Theoretical Inquiry
Theoretical Inquiry
I handle my family's business using some very old computers (Intel core 2 duo). As the only tech expert in the household, I was thinking about upgrading the Core 2 Duo with an SSD. But I have some doubts about what would happen. Right now, the system runs on a 500GB hard drive with Windows 7, which holds a lot of office files. If I installed a 256GB SSD with Windows 10, would the PC still access all the data on the original 500GB drive? I understand I can change the BIOS to boot from the SSD, but would there be issues with having two different Windows versions on separate drives? Thanks in advance. —Edited September 16, 2020 by Hassan170
It should work fine. The main challenge will be permission problems when accessing files on the old drive from the new installation. You can resolve this by taking ownership and setting the right permissions for the new account—Windows usually handles this automatically when you first try to open a folder you don’t have access to.
You have two choices: 1. Duplicate your hard drive to an SSD using Macrium Reflect and ignore the old one. 2. Disconnect the hard drive, install Windows 10 on an SSD, and ignore Windows 7. You'll retain access to your previous drive later, but switch to a new operating system. Windows 10 performs well with Core2Duo. The second option is recommended.