How to Best Use New Laptop with 1 TB 7200 rpm SATA and 256 GB M.2 SSD

[TNorth1]

Hello,

I have just ordered a new 17" HP ENVY laptop with the following specs:

• Windows 10 Pro 64
• Intel® Core™ i7 8565U (1.8 GHz, up to 4.6 GHz, 8 MB cache, 4 cores)+NVIDIA® GeForce® MX250 (4 GB GDDR5)
• 16 GB DDR4-2400 SDRAM (2x8GB)
• 17.3" diagonal FHD Anti-Glare WLED UWVA (1920x1080) (Touch)
• 1 TB 7200 rpm SATA; 256 GB M.2 SSD

I don't know what version of Win 10 Pro it will come with - the order techs didn't have that info. It is being built right now and due to ship next week.

Ahead of delivery, I am getting my information organized to make the switch from Win 7 to this new laptop, and realize that I have a question I can't seem to find an answer to. Hopefully someone here can help or point me in the right direction.

I ordered this laptop with the 1 TB 7200 rpm SATA and the 256 GB M.2 SSD option. I didn't want Optane, and thought this dual drive would be a good choice. However, I now am realizing that I really don't know anything about how these two drives will work together, and how I should utilize them to make the best use of them.

A few questions - which would be my primary drive - the SSD? Will that be where the OS and programs are installed? Is the 1TB HDD just for storage of data and documents? How do I store both programs and documents on the correct drive so that they work and are accessible?

Does HP have a tutorial on that - or can anyone give me some guidance or point me to where I can find out more? I want to be sure I start out correctly with the new laptop, and this seems to be a big sticking point in my preparations.

Thanks so much! I appreciate the ideas and input!

TN

[Huffer]

Yes the M.2 SSD will be the primary drive and will hold the system files and the apps. Windows 10 requires that the main files for most apps be housed on the C:\ drive. So your 1 TB 7200 rpm drive will be for data storage. One way to easily and automatically make sure larger files go to the 1 TB drive and not to the smaller SSD is to relocate the "Library" folders to the 1 TB hard drive, which will likely be lettered as a "D:\" drive. 

https://www.pcworld.com/article/3025345/move-your-windows-10-libraries-to-a-separate-drive-or-partit...

So this will mean anything you download from the internet, pictures and music, etc. will be held on the hard drive and not take up space on the SSD. You absolutely want the SSD to be the "system" disk as it is multiple times faster than the hard drive so you do not get the benefit of the SSD without having it host the OS. 

Post back with any more questions and please accept as solution if this is the info you needed. 

[TNorth1]

Thanks so much for the info and link! It makes sense that the OS and other programs need to run from the SSD and the data stored on the 1TB drive.

So - once I move the Library folders to the 1TB drive - that will become the automatic destination for any files that I save or download? Or will it ask me each time where I want to save them?

What about the contents  of my Users folder (assuming there will still be such a folder in Win 10?) - with things like the desktop - where will that be saved? I have a bad habit of saving a lot of things right onto my desktop - will those be found on the SSD or the 1TB drive?

Can any programs that I would put on that laptop be run from the 1TB drive - or is that strictly a storage drive? For example, I am planning to download Open Office and Thunderbird. Would those automatically go to the SSD or can things like that be installed and run from either drive? Is this somewhat like my phone where I can run some apps from my SD card and some from the phone's internal drive - or is that not a good analogy?

I understand that the SSD is going to be much faster, but it is smaller, so I want to be sure that things go to the right drive.

Thanks again - much appreciated!!

[Huffer · Accepted solution]

The Desktop is part of the OS and if you put it on the slow hard drive (if you even could) it would slow down performance. 

Windows itself will limit where you can place apps. The main part of most apps will install to the C:\> drive. Some other parts of the app maybe can go to the hard drive but the important most often used parts of the app will run from the SSD. Again, you want that for performance. 

I had to break my 82 year old mother of the tendency to put everything on her desktop and you may just need to work on habits. Once the music, video, documents,  downloads folder, etc, are placed on the 1 TB hard drive most things will automatically go there. It will work the same as now...by default Google Chrome will download things to the downloads folder and it will be on the 1 TB hard drive. iTunes will store music on the Music folder, etc. If you right click on a folder and select "send to",,,documents will always be an option and the "documents" folder is on the 1 TB HDD.

The cell phone is actually a pretty good analogy. 

You will get used to this trust me. Good luck and enjoy. 

[TNorth1]

Great - thanks so much! Takes a lot of the mystery - or the uncertainty - out of it all since I've never had this situation before. But I'm sure Win 10 is going to be a learning process, so this will just be one more part of it to get used to!

And the part about your Mom gave ma a smile. Mine learned to use the computer at about 80 - and she really adapted to it very quickly! But you're right - cluttering up the desktop is a bad habit I need to try to break!!

Thanks again - great information and advice!

TN

ETA: And I guess doing this as part of the set up will be easier, too, since there won't be very much data to move, and once the new locations are set up - things should just save - or be saved - to the right place right off the bat.