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Old March 11th 18, 06:45 PM posted to alt.comp.hardware
John McGaw
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Posts: 732
Default Adding a SSD to Optiplex 790 mini tower

On 3/11/2018 9:31 AM, Paul wrote:
t wrote:

The Optiplex 790 is running Windows 7 64 bit. I want to put a 1TB SSD,
load Windows 10 64 bit on the SSD and make it the primary hard drive and
the existing 500GB hard drive containing Windows 7 as the
secondary. I watched the video at
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tmFbrBkauBc and estimate the process is
similar.

1. Anything else I need to be aware of while adding another disk to
Optiplex 790 mini tower?

2. Can I use SATA data cables for the SSD borrowed from another Optiplex
790?

3. Can I configure the BIOS so that the computer automatically boots from
the 1TB SSD which has a clean install of Windows 10 64 bit?

Thanks


When you install Win10, you'll be *unplugging* the Win7 drive.
After Win10 is fully up, then you plug Win7 in again.

Now, when the user wants to use it, they'll need "BIOS steering"
to multiboot. They can use the popup boot menu, to select one
drive or the other.

The reason you're *unplugging* the Win7 drive, is to make sure
the installed materials go *only* on the SSD.

OK, so you're a value-added IT guy. You don't want the
user to have to use the popup boot. Then...

snip...
They probably don't make a 2.5" adapter, so you'll need
some sort of adapter to fit in the Dell adapter, and
adapt from 3.5" to one or two 2.5" drives.

Your project is mostly a mechanical nightmare.

Â*Â* Paul


The OP doesn't actually write that he wants any sort of dual boot setup and
arranging for it just complicates the process unnecessarily (unless he
actually wants/needs dual boot and didn't think to mention it). The process
of simply removing the HD, installing the SSD and doing a clean install of
W10 and then setting the SSD as the boot device in BIOS would be less
stressful by far. Personally, I've normally just installed the SSD and
cloned the existing HD installation and all data files over and upgraded
from there but if he really wants a clean install, so be it. As for
mounting, I've done several SSD installs where no mounting beyond a bit of
double-stick foam tape were needed and one where just tucking the drive
into a corner where the stiffness of the cables kept it in place worked for
years.