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Win 7 with 2 hard drives on the PC

Discussion in 'Windows 7' started by DonJ, 2013/01/26.

  1. 2013/01/26
    DonJ

    DonJ Inactive Thread Starter

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    I fear this could be a repeat of a question I asked 18 months ago when I first got my new PC with Win7 on it and two hard drives - one for the OS and programs and the other for data. This followed a recommendation from Charles Wright of the Melbourne PC Users Group and Age newspaper columnist.

    I've had constant problems ever since, trying to ensure that all data goes to the D: drive. During software installation I can sometimes require the data elements to be put in the D: drive, but I'm sure there are many instances where Win7 puts data on drive C: and I have no idea it's there. Windows Live Mail messages are one example.

    I've just discovered a Microsoft thread stating that, in the case of a PC with 2 hard drives, Win7 would have to be installed on both drives to fulfil the conditions of their licence. In my case, that seems to be ridiculous because I'm essentially using the 2nd hard drive as a backup (although I have an external HDD for backing up).

    I suppose this is why there is nothing in Win 7 For Dummies about this situation, nor anywhere else that I can find. Has anyone had success with using 2 HDDs in this way with Win 7 and could share how they did/are doing it?
     
    DonJ,
    #1
  2. 2013/01/26
    PeteC

    PeteC SuperGeek Staff

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    I have 4 hard drives in my PC running Windows 7 with ~20 partitions and no issues. See My System under my name to the left of this post.
    When software is installed the default location is C:\ - some software will allow you to install to another drive, but there will always be files which are installed within the Windows directory and innumerable Registry entries and these are necessary for the software to run. It is a mistake to think that the entries in Program Files or Program Files (x86) represent the complete install - they do not. An example would be some .dll files.

    A simple Google would tell you where your Live Mail messages are stored - I think it would be in Users\your user name. I use Outlook.
    Would you care to post the url of that thread - it sounds total garbage to me.
     
    PeteC,
    #2


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  4. 2013/01/27
    Zander

    Zander Geek Member Alumni

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    You can change the location where Windows Live Mail stores it's files (email, newsgroups, etc.). In WLM go to options>mail>advanced>maintenance and then click on the "store folder" button.

    Pretty much all of the programs I use allow you to choose where you want the program to store it's saved files. It's just a matter of digging around in the programs options a bit. ;)
     
    Zander,
    #3
  5. 2013/01/28
    Arie

    Arie Administrator Administrator Staff

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    Have a look at this article: Windows 7: Optimize Windows 7 for use with a Solid State Drive

    You can skip the information for SSD drives, but on Page 3 I explain how to Move your "My Documents" folder to a separate drive, which I think is the most easy option there is.


    Like PeteC said: That's rubbish! (I have 5 hard drives in my system, and only one copy of Windows)
     
    Arie,
    #4

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