Install Windows 8 on SSD and HDD?

WK95

New Member
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My laptop originally had Windows 8 installed on it on an SSD and an HDD. I have since wiped the drive clean. But now, I need to get Windows 8 back for work. How can I replicate the original layout with Windows 8 being put on both a SSD and a HDD. The nature of my work involves a lot of CAD software usage for projects as well as research and the like. As such, I would like for such software to be located on my SSD for faster speeds.

Thanks.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 8
You can order the Microsoft official OEM Recovery disks from the OEM manufacturer's website.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    ME, XP,Vista,Win7,Win8,Win8.1
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    Other Info
    Notebooks x 3

    Desktops x 5

    Towers x 4
You can order the Microsoft official OEM Recovery disks from the OEM manufacturer's website.

so that will work even though my harddrives, including the recovery partitions, were wiped clean?

And another thing, I currently run Windows 8 Professional given by my school via Microsoft Dreamspark. The original OS was Windows 8 (the standard one). I don't want to downgrade.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 8
Is the SSD a small cache drive? Hybrid SSD HDD?
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 10 Education 64 Bit
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Asus
    CPU
    AMD Phenom II X4 980 Black Edition Deneb 3.7GHz
    Motherboard
    ASUS M4N68T-M V2 µATX Motherboard
    Memory
    8GB 4GBx2 Kingston PC10600 DDR3 1333 Memory
    Graphics Card(s)
    NVIDIA Geforce GT640 2 Gig DDR3 PCIe
    Sound Card
    VIA VT1708s High Definition Audio 8-channel Onboard
    Monitor(s) Displays
    22" LG E2242 1080p and 2 19" I-INC AG191D
    Screen Resolution
    1280x1024 - 1920x1080 - 1280x1024
    Hard Drives
    Crucial MX100 256 GB SSD and 500 GB WD Blue SATA
    PSU
    Thermaltake TR 620
    Case
    Power Up Black ATX Mid-Tower Case
    Cooling
    Stock heatsink fan
    Keyboard
    Logitech Wireless K350 Wave
    Mouse
    Logitech M570 Trackball and T650 TouchPad
    Internet Speed
    80 Mbps Down 30 Mbps Up
    Browser
    Internet Explorer 11
    Antivirus
    Windows Defender
    Other Info
    HP DVD1040e Lightscribe - External USB2
It's definitely not a hybrid drive. I'm not sure what a cache drive is though. All I know is that I am able to install Ubuntu Linux's system files on the SSD and then put the rest of the User stuff in the HDD and still have plenty of space left over on the SSD for plenty of programs.

I want to be able to do the same on Windows 8.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 8
Can post a link to the specs of the PC.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    ME, XP,Vista,Win7,Win8,Win8.1
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    Other Info
    Notebooks x 3

    Desktops x 5

    Towers x 4
It's definitely not a hybrid drive. I'm not sure what a cache drive is though. All I know is that I am able to install Ubuntu Linux's system files on the SSD and then put the rest of the User stuff in the HDD and still have plenty of space left over on the SSD for plenty of programs.

I want to be able to do the same on Windows 8.

Some laptops have a small SSD drive that will cache frequently used files. It's like a hybrid drive but the SSD is actually a separate drive. These drives are usually small, only 20 or 30 gig, not big enough to actually install Windows to. I run two full sized SSD drives in my laptop. A 128 GB drive for Windows and a 256 GB drive for my Data. I just install Windows to the 128 gig drive and put my user folders like Documents, Pictures and Music on the Data drive.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 10 Education 64 Bit
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Asus
    CPU
    AMD Phenom II X4 980 Black Edition Deneb 3.7GHz
    Motherboard
    ASUS M4N68T-M V2 µATX Motherboard
    Memory
    8GB 4GBx2 Kingston PC10600 DDR3 1333 Memory
    Graphics Card(s)
    NVIDIA Geforce GT640 2 Gig DDR3 PCIe
    Sound Card
    VIA VT1708s High Definition Audio 8-channel Onboard
    Monitor(s) Displays
    22" LG E2242 1080p and 2 19" I-INC AG191D
    Screen Resolution
    1280x1024 - 1920x1080 - 1280x1024
    Hard Drives
    Crucial MX100 256 GB SSD and 500 GB WD Blue SATA
    PSU
    Thermaltake TR 620
    Case
    Power Up Black ATX Mid-Tower Case
    Cooling
    Stock heatsink fan
    Keyboard
    Logitech