfs" to format the drive to NTFS. The complete instructions are here: https://macrorit.com/partition-magic-manager/initialize-disk-gpt-mbr-from-cmd-diskpart.html

redxps630 · Answer

when you have both ssd and hdd having UEFI OS, windows 10 will prompt you at power up to choose one drive as boot drive. this is what happens on my pc. it shows two volumes.

use Windows disk mgmt to delete all paritions on old hdd. then create single new partition.

MastiffX · Answer

An alternative to a clean install of the operating system is to make an image of the HDD and restore the image to the SSD. With this method, there is nothing to reinstall or re-configure. It's like moving your keys from your left pants pocket to your right pants pocket.

XPS Desktops

Updating drive to SSD

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