How to properly setup a second data drive?

[Nick]

Hey everyone,
I have a couple of computers with two drives, an SSD and an HDD. SSD is for programs and OS, HDD is for personal files like pictures, documents, videos, music, etc. And they were setup by two different people in different ways, so I was wondering what the correct way is to setup your computer that has an extra drive for all your data. I’m thinking the easiest way to do it is just to move the “users” folder from the C: drive to the E: drive, and then telling the different Windows Explorer libraries where everything is. Then, you’d go into Microsoft Word and other Microsoft Office products and tell them that the default save location will be E:\Users\me\My Documents, as well as going into your web browser and telling it that the default location for downloads will be E:\Users\me\Downloads. However, with this method, I feel like it’d confuse some programs that have to save things to your folder in \Users, and it’d just recreate the folder on your C:\ drive and then everything would become a mess… What do you all think?

[veeg]

Hello Nick
Going to tag some members on there opinions.
jmarket @phillpower2 @gus @Rustys @plodr @DOUGIE

[Bill1]

I think it is more personal preference, than right or wrong. I have an SSD as the C: drive for the OS, programs and their data. The second drive holds pictures and the like and a Downloads folder and one for Documents. The system is set to save and download to the respective folders on the second drive. May not be the most convenient but I always know where to look for stuff.

[Rustys]

Yes Nick it can be done that way.

You may also need to change the configurations in documents programs (Word, excel, works, and etc) to save there as well.

[jmarket]

Yes Nick it can be done as you say, but unless your system drive is seriously low on space there’s no real point. When I got my first ssd that’s exactly what I did, put the apps on it and then the data on a mechanical drive. Screwy because it defeats the purpose of having a ssd, and when I decided to put the MSOffice data back onto the SSD it promptly screwed up all the links. Maybe pics, music, and archived docs on your mechanical drive.

[Bill1]

Hi gus, I don’t use MS Office but rather Kingsoft. It does fine with my documents on the second drive. The reason I do that is to safeguard the documents from a C: drive failure.
All a matter of personal preferences, IMO.

[jmarket]

The reason I do that is to safeguard the documents from a C: drive failure.

What about a D: drive failure. Nothing beats a system image on an external drive.

[DOUGIE]

What about a D: drive failure. Nothing beats a system image on an external drive.

As long as you have your Data, on more than one hard drive, is most important. Good insurance.
I make regular OS clones on all my computers, but only for so long. One to two years.
Every so often, when I have time, I reinstall the OS. You start off again with a pristine Registry.
All fresh installs run the fastest, for that reason.
Surprising how many people take the risk of only having their Data on one Hard Drive. Amazing.

[jmarket]

Bill has his data backed up on another HDD. The only way you would lose 2 drives at once is to dunk the Computer in the bathtub.

Dougie you have a better knowledge of his machine than he explained in his posts, and accordingly will accept your explanation

I think the main gist of it is to have reliable image backups making anything recoverable. My paranoia extends to having backups on external usb disks, a nas, and a second nas as a backup of the first.

[Nick]

Okay… that’s quite the collection of feedback, thank you very much. However, I will continue to use my mechanical HDD as my data/user folder drive for pics, docs, vids, and my downloads, and I have the HDD backed up daily to an external drive.

[Samuria]

The modern way is to use the cloud, If you get Google photo app you can upload unlimted photos for free I backed up 75,000 then use Google drive and or One drive that gives you 30 gigs of backup it backs up instanley so nothing to do. With those you can get data back on any device anywhere in the world and no danger of loosing everything it the drive fails or you have a fire

[Bill1]

Unless the cloud fails…

Massive Amazon cloud service outage disrupts sites

I’d rather manage my own data.

[Nick]

Unless the cloud fails…

Massive Amazon cloud service outage disrupts sites

I’d rather manage my own data.

I’m with Bill… I don’t like the idea of all my personal info ever on a server somewhere far away. Just a paranoia thing I guess.

-EDIT-
Doesn’t PCHF use Amazon Web Services?

[plodr]

The only items I put in the cloud are those I want to share. Everything else stays under my control. (7 external hard drives, about 4 dozen USB sticks, and CDs and DVDs with files archived).

[Nick]

The only items I put in the cloud are those I want to share. Everything else stays under my control. (7 external hard drives, about 4 dozen USB sticks, and CDs and DVDs with files archived).

I’m the same way as @plodr.