Is it possible to move programs from SSD to HDD with out reinstall?

[NathanRice411]

Hello Windows professionals...

I was hoping to get some guidance and info from you all on a question... So my SSD drive (111 GB capacity) is almost full. Last month I purchased CCleaner (Awesome tool) and used the drive wiper/free space only application and it freed up more than i imagined. But I'm now back to the ugly red bar in my computer showing i'm nearly out of storage space. I have 2 HDD drives in my rig, Both 1TB each and PLENTY of room to do what ever. Is it possible to move installed programs and their files from the SSD (that I so stupidly installed them on) to any one of my 1TB Hdd without having to reinstall the program? and leaving just the OS on the SSD? My rig is used mostly to play & record music and a lot of these programs take FOREVER to install. My guess is no i cant and should pay more attention to the post-it note I wrote long ago saying "Life can be hard for anyone, but life is impossible if your stupid" EH? LOL!

 

[whs]

Program files of installed programs cannot be moved. You can only direct them to a folder on the HDD during the installation (but not all programs allow you to do that).

What is easy to move is user files (documents, music, videos, pictures). There are 2 different methods doing that. If you think that would help you, post back and I describe the methods in more detail.

Another space eater may be the restore points. That is easy to check. Open an elevated command prompt (run as admin) and run this command:

vssadmin list shadowstorage

The Allocated number tells you how much space is taken by the restore points. If you think that's too much, post back and I tell you how to reduce that space.

 

[NathanRice411]

Terrific advice!! As soon as I saw the word "restore points" it totally hit me. That can surely eat up room. But let me ask you this... Is it possible to maybe some how save restore points on a different drive?

 

[NathanRice411]

Shame on me.. I should have looked at this link first before posting.... Sorry everyone.
http://www.sevenforums.com/software/45360-how-move-installed-programs-another-drive.html

 

[whs]

Terrific advice!! As soon as I saw the word "restore points" it totally hit me. That can surely eat up room. But let me ask you this... Is it possible to maybe some how save restore points on a different drive?

No, that is not possible. But what you can do instead is images. And those you can store on any internal or external disk. Use free Macrium. That is your best option.

http://www.sevenforums.com/tutorials/73828-imaging-free-macrium.html?ltr=I

 

[pallesenw]

You can take a look at mklink: Mklink

With that you can redirect folders.

 

[gregrocker]

Move your User Folders - Restore Default Location - Windows 7 Forums
to the HD, since Programs benefit most by the extra speed of an SSD.

If space becomes scarce again then I would buy a larger SSD, or you can uninstall lesser-used programs and reinstall them to a folder on the HD.

 

[lehnerus2000]

I'm not sure that it is a good idea to use the CCleaner free space wiper on an SSD.
IIRC, that is supposed to "zero" unused (or previous used) memory locations on HDDs, by performing multiple writes.

 

[NathanRice411]

I'm not sure that it is a good idea to use the CCleaner free space wiper on an SSD.
IIRC, that is supposed to "zero" unused (or previous used) memory locations on HDDs, by performing multiple writes.

Wow? Really? I will surely keep that in mind...

....Of all the forums I ever posted on (its a lot) I seriously believe this site is the fastest at replying to a question and with smart ideas and tools given every time. I think I owe a donation now... Anyone who is a regular on this site then i will bet high stakes someone here has gotten you out of a pickle or saved your ass a lot of frustration... If so, then lets all donate something eh? Im sure just 5 bucks is appreciated..

 

[NathanRice411]

Really? No donate link? Man.... all this free info and the site doesnt even have a cup sitting out that says "Spare Change" I vote this site #1 in 2013 for most helpful computer site....

 

[md2lgyk]

The installation instructions that came with my SSD said, among other things, to disable System Restore and not run Defrag. There was an explanation of why but it was over my head lol.

 

[whs]

Defrag should be definitely disabled because it only puts an extra stress on the SSD without any gain. Reason is that the access to data is just as fast to any location on the SSD and a 'record compaction' (which defrag essentially does) will not yield any advantage. But the extra write operations for that compaction reduce the lifetime of the SSD.

System restore is another matter. It is mainly a space consideration. If you can afford a few GBs on the SSD to store the restore points, I would recommend to enable system restore. Each restore point needs 500MB to 1GB of space. So a 3 to 4GB space allocation for the shadowstorage (that's where the restore points are being stored) may be appropriate. The extra write operations are insignificant because restore points are not written that often.

 

[lehnerus2000]

CCleaner Docs Page
Piriform - CCleaner

The CCleaner cleaning tools should be safe to use on SSDs as they just delete "junk" files (based on your chosen settings).

Disc Wiping is for HDDs.

Data erasure (also called data clearing or data wiping) is a software-based method of overwriting the data that completely destroys all electronic data residing on a hard disk drive or other digital media. Permanent data erasure goes beyond basic file deletion commands, which only remove direct pointers to the data disk sectors and make the data recovery possible with common software tools. Unlike degaussing and physical destruction, which render the storage media unusable, data erasure removes all information while leaving the disk operable, preserving IT assets and the environment.

Software-based overwriting uses a software application to write patterns of pseudo-random meaningless data onto all of a hard drive's sectors. There are key differentiators between data erasure and other overwriting methods, which can leave data intact and raise the risk of data breach or spill, identity theft and failure to achieve regulatory compliance. Many data eradication programs also provide multiple overwrites so that they support recognized government and industry standards. Good software should provide verification of data removal, which is necessary for meeting certain standards.

Wikipedia
Data erasure - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia