Guidance required please. Swap second SSD for larger SSD. Correct procedure?

[RaveyDaveyGravy]

Hiya,

Could I ask for some technical guidance please?

I currently have a 2 SSD setup:

C drive: 500GB SSD with OS (Win10), all my normal, non DCS PC stuff and my DCS Saved Games folder.

D drive: 200GB SSD with Eagle dynamics/DCS Openbeta folder only.

But......  clearly 200GB is not enough for DCS these days so I have bitten the bullet and ordered a 1TB SSD.

Could someone please explain the correct way to do the following:

1: Remove 200GB D drive, install new 1TB SSD as D drive and move Eagle Dynamics/DCS openbeta to the new SSD.

2: Leave 500GB C drive alone and leave the Saved Games folder there as well.

It's really just a case of swapping one D drive for a larger D drive in an efficient manner that allows DCS to continue to work.

I'm comfortable with physically removing/installing the SSDs, but not sure how to deal with the existing ED folder before removing the old SSD that it is currently on or how to get the ED folder onto the new SSD.

I do have access to a 1TB external SSD that I can use as a holding space. Is it as simple as copying the ED folder out of (old) D drive and pasting it back to the new SSD which will also get labelled D drive?

I hope that my request makes sense. Any advice will be gratefully recieved.

Thanks in advance.

RDG

 

[unlikely_spider]

You can leave the existing drive, plug in the new one, copy the contents, then remove the old drive. Then just assign the old drive letter to the new one.

Edit - I don't think I've done this myself on a drive that had an actual application installed on it. Web searches give me mixed opinions on whether the application itself will work correctly. Maybe you'll need to do a repair on DCS when it's done. At least trying this method out is non-destructive and you can always revert to the old drive as long as you do t uninstall anything.

Edited February 2, 2022 by unlikely_spider

[Rudel_chw]

6 minutes ago, RaveyDaveyGravy said:

... I currently have a 2 SSD setup:

C drive: 500GB SSD with OS (Win10), all my normal, non DCS PC stuff and my DCS Saved Games folder.

D drive: 200GB SSD with Eagle dynamics/DCS Openbeta folder only.

...

Could someone please explain the correct way to do the following:

1: Remove 200GB D drive, install new 1TB SSD as D drive and move Eagle Dynamics/DCS openbeta to the new SSD.

2: Leave 500GB C drive alone and leave the Saved Games folder there as well.

 

Question: Your new 1 TB drive is a SATA unit or an M2 interface unit?   I asume that your current drives are both SATA, does your motherboard has any free SATA ports? Does it have at least one M2 port?

[RaveyDaveyGravy]

Wow fast! Thanks chaps.

Good question Rudel.

I dont know tbh. I went on the Crucial.com website, used the checkertool to enter my Motherboard and it spat out a list of different sized SSDs, then I ordered the 1TB model number cheaper, on Amazon.

Its a 2.5" Sata drive, there are 2x Sata SSD slots, I dont appear to have M2 but I've ordered the Sata drive now anyway.

Cheers

RDG

[unlikely_spider]

If that means that you have two slots, and they are both taken already, then you can get a SATA to USB adapter for like $10 so that you can temporarily have three plugged in at once.

[RaveyDaveyGravy]

I think that's my point, I need to remove (old) SSD D drive and replace with a larger SSD, which is going to be (new) D drive.

[Rudel_chw]

Just now, RaveyDaveyGravy said:

I think that's my point, I need to remove (old) SSD D drive and replace with a larger SSD, which is going to be (new) D drive.

 

OK, well it would be harder if your mainboard only has two Sata slots, as you would be forced to do a backup-restore of the 200 GB drive. If three drives could be plugged in simultaeously it would be easier and faster as you could then copy the content drive to drive directly.

 

What brand & model of motherboard do you have? (to check its specs)

[unlikely_spider]

4 minutes ago, RaveyDaveyGravy said:

I think that's my point, I need to remove (old) SSD D drive and replace with a larger SSD, which is going to be (new) D drive.

Don't worry about the drive letters. Those can be easily changed. The first step is just to get the new drive connected to your PC (which may require a SATA to USB adapter if there are no free slots). Then copy the contents. Then remove the old drive.

[RaveyDaveyGravy]

Righto, thanks, mobo is an ASUS H81M-Plus: https://www.asus.com/SupportOnly/H81MPLUS/HelpDesk_Knowledge/

So I cant just copy the ED/DCS openbeta folder to the external SSD, remove the (old) SSD D drive, fit the (new) 1TB SSD and paste the ED/DCS Openbeta folder back from the external SSD?

TYVM

RDG

Edited February 2, 2022 by RaveyDaveyGravy
Typo

[unlikely_spider]

17 minutes ago, RaveyDaveyGravy said:

Righto, thanks, mobo is an ASUS H81M-Plus: https://www.asus.com/SupportOnly/H81MPLUS/HelpDesk_Knowledge/

So I cant just copy the ED/DCS openbeta folder to the external SSD, remove the (old) SSD D drive, fit the (new) 1TB SSD and paste the ED/DCS Openbeta folder back from the external SSD?

TYVM

RDG

 

It looks like you have four SATA ports, on the bottom right of the mobo (see attached image, items 8 and 9).

Just plug the new one in, copy the contents, then remove the old one. Once you remove the old one, ensure that your current drives are in the faster two SATA ports (labeled SATA6, items 9 in the image). Then you can rename the new drive if it gets assigned anything other than D.

Edited February 2, 2022 by unlikely_spider

[Rudel_chw]

6 minutes ago, RaveyDaveyGravy said:

Righto, thanks, mobo is an ASUS H81M-Plus: https://www.asus.com/SupportOnly/H81MPLUS/HelpDesk_Knowledge/

 

OK, that motherboard should have 4 internal SATA ports:

So, you should be able to just plug the new drive onto a free SATA port, without touching the existing one. You will need a SATA 6.0 data cable, they are very common and unexpensive, like these: 

https://www.newegg.com/p/N82E16812119904?Item=N82E16812119904&Description=sata cable&cm_re=sata_cable-_-12-119-904-_-Product&quicklink=true

The power supply of your PC may have not enough SATA power cords to connect all three drives, so purchase also a Y-splitter, like this:

https://www.newegg.com/multi-color-startech-6-cable-connectors/p/N82E16812400340

 

The new drive should arrive unformatted, so it wont upset your boot configuration. Start windows once the drive has been connected, the run the Disk Manager:

 

 

There you can format the new drive, use a GPT partition style. There you can also change the drive letters of the D and E drives.

To copy the data from one drive to another, use the free utility Teracopy, it's faster because it is multithreaded, tough its interface is not user friendly .. here is an intro to it:

 

 

Once you have copied the data, rename the old D drive into say an F: drive, then rename the new drive to D ... so your DCS should work just like before.

Best regards,

 

Eduardo

 

 

[RaveyDaveyGravy]

That's fantastic, thanks U.S. and Rudel

I get what I need to do now, will take the side off the case and have a look at the mobo, see what is plugged where etc.

If the two current drives are in the Sata 6 slots (#9 on the diagram?), how would I proceed? Put the new drive in one of the Sata 3 slots (#8 on diagram), copy the contents, remove the old SSD and then move the new SSD across to the now empty Sata 6 slot?

Cheers

RDG

Edited February 2, 2022 by RaveyDaveyGravy
Clarity

[Rudel_chw]

Just now, RaveyDaveyGravy said:

If the two current drives are in the Sata 6 slots (#9 on the diagram?), how would I proceed? Put the new drive in one of the Sata 3 slots (#8 on diagram), copy the contents, remove the old SSD and then move the new SSD across to the now empty Sata 6 slot?

