Repurpusing former boot drive as data drive


  1. Posts : 37
    Windows 7 Pro (64 bit)
       #1

    Repurpusing former boot drive as data drive


    My Win7 setup used to be with a primary HD C drive (1.5TB) and a backup E drive (1TB). I then installed an SSD with a fresh install of Win7.

    Now that the SSD has been running for a while, I'd like to repurpose the old C drive as a data drive (for backup) and move the backup data from the old backup drive (E) to the repurposed drive.

    I'm attaching a screenshot of my current disk management. It shows 3 drives:
    1. Disk 2 as current C boot drive (on the new SSD)
    2. Disk 0 as my Backup E drive (1TB)
    3. Disk 1 as my old boot drive with 3 partitions: OEM, RECOVERY (F) and OS (G)


    What I'd ideally like to do is this:
    1. Blow away Disk 1 and repartition to a single partition and reformat and assign drive letter E
    2. Have Disk 0 take on a new drive letter


    (Assigning the new single partition Disk 1 to E isn't necessary, it just makes things easier for me in terms of not having to redo the target drive for the various backup stuff I have. I can certainly reconfigure the automatic backups if it's difficult to reassign drive letters)

    I do NOT need or want the RECOVERY partition currently on Disk 1.

    I'm fairly handy with computers but my expertise is in Macs...this is my wife's machine so I'm not as proficient "under the hood" of a Win 7 machine.

    How do I repartition Disk 1 into a single partition? And can the drive letters be easily reassigned?

    [Yes, I will backup the current drive E on Disk 0 first and then copy it onto the newly partitioned Disk 1]

    Thanks in advance for your help.
    Attached Thumbnails Attached Thumbnails Repurpusing former boot drive as data drive-capture.jpg  
      My Computer


  2. Posts : 259
    Win7 sp1 Pro 64bit / XP sp2 Pro (games only)
       #2

    I would start by disconnecting all drives and then plugging the SSD to the connector for drive "0". Make sure the computer boots and is happy like that. If all is good, shut down and reconnect drive "1". Restart and if all is still good start to reformat/delete all the partitions. When the complete drive is empty, reformat as one partition and it should pickup as "E" if you have only one optical drive installed.
    If there is a choice I would always let windows select the drive letters as it seems much happier not to be told what to do.
    Art.
      My Computer


  3. Posts : 37
    Windows 7 Pro (64 bit)
    Thread Starter
       #3

    Thanks for the help; I appreciate it.
      My Computer


  4. whs
    Posts : 26,210
    Vista, Windows7, Mint Mate, Zorin, Windows 8
       #4

    You are OK. C on the SSD is active. You can go ahead and delete everything from Disk 1. You can just reformat it.
      My Computer


 

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