Hello all, I recently built my first HTPC (or build ever, for that matter), thanks in large part to the responses I got to my post on this site. Now I'm coming back for more help!
So I got a Samsung 840 series 120GB SSD to add to my build as my OS drive. I've done my share of googling and I'm pretty sure I have the process down, there are just one or two questions I couldn't find consistent answers to. Here's the route I'm going to take:
1. Disconnect HDD
2. Connect SSD, make sure set to AHCI
3. Clean Install of Win7 to SSD
4. Update drivers, install security, let Windows update
5. Connect HDD
6. Create back up image of SSD
7. Wipe Win7 off HDD
Now I haven't done too much with my computer since I built it, knowing full well I'd be adding an SSD soon after and not wanting too large a headache. Mainly, I have installed some free software for ripping my blu ray collection, in addition to MSE and MalwareBytes, and a digital download of Roller Coaster Tycoon 2 purchased in an alcohol induced fit of nostalgia. What I can't figure out for certain is, will there be any issues accessing the data on my HDD after installing the OS on the SSD and deleting it from the HDD? I would backup to my external HDD and just reformat, but my blu ray collection is nearly a TB and my ext HDD is only 500GB. Also, I'm planning on deleting MSE and MalwareBytes from the HDD before step 1 so when its back up and running, I won't have 2 installs. Is this the best method? Finally, how exactly do I go about wiping all of Win7 from the HDD without deleting any of my data? After everything is back to working order, I'm going to do a few of the tweaks from Sean's Guide http://www.overclock.net/t/1156654/sean ... -ssds-hdds to optimize, but does anyone have any additional tips or recommendations from personal experience?