Asus z790 Hero, 3 980 pros, os install question.

[ptm]

So I was able to get a Asus Z790 Hero mobo and picked up 3 sticks of Samsung 980 pro 2tb each.
should I just install the first stick, (slot 1) install OS on it and then install the other 2 sticks (slots 2 & 3)?
Or, install all 3 sticks and hope the motherboard labels correctly so I can install the OS on the stick in slot 1 ?

 

[EarthDog]

It's up to you to select the right drive.

If you're not confident which is which when it comes time, then just have one in when installing the OS, yep.

 

[Soulcatcher668]

Just to follow up on this, if I remember correctly, it used to be standard practice to unplug all drives but the boot drive when installing windows.
I believe the rational for this was windows putting things on drives even if it was not told to.
Is this not the case anymore?

 

[EarthDog]

I believe the rational for this was windows putting things on drives even if it was not told to.
Is this not the case anymore?

IIRC, the primary reason to do this is so the boot loader/order won't get messed up. I'm not certain, but I don't think Windows puts any partitions on other non-OS drives.

 

[ZetaRevan]

Are you planning to dual/multi-boot? You just said OS, so I'm not sure if you're planning on any OSes other than another Windows 11 (based on your sig). Last I remember from my last Win10 install, you can pick your drive(s)/partitions to put your Windows install on.

If you're doing a multi-boot system, I recommend this guide:

Dual boot with Windows - ArchWiki

wiki.archlinux.org

 

[Celeron_Phreak]

I've always disconnected all other drives at the time of OS installation, a habit I started back with Win98. I used to mess with the system files routinely and would reload windows weekly sometimes. I learned the hard way with win95 and win98 overwriting my other drives.

I just upgraded to Z690, and populated all three of my M.2 slots. I loaded W11 on a bench setup before installing anything in the case. Not just to ensure everything worked, but also because accessing the M.2 drives under the heatsink wouldn't be possible after assembling the system and the cooling loop, without draining the loop.