Need help with new SSD install

[Ging9]

I just got a new OCZ 120GB SSD and want to install it as the boot drive on my system. My old 320G Seagate HD is just about maxed out. So I installed my OEM copy of Win7 Home Premium on the SSD after unplugging the old drive. I plugged back in the old Sata drive and when I boot to the SSD, I see a spanky new desktop with virtually nothing on it.

Here's the question: how do I transfer my old desktop with all my favorites/shortcuts etc to the new SSD so when I boot up, I'm looking at a useable desktop? When I go into my old drive directory and try to fire up one of the many games I have installed there, it works but all my savegames are gone for some reason. When I boot into the old drive, however, the save games are there.

Help!

[ipaine]

The easiest way I find is to look on the old drive and find your desktop folder. If it was windows 7 on the old drive then it is under \users\username\desktop and copy that to your new desktop folder, so c:\users\username\desktop. Then you can do the same for favorites, documents, save games etc.

[Shadowmeph]

are you saying that all you see is a desktop, no task barb or anything? if so then you probably are using more then one monitor and you would need to set up your display settings for your main desktop.

Now what was said above is true but if you are going to be running things off of your old drive then you will also have to change the drive letters of your shortcuts to the proper drive. what I always do is copy my C:\Users folders over to the SSD so that my settings stay the same ,eccept for the drive letter of the programs that are runing off of my other drive

[_dangtx_]

some apps, you an just copy paste from the appdata and thats a backup for you. other stuff you copy paste/cut to a new folder, like what you had in documents.

not sure what youre gonna do with the old drive, but i highly suggest you wipe it properly,. start with the 35 passes, from boot or from within windows using hdtune or so. del all the volumes partitions before as well.

[Supergrover]

I keep most of my data on multiple drive rather than on my ssd, here is a quick how to on how to move the location of a folder in your username, it works in reverse, Handy if you format and reinstall your OS a lot.

A quick How to on moving your user data from your C: drive to a different drive.
I like to keep my ssd free of clutter and span my userdata across multiple drives, IE My Documents on F:, My Music on E:, ect not only will this save space and writes to your ssd or C: drive but it makes wiping and reinstalling window painless since most of your data isn't on your C: drive.

I will be moving the My Documents location, simply repeat the steps with the rest of the folders in user data, for this How To.

First go C:\user\username\My Documents, right click My Documents, select Properties
Click Location\move Select your new location for My Document, Click Apply, click Yes to merge both folders.

Done

Repeat with any other Folder, IE. My Music, My Videos, My Games, ect.

[DCCV44.2223]

Originally Posted by Ging9

how do I transfer my old desktop with all my favorites/shortcuts etc to the new SSD so when I boot up, I'm looking at a useable desktop?

To replicate your old desktop and other stuff, you need to import the settings from your old userprofile (on the Seagate), and you may have to copy and/or reinstall some of the executable/programs files/folders (or change the path used in the shortcuts).

See the copy profile part of this:

Fix a corrupted user profile

Note the part saying you need to use another user account because some of the files (for the user profile in use) maybe locked whilst you're logged on and cannot be overwritten.