Question about reusing my old HDD

[Funkman111]

So my four year old cpu just died, i have ordered a new computer which is on the way.my new pc has a 240gb ssd and a 1tb hdd.

The thing is, my old hdd still has some information on it I would like, primarily music.

Can I just unplug my old HDD from my old pc and plug it into my new pc? Does it work that way?

I was thinking once I transfer the files I want, then I will format it, and have 2 TB of storage.

PS, this old HDD has been partitioned into two, not sure if that will make any difference.

Thanks.

 

[Mr.Scott]

Yes it is plug and play, but you can't boot from that drive. Boot for your OS drive, retrieve the files you want to save from the old drive, and then wipe and format it.

 

[Funkman111]

Ok, might there be some conflict? One of the partitions on my old HDD has Windows 10 on it, and my new SSD will also have windows 10 on it, is it possible once I plug in my old HDD that it might confuse the system and not know which one to boot from?

 

[HankB]

It shouldn't get confused unless you swap cables around or change BIOS settings.

BIOS settings determine which drives and in which order the BIOS looks for the boot drive. It will boot from the first bootable drive and load/run Windows from that. It won't try to run programs from the other drive and you probably would have trouble running most installed programs from the other drive.

I would spend a few $$$ on a USB<->SATA adapter and power supply and just attach the drive that way. A few $$$ more will get an external enclosure and make the old drive a convenient backup drive.

 

[Funkman111]

Ok thanks I will look into that.

 

[Mighty_Miro_WD]

Hi there.

You shouldn't have any issues getting the information from the HDD - all you have to do is plug it in the PC (either internally, or externally, whatever is most suitable for you) and transfer the data. For example:

1. Put it in the case.
2. Plug in the SATA cables (both to the motherboard and the PSU).
3. Boot up the PC and go in Disk Management .
4. Once there check if the HDD appears. If it is then assign a drive letter and transfer the data.
5. When everything is transferred simply reformat the drive.

Hope this helps and feel free to ask any questions you may have.

EDIT: As for the boot order, the PC should start from the right drive as long as the boot order in BIOS is correct.

 

[Alaric]

I've re used HDDs many times. The only time I had a problem was when I formatted a HDD in Windows 10 and tried to use it in Windows 7. Total nightmare. From Windows 7 to Windows 10 it was plug 'n play.