How to Install an Operating System on an SSD and Keep Everything Else on an HDD

Overview of Hard Disk Drives (HDD) and Solid State Drives (SSD)

Storage has come a long way, as have operating systems, and for a better user experience, apps and games need faster write and install times – that's where SSDs come in.

An HDD, or hard disk drive, is an older form of storage that is slower than modern SSDs (solid-state drives). Many PCs, especially those with operating systems installed on them, still use HDDs as of today. This can slow down the overall experience since operations like reading data and installing software take much longer.

For example, if you frequently play games on your computer, you might want a faster drive like an SSD. An SSD will ensure that your games launch and update more quickly, and that resources, graphics, and every element the game needs to run loads faster as you play.

Similarly, having faster read and write speeds is crucial when editing videos or downloading large files. This is especially true when rendering videos. If the software can save more data in a shorter amount of time, the rendering will be much faster. Imagine rendering a video that might take an hour on an HDD could take only a few minutes on an SSD. If you need to fix an error in the video, you can do it much quicker.

Why would you install the OS on an SSD and keep everything else on an HDD?

When it comes to why it makes sense to install the operating system on an SSD and everything else on an HDD, it's important to understand the reasoning behind it, as well as other factors. Let's start with the SSD, then move on to the HDD.

There are pros and cons to SSDs, and users need to decide whether to use them exclusively or in hybrid combination with HDDs.

While upgrading to an SSD makes sense, it comes at a cost. SSDs are still at least 60-70% more expensive per gigabyte of storage than traditional hard drives, making it challenging to buy them for all our devices. Another downside of SSDs is that they wear out faster than standard hard disks, so although they are more expensive, you may need to purchase multiple SSDs over time.

When it comes to advantages, it's all about speed and performance: your OS will boot up faster than it would on an HDD, your gaming experience will be better, video editing will be quicker, and your apps will load almost instantly.

Everything else that isn't frequently accessed, like photos, videos, or documents, can be stored on an HDD. These files don't require a lot of resources and run just fine on an HDD. This is also the main reason most backup drives are built with HDDs – they're cost-effective, more durable than an SSD, and offer more storage space.

Thus, for the optimal balance, the best solution is to have the operating system installed on the SSD and everything else – including backups and storage – on the HDD. With the OS on the SSD, the system will run faster, backups will be more efficient, and the likelihood of disk failure will be reduced. Since files on the HDD will be accessed less frequently, its slower speed will be acceptable.

How to Migrate Your OS from HDD to SSD on Windows 10

If you're doing a clean install, it's easy to do with an SSD, but if you have an existing setup on an HDD, it's much less likely. Nobody wants to spend hours setting up a new operating system and all their stuff just to move it to an SSD later. There's app installations to consider, file restoration, user account setup, browser settings, and so on.

However, there is an easier way. Users who have the OS installed on an HDD and don't want to download and reinstall Windows on the SSD can migrate the operating system from HDD to SSD directly with professional partition software, like tools Partition Master.

The main features of Partition Master include:

• Support for partitions encrypted with BitLocker
• Transfer the operating system to a new SSD
• Resize/extend/shrink/create/copy/format/delete partitions
• Merge partitions into a larger one without data loss
• Convert MBR to GPT disk or vice versa
• Switch between FAT32 and NTFS, primary and logical partitions

The software offers an easy-to-use interface and migration tools that clone everything on your HDD to the SSD.

Note: If there is insufficient unallocated space on the target disk, migrating the OS to an SSD or HDD will delete and remove existing partitions and data on the target disk. Back up any important data on it to an external hard drive beforehand.

Step 1: From the left-hand menu, choose “Clone.” Select “Migrate the operating system,” and click “Next” to proceed.

Step 2. Select the target disk that you want to clone to. Click “Next”.

Step 3: Check the warning message and click “OK”. All data and partitions on the target disk will be erased. Make sure you have backed up your important data in advance. If not, please do it now.

Step 4. Preview the layout of the target disk. You can also click on the Disk Layout option to customize the layout of the target disk as per your need. Then, click "Start" to begin migrating the operating system to the new disk.

5. When you see the confirmation message, “If you want to boot your computer from the clone target disk,” check the box for “Boot from the clone target disk.” Click the appropriate button for your needs.

• Restart Now: Restarts the computer immediately and boots the operating system from the new disk.
• Finish Later: Completes the change at a later time.

Upon completion, you can change the boot drive in your BIOS from the HDD to the SSD. Upon restarting your computer, you should be able to use it as you normally would.

How to move all programs from an SSD to an HDD without reinstalling

Migrating everything to the SSD is only part of it; you also need to move content that doesn't need to be on the SSD to the HDD. This is for the long-term health of your SSD. So, once the migration is done, you can use the Todo PCTrans tool to move all applications from the SSD to the HDD with just a few clicks.

Todo PCTrans is a PC migration software that transfers data, applications, and accounts from one computer to another or to a new hard drive without the need for reinstallation. This ensures that all migrated items retain their original settings, so you don't have to start from scratch reinstalling everything. The software supports the migration of applications such as Microsoft Office, Photoshop, Adobe programs, and more.

It supports migration via the network, locally, and from an image file, ensuring a smooth transition in all scenarios.

Here's how to use the tool Todo PCTrans to move all your programs from your HDD to your SSD.

Step 1: Connect the new SSD or HDD to your computer and run the Todo PCTrans tool

1. Connect your new solid-state drive (SSD) or hard disk drive (HDD) to your computer and initialize it so that you can access the drive.

2. On the Todo PCTrans main screen, click “App Migration,” then hit “Start” to proceed.

Select the transfer mode

Step 2: Select the applications and programs on the source disk and choose the SSD or HDD as the target disk to transfer to

1. On the source partition where your applications are installed, check the ones you want to move to the SSD or HDD (labeled “Yes”).

2. Click the triangle icon to select your new SSD or HDD as the destination, then click “Migrate” to move the selected programs.

Select the apps to transfer:

Step 3: Wait for the transfer to complete

When the process is complete, click “OK” to finish the operation.

Then you can restart your computer to keep all the changes, and run the migration tool again on the new SSD or HDD.

Last Words

One of the best ways to boost a computer's performance is to install a solid-state drive (SSD) as its primary storage device. While traditional hard disk drives (HDDs) usually have greater endurance than SSDs, the latter are much faster.

If you have both an HDD and an SSD, you can install Windows on the SSD and keep your other files on the HDD for a speedier system. If you have an older computer with only an HDD, it's best to reinstall Windows on the SSD and use the HDD for backup storage.

To migrate an operating system to an SSD, a partition management tool is needed. Among all its features, Partition Master stands out as an essential utility that offers a quick, easy, and professional way to manage hard disk partitions through an intuitive and neat interface.