New Boot Drive. Help Confirming Boot Drive is Running Windows.

[Seven Years Old]

I am new and bad at computers, please take that into consideration.

I installed a new SSD and then mirrored my old HDD onto the SSD. I then made the SSD my Boot Drive in Disk Management. I am a little unclear about the ramifications.

• First, does making the SSD my Boot Drive mean that my SSD is running Windows? If not, how can I confirm which drive is running Windows? If it is not the SSD, how do I make it be the SSD?
  
• Second, once I am sure that it is my SSD running Windows and not my old HDD, can I delete all the Windows files from the old HDD? I would like to do this.
  
• Third, is there any reason I should swap the names of my drives? Right now Drive C is my old HDD and I am booting from drive D, my SSD. I would prefer if new programs defaulted to being installed on my HDD, but does this make Windows updates, or anything else important, awkward.
  
• Fourth, I notice that when I run computer games off my SSD now that none of my personal settings are retained - whereas if I run them off the HDD my personal settings are as they were before the mirror. Could someone explain this to me? If the SSD is a mirror of the HDD, then shouldn't personal settings in applications also be mirrored?

Here is a screen shot of my Disk Management. Drive C is my old HDD. Drive D is my new SSD. Drive E is storage.

Thank you!

EDIT: In connection with the first question, if I right click a folder on my desktop, Properties reveals the Location of that folder to be the desktop of my C drive. Conclusive evidence I am not running Windows from my new SSD on drive D?

 

[gregrocker]

D is booting Win7 as shown by the Boot label. The problem is that Win7 is designed to always be C if it is correctly installed from boot and not run from another OS, or if you select Auto when choosing drive letter for cloning or imaging. So you've stuck yourself with the letter D for Win7 if that's okay with you. You can clone it again and designate Auto so it correctly boots as C if you want.

The correct way to delete an OS is to delete or format its partition after moving any files off of it you want to save. In this case I would delete both the System Reserved and C partition after moving the data to a new data partition you shrink C to make. Later resize back into the deleted partition space using Partition Wizard Move/Resize Partition Video Help.

You should install Programs to the SSD to get best performance, leave the paging file on the SSD as well although if space gets tight you can set it to 2gb in size if it's taking more. You can copy your User folders to a new data partition on the HD and rightclick each to link to the related Win7 Library - Include a Folder - Windows 7 Forums which is the best way to access your data on the HDD.

I don't know why your settings aren't carried over, but settings are a corruption path into a new install anyway. In fact if you wanted the best possible install for a new SSD to take maximum advantage of its speed you should do a Clean Reinstall - Factory OEM Windows 7 which steps are the same for retail.

 

[Seven Years Old]

Thank you. I still don't quite understand your first paragraph or the answer to my first bullet point.

Are you saying that that my SSD, drive D, is booting Windows from my HDD, drive C? So all the mirrored Windows files on my SSD - are those doing anything? Booting Windows and running Windows is not the same?

And the "paging files" - right now are those on the SSD or the HDD?

 

[Kaktussoft]

Before cloning old drive to new drive you had a C drive with win7 on it. I don't know how you did clone (please tell me), but now the situation is:

• System boots from SSD-system reserved. Nice.. that's what you want.
• It loads the \Windows\system32\winload.exe from the SSD-second partition. Nice.. that's what you want.
• It loads the regsitry HKLM/system from SSD-second partition afterwards. That registry is a clone and already knows what's C. C points to old disk!! SSD-second partition was unknown yet so he assigns letter D.

Best thing to do is:
From http://www.sevenforums.com/tutorials/783-elevated-command-prompt.html

reg  delete  hklm\system\mounteddevices  /v  \dosdevices\D:  /f
reg  delete  hklm\system\mounteddevices  /v  \dosdevices\C:  /f

Both commands succeed successfully? On reboot it doesn't know the (old) C drive and right drive (SSD second partition) doesn't have drive letter. It assigns C to itself and all is fine. Post disk management screenshot afterwards.

Of course you have to reinstall or uninstall any programs you did after coloning. This is because they were made on old C! Also settings must be reapplyed. Also drag and drop changed documents/shortcuts from old C

 

[Seven Years Old]

Thanks.

I cloned the HDD using True Image 2013. I don't remember the details, but that program made it pretty simple.

