Switching Hard Drives Around - Question

[dialman]

I have 2 hard drives
C: = 250 GB
E: = 750 GB

I am upgrading from Windows XP to Windows 7

I would like to switch the hard drives around to that the 750 GB E: drive is the new C: drive with the new operating system on it.

I formatted the E: drive so it's wiped clean, but now I'm at a point where I probably know just enough to be dangerous, and want to get some advice.

My plan is to:

1. tear apart the computer (which i have to anyway to install a cooling system)

2. switch the hard drives around

3. install the new operating system on the 750 GB drive C:

4. and then Format the 250 GB E: drive (formerly C: drive with the old operating system on it)

Am I so far off the mark i should just take it into a shop, or do i stand a good chance of figuring it out myself?
Is it even necessary to physically switch the drives around or is that completely irrelevant?
I don't know much about "partitioning" would physically switching the drives around mess something up there?

Any help is much appreciated

Thanks

 

[Blain]

Since you're going to a new OS on an emtpy HD, I'd just unplug the 250GB drive from its data and power cables.
Leave the 250GB alone for a few days, in case there's something on that drive you need to access.
Once you're confident you no longer need to access data on the drive you can plug the cables back in and reformat it.

 

[dialman]

Awesome... that simplifies it a bit thanks!

 

[FishAk]

Just to add a little to that.

If you ever get into a jamb with your Windows install, due to virus, broken disk, brain fart, or a mirriod of other reasons, it's very nice to be able to simply delete the problematic install, and recover an image you previously make of your good OS. To do this, I wouldn't recommend using the stock Windows recovery setup, as many have found that in a jamb, the Windows recovery can leave you high and dry. Instead, download Macrium Reflect home eddition, and use that as your imaging porgram. It's free, and works very good.

Do not allow Windows to save documents, vidios, music, downloads, ect in the default User folder, and instead, make a separate partition to contain all your personal data. Then, simply point the various Windows libraries to your data folders.

If you only have Windows, and all your programs, on the C partition, imaging that partition will result in a relatively small file- between 10 and 20Gb. Keep your data backed up on another disk, but keep current image files of your OS/programs partition. This way, when you must resort to your previous snapshot of your Windows install, you will have all your settings, updates, programs, and activations intact. It can save literally days worth of work. If you don't know how to do this, you should learn. There is a lot of info on this forum relating to this.