Dell Vostro 430 upgrade to SSD

[jollyroger]

I have a Dell Vostro 430 desktop running windows 7. It has a core i7 860 with 2 x 320GB hard drives set up in RAID 1. I am regularly getting one of the hard drives degrading and have now decided to fit a 128GB SSD and a 2TB hard drive. I want to put the OS and some programmes on the SSD and use the other drive for everything else. I intend to make a backup copy of everything to an external hard drive before I start. I have a set of disks for the Dell.

I need some advice on how to set it up.

Can I disconnect one of the existing hard drives and then connect in the new SSD and install windows on to it keeping the data on the other drive or am I better removing both existing hard drives and starting from scratch?

When I set up windows do I need to make any changes to the BIOS regarding the existing RAID set up.

 

Any help much appreciated.

[isolatedvirus]

If your RAID is configured through the BIOS, you will need to disable it (after backing all of your data up onto an external disk) Once youve saved all of your data, you can begin the upgrade. (Im unfamiliar with your BIOS, so these instructions will be vague, if you need further clarification please let me know so i can be of more assistance.

 

>back up data to External Drive (or whatever you preffer)

>Reboot into BIOS, Disable RAID array.

>Remove both drives, and install the SSD first. (Do not install the 2TB HDD yet, this is to avoid installing windows accidently onto it)

>Install windows, this will take quite some time, as SSD's have slow write speeds.

>Once windows is installed, power down and install the 2TB drive.

>power on and format the drive.

>Enjoy

[jollyroger]

I have done as you suggested and everything went well. Thanks.

 

I have a couple of queries.

I have set up the OS and MS office on the ssd. I have the 2TB drive as just one partition.

I have 6 user accounts set up on the PC and when I go to the 2TB drive and create folders for each account everyone will be able to see each others folders. Any suggestions as how to stop this?

Also when each user logs on can I set up their folder on the 2TB drive to be the default folder to save their stuff to?

If someone is logged on to their account and they want to install a programme how can I ensure that it is installed on the 2TB drive and not the ssd by default?

 

Many thanks.

[isolatedvirus]

Setting up user accounts to save thier content by default to their home folder:

 

There is a way to do this, however the way i know how to do this involved windows 7 pro and an Active Directory domain with user's default folders being set within Active Directory. On windows 7 home premium i would imagine it is possible to set their default folders, but i am unsure how to do this right now (ill do some research and get back to you on this one.)

 

As for making it so users cannot see the folders of each other:

 

The easiest way to do this is to create a folder which is the user's name. For Example: Chris, John, Bob, Steve, Phil.

Of course you can name the folders whatever you like, but the users need to be filled in on which folder is theirs, etc..

 

The next tep is to log in as an administrator, and deny read/write permissions to the folder, to everyone ecept the administrator account, and the user the folder belongs to. You can do this by right clicking the folder (as the admin) and clicking properties, and going to permissions and adding every user on the machine to the folder, and denying everyone excpt the owner. Once you have done this be sure to apply the changes. This will let everyone see each others folders, but they will be unable to look inside of them. The reason for leaving the administrator account with access to each folder is in the event one of the users messes with the permissions, you can go in and fix it.

 

Optional: If you are comfortable with editing permissions, on each folder deny the user it belongs to the ability to edit permissions, or take ownership of the folder. This will prevent them from completely screwing up the folder's permissions, or going around the permissions by taking ownership of the folder. You do not have to do this to users that have been denied full access, because they already wont be able to edit permissions or view the contents of the folder.

[isolatedvirus]

also:

How to ensure the users that install programs are installing it to the 2TB and not the SSD:

 

you can tell them to manually choose the 2TB drive. There may be a way to set the default installation drive, however as i am more proficient with XP and not windows 7's inner workings, i am unsure. For now just tell them to install to the 2TB, and i will research this as well and get back to you with a definitive answer.

[jollyroger]

Great Thanks

[isolatedvirus]

http://www.windows7hacker.com/index.php/2009/05/how-to-change-user-profile-default-location-in-windows-7/

This link will show you how to change the default profile location within the registry.

 

http://www.intowindows.com/change-default-installation-directory-in-windows-7-vista/

This link will show you how to change the default installation path within the registry.

 

This should answer your inquiries, however you might have to do this for each user individually.

[jollyroger]

That is great.

I would just like to thank you for taking the time to help me sort this out.

[KenB]

Hi jollyroger

 

isolatedvirus has given you some good information here.

The last 2 links involve editing the Registry.

The text suggests that you backup the Registry before you attempt this. You should make sure that you do this.

 

This can be done from within Windows - but a better option that our security guys always recommend is a free piece of software called Erunt.

 

It is easier to explain with a link.

see here

 

Thanks for you input so far isolatedvirus :)