Where exactly do I make the code changes you suggested?

 

[Kaktussoft]

Thanks.

I cloned the HDD using True Image 2013. I don't remember the details, but that program made it pretty simple.

Where exactly do I make the code changes you suggested?

I changed my post. Read it again

 

[Kaktussoft]

Thanks.

I cloned the HDD using True Image 2013. I don't remember the details, but that program made it pretty simple.

Where exactly do I make the code changes you suggested?

When restoring an image using rescure CD.... detach old disk first. Reboot after restore is complete. Why...?

• Old disk is not interfering in restore process. Restore job doesn't find the active partition and bootmenu on old disk.
• On first reboot from SSD... C is still pointing to old disk, but is unavailable of course. SSD-partition 2 so the right partition doesn't have a drive letter yet. Win7 assign letter C to SSD-partition 2 (because C is unavailable or not assigned, and OS partition hasn't other drive letter yet).

My code deassigns the drive letter of what's now called C and D. This triggers what's described on last bullet in list

 

[Seven Years Old]

Not buying your explanation. Obviously some sort of witchcraft.

Thank you!!

So I can now delete the Windows files from the old HDD, now drive D, correct?

 

[Kaktussoft]

Settings after the OS transfer

Disk Defragmentation : Disable it on SSD!

Hibernation File – most of us do not use Hibernation, but Sleep instead. But, the hiberfile takes precious space on your SSD – to the same tune as the size as your RAM. To get rid of it, run the following command in elevated Command Prompt: powercfg –h off. If you ever want it back, it is powercfg – h on.

Check if TRIM is on:
This is done by clicking on the start orb, then All Programs, Accessories, right-clicking on Command Prompt and selecting Run as Administrator.
Now execute the command fsutil behavior query DisableDeleteNotify and take a look at the result.
trim enable windows-7

Two results are possible:

• DisableDeleteNotify = 0: This indicates that TRIM is enabled and working on the operating system.
• DisableDeleteNotify = 1: This means that TRIM is not enabled, and that SSDs will therefor not benefit from it.

If TRIM is not active on the system, which can be the case if the SSD has not been properly recognized, if it is to slow or if drivers have not been properly installed.
TRIM can be enabled with a similar command if it is not enabled in Windows 7. To activate TRIM issue the command fsutil behavior set DisableDeleteNotify 0.

 

[Kaktussoft]

Not buying your explanation. Obviously some sort of witchcraft.

Thank you!!

So I can now delete the Windows files from the old HDD, now drive D, correct?

Did you add documents to C after cloning? They are located on old C now called D!! Copy them.

 

[Kaktussoft]

F (system reserved on old disk) is useless now. You can delete that partition now. You can also delete partition D (old C), but only if you copied all documents you added/modified after cloning! Now old drive is totally empty. You can create a new partition and fromat it NTFS and give it a label

 

[Seven Years Old]

More good stuff. Set hibernation to off and trim to on.

Ok, definitely will copy the recent stuff. After that though, I should be okay to delete cloned files from the HDD, drive D?
EDIT: answered! - Thanks

 

[Kaktussoft]

http://www.sevenforums.com/tutorials/330-system-protection-turn-off.html
Enable it on C!! So do step 7 To Turn On System Protection for System Settings and Previous Versions of Files.
Any ghost drives in that list? If so select them and press configure. "turn off system protection" of ghost drives (if any).

 

[Seven Years Old]

Done. Thanks again!

 

[Kaktussoft]

Done. Thanks again!

Was system protection already fine on C? Were there any ghost drives?
TRIM was on already? Hibernation is OFF?

 

[gregrocker]

It is not necessary to turn off the modern Hibernation feature which is perfected in Win7.

We should not be advising wholesale to turn off Features or Services.

 

[Seven Years Old]

Protection was NOT fine for drive C. It was off! I turned it on.
There were no ghost drives, but protection was on for drive D, the HDD. I turned it off since I will be deleting the Windows files off this drive anyway.

TRIM was on already. I left it on.

Hibernation was also on. I turned it off.
Any additional feedback on this? If Hibernation is really taking up the size of my RAM on my SSD then I would like it off. That would be 15% of my SSD space!

 

[Kaktussoft]

Did you disbale defragment schedule on SSD? See #9
You can enable it on other disks