 

The Sata 6 GB/s drives, are backwards compatible, so they work even on a 3 GB/s port. To start you can just plug it onto any free SATA port ... omce the whole data re-shuffling is done, you might want to put the new drive onto the faster port and the smallest drive onto a slower port. Beware that if you exchange the drives, then you might need to adjust the drive Boot order on the BIOS, so that your current C drive is still the bootable one.

[unlikely_spider]

21 minutes ago, RaveyDaveyGravy said:

how would I proceed? Put the new drive in one of the Sata 3 slots (#8 on diagram), copy the contents, remove the old SSD and then move the new SSD across to the now empty Sata 6 slot?

Yes, that's what I would do. Good luck!

Note that all installed applications may not react gracefully to simply being copied from one drive to another. But a search on these forums results in previous successful user experiences doing this for DCS at least. If it's just DCS that you're copying, you should be ok. Just remember that a repair using the Eagle Dynamics DCS repair function may not hurt once you're done, especially if there are issues afterwards.

Edited February 2, 2022 by unlikely_spider

[RaveyDaveyGravy]

Thanks again chaps, Ive had a look and attached a picture:

Seems like the C Drive (The one labelled MB in the pic, which has the OS on it) is plugged into a Sata3 slot and D drive is plugged into Sata 6 slot. Can you confirm I am correct on that?

Would I be better off moving C drive (OS) to a Sata 6 slot as well as settling the new 1TB SSD into a Sata 6?

There a no extra cables either.

Thoughts?

Cheers

RDG

Edited February 2, 2022 by RaveyDaveyGravy

[Rudel_chw]

27 minutes ago, RaveyDaveyGravy said:

... Seems like the C Drive (The one labelled MB in the pic, which has the OS on it) is plugged into a Sata3 slot and D drive is plugged into Sata 6 slot. Can you confirm I am correct on that?

 

Yes, you are correct.

 

27 minutes ago, RaveyDaveyGravy said:

Would I be better off moving C drive (OS) to a Sata 6 slot as well as settling the new 1TB SSD into a Sata 6?

 

Yes, but not as much as a 6 GB vs 3 GB number may indicate ... the truth of the matter is that hardware makers need to give the public reasons to upgrade, and thus are always looking for ways to make the new hardware seem better than the old, even if the increase performance they give is not attainable on the real-world. What good may be having a 6 GB/sec port if your SSD drive can't deliver more than 3 GB/sec ?

 

There are not many benchmarks available comparing SATA 3 of 3 GB vs 6 GB, here is one of the few that I found:

https://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/sata-6gbps-performance-sata-3gbps,3110-7.html

 

So, mi advice is not worry too much about this and treat all 4 ports as if they were of the same real-world performance.

Greetings,

 

Eduardo

 

27 minutes ago, RaveyDaveyGravy said:

There a no extra cables either.

 

Check your PC's power supply ... each SSD drive needs two connections, your photo shows the data connection to the motherboard; each drive also has a power connection that goes to the power supply ... does the power supply have enough power connectors? 

If it only has two and they are already used on your current two drives, then purchase the splitter that I showed on my prior post. 

Edited February 2, 2022 by Rudel_chw

[RaveyDaveyGravy]

Thanks Rudel, for that info, I understand what goes on inside a PC but only in general terms, certainly not details of individual component groups. its always good to learn something new.

My project for tommorow is to fit the SSD when it arrives and get DCS running, I've got all day if I need it so I will have a rummage around and see what is inside the PSU section of the chassis and report back.

I've got a shiny new Hornet to fiddle with........

Cheers

RDG

 

[RaveyDaveyGravy]

So looking inside the case I can see there are 3 cables that are free to move and end in an unused spare connector.

2 of them appear to power supplies of some sort, a single fat one with a square chunky connector and a messy one that has all sorts of connections coming from it. One very thin cable shoots off to the case fan.

I figure that the important part is  is the daisychained cables that have the SSDs sprouting from them? What a faff! I had to unscrew one of the SSDs to get enough slack in the cables to get a usable image.

Pic attached. I've Labelled it:

"A": Run from the PSU.

"A1": Daisychain running on from first SSD, 200GB D drive in this case. Next along the chain is the spare connector? and then next along (off the left side off the image) is the C Drive SSD (OS) which is the end of the chain.

"B": Sata Cable? Runs to Mobo Sata 6 Port.

So am I right in thinking that I have one spare SSD power conector on that daisychain (The one middle left in the pic) and need one more sata cable to connet the new SSD to one of the spare Sata connections on the mobo? Then I can use the simpler "direct copy from one drive to another" method? Then relabel drives to suit?

Cheers

RDG

Edited February 3, 2022 by RaveyDaveyGravy
Clarity

[Rudel_chw]

6 minutes ago, RaveyDaveyGravy said:

So am I right in thinking that I have one spare SSD power conector on that daisychain and need one more sata cable to connet the new SSD to one of the spare Sata connections on the mobo? Then I can use the simpler "direct copy from one drive to another" method? Then relabel drives to suit?

 

Yes, correct, you just have to plug the new SSD onto the spare power connector, then attach the new data cable to the motherboard.

Edited February 3, 2022 by Rudel_chw

[Rudel_chw]

11 minutes ago, RaveyDaveyGravy said:

What a faff! I had to unscrew one of the SSDs to get enough slack in the cables to get a usable image.

 

I'm a bit obsesive with the cable management, I like to route them on the backside of the mainboard so they are less visible, like this:

 

 

The backside looks like this:

 

 

[RaveyDaveyGravy]

Cool, thats a lot simpler than I expected to be honest!

Does the order that the drives are placed along the daisychain make any difference, in terms of performance?

I'll get the physical installation done and come back with an update, hopefully someone else can also benefit from this info going forward. I imagine a lot of people will also be upgrading drive sizes in the not too distance future, given the size of the updates these days and the maps......if Syria is anything to go by.... I had to strip all my other terrains out to make room for the Syria install to complete. That's what finally prompted me to get a bigger drive.

Edited February 8, 2022 by RaveyDaveyGravy

[Rudel_chw]

5 minutes ago, RaveyDaveyGravy said:

Does the order that the drives are placed along the daisychain make any difference, in terms of performance?

 

Not at all, the daisychain is a power cable, it has all its connectors in a parallel 12V connection. In contrast, the data cables are individual for each drive, so each drive gets the full data transfer capacity of the cable.

[RaveyDaveyGravy]

Hey guys,

So much for Ebuyer Uk and their "next day" delivery option, the new SSD arrived today, 2 working days late.

Anyway, the SSD is fitted and I've plugged it in as shown below:

I haven't turned the PC back on yet, can I get some guidance on what to expect and how to proceed?

Cheers

RDG

Edited February 8, 2022 by RaveyDaveyGravy

[Rudel_chw]

1 hour ago, RaveyDaveyGravy said:

I haven't turned the PC back on yet, can I get some guidance on what to expect and how to proceed?

 

On the photo the connections look good. Turn on the PC and windows should boot as normal. Use the Windows Disk Manager to partition and format the new drive, here is a tutorial on its use:

 

https://www.dummies.com/article/technology/computers/operating-systems/windows/windows-10/how-to-install-a-second-internal-hard-drive-on-your-windows-10-device-255316

 

After the drive is formatted, change the letter of the D drive to F and the new drive change it to D, last, change F to E so that the drives get consecutive letters.

 

[RaveyDaveyGravy]

Great thanks Rudel,

I've been through and formatted, allocated and labelled the new SSD as D drive, the old D drive is now labelled E drive and I have copied the entire program files folder across. Only has 2x folders in it "Eagle Dynamics" and "SRS".

So as my DCS OB shortcut points to D:Program files/Eagle Dynamics/etc can I just expect DCS to "work as normal"?

Thanks RDG