Simple new SSD install question

I have a 1gb ssd as my C drive and want to swap it out for a 2tb model. I want to do a clean install at the same time. I know I can just put in the new ssd and use a boot USB to install a fresh copy of Windows, however my question has to do with the old 1tb stick.

This may seem like a simple question but if I do the clean install on the new 2tb stick and later on realize I need something from the old installation (like a software key or some other info) can I take out the 2tb and put the old 1tb back in the computer will it still boot to the old system without screwing things up? I run backups but I am always paranoid of doing a clean install...

I don't see a reason why not.

Ought to be OK.

However, if I wished to extract data from the old drive, I'd prefer to put it in an external enclosure or dock. And not boot from it.

Docks or enclosures can be inexpensive.

If it is a sata disk, it is very conveninet to have a caddy in the front of the machine. Hot swappable so any sata disks can be turned on or off or slid in and out very easily.

I dont know a practical way to do that with nvme disks unfortunately.

SIW2 said:

If it is a sata disk, it is very conveninet to have a caddy in the front of the machine. Hot swappable so any sata disks can be turned on or off or slid in and out very easily.

I dont know a practical way to do that with nvme disks unfortunately.

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USB adapter?

Not as tidy as a built-in port, but as I rarely have need to externally connect and NVME/M.2 drive, it's OK for me. (I use an enclosure, which is a little awkward, but it works well.)

If this PC is a desktop, is there no room inside for a second drive? I have four drives in mine, each one on its own SATA port, on the motherboard.
I have one Windows 11 drive, one Windows 7 drive, and one Windows 8.1 drive, and the 4th drive is for data backups.

So, having both drives connected is the best way to be able to recover files from the old drive.

Perhaps he doesn't want it powered on all the time. That is one big advantage of caddies.

I built my rig with 3x Sabrent 1 TB NVMe drives.

2 years later I upgraded to 3x Samsung 2 TB NVMe drives. And then I bought 3 USB Type-C connected NVMe drive enclosures and now use the original three via a Juiced Systems Type-C hub.

I can connect or disconnect any of the three old NVMe drives in any combination at any time, and the newer NVMe drives are on the 3x M.2 slots on my motherboard.

maestroc said:

This may seem like a simple question but if I do the clean install on the new 2tb stick and later on realize I need something from the old installation (like a software key or some other info) can I take out the 2tb and put the old 1tb back in the computer will it still boot to the old system without screwing things up? I run backups but I am always paranoid of doing a clean install...

Click to expand...

Using my above setup, via a USB connected adapter, I was able to get to any data at any time. As for programs, I just made sure I had the keys for anything I need that was installed on the original drives and then re-installed it on the newer drives.

Wow, lots of replies. Thank you!

Yes, it is an NVME drive and I only have one slot on my motherboard for it.

My plan was to get an enclosure so that once I am absolutely sure I don't need it I can wipe the old 1TB drive and use it for portable storage. I just wanted to be sure I can swap the old one back in to boot from it in case I forgot something important that I can't easily access otherwise.

Thank you for all the help!

maestroc said:

Wow, lots of replies. Thank you!

Yes, it is an NVME drive and I only have one slot on my motherboard for it.

My plan was to get an enclosure so that once I am absolutely sure I don't need it I can wipe the old 1TB drive and use it for portable storage. I just wanted to be sure I can swap the old one back in to boot from it in case I forgot something important that I can't easily access otherwise.

Thank you for all the help!

Click to expand...

I'm not sure why you'd need to boot from it, unless you're concerned about programs (rather than data).

if you clone the old drive to the new, that wouldn't be an issue.

You could clone the old drive using an external USB enclosure or dock. I recently did it with an enclosure. (I used the paid version of Macrium Reflect.) It was easy, and painless, once I figured out the interface for Reflect. (Not intuitively obvious for me., unlike the Image feature.)

maestroc said:

This may seem like a simple question but if I do the clean install on the new 2tb stick and later on realize I need something from the old installation (like a software key or some other info) can I take out the 2tb and put the old 1tb back in the computer will it still boot to the old system without screwing things up?

Click to expand...

Yes, that will work with no trouble at all. I've had desktops for years with 3 or 4 drives in the chassis, but only 1 plugged in at any given time. I could then plug in my Windows 7 drive if I wanted 7, I could plug in my Server 2016 drive if I wanted server 2016, I could plug in my Linux (insert distro name here) and boot from tht.

maestroc said:

I run backups but I am always paranoid of doing a clean install...

Click to expand...

If I were you. i would use a tool to take an image of your original 1Tb drive to an external hard drive. This will give you a full backup copy that is easy to retrieve from. then, pull out the 1tb drive and keep it somewhere safe for a period of time. (this gives you a second full copy that is easy to retrieve from). If after a period of time, you find nothing you need from the original drive, go ahead and repurpose it for any other task. You would still have your image if you ever actually needed it.

maestroc said:

Yes, it is an NVME drive and I only have one slot on my motherboard for it.

Click to expand...

If you have a spare pcie slot you could use a cheap pcie>nvme adapter. They can be had for around a fiver or sometimes less.

SIW2 said:

If you have a spare pcie slot you could use a cheap pcie>nvme adapter. They can be had for around a fiver or sometimes less.

Click to expand...

That's a point. I'd forgotten about M.2 to PCI-E adapters, although they are common.

I actually have one, from 2015. Needs a PCI-E X4 slot or better.

But I still would avoid anything that requires mucking around inside the case. Largely because I have a wide graphics card, which must be removed to access some of the M.2 slots.

"pparks1" suggestion of making an image is a good one. I'd always do that myself.

bobkn said:

I'm not sure why you'd need to boot from it, unless you're concerned about programs (rather than data).

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That's it. Some of the older software I use still has security keys. I have them all written down but I am paranoid about that part.

bobkn said:

if you clone the old drive to the new, that wouldn't be an issue.


You could clone the old drive using an external USB enclosure or dock. I recently did it with an enclosure. (I used the paid version of Macrium Reflect.) It was easy, and painless, once I figured out the interface for Reflect. (Not intuitively obvious for me., unlike the Image feature.)

Click to expand...

I did clone the drive once before from an old spinning hd to the 1TB nvme but somewhere in the process something got screwed up in my windows finder/search mechanisms. When I search in my downloads folder for example, even though I can see the file sitting right there, if I search for it from that folder the search says it doesn't exist. I want to do a clean install so that this problem will go away permanently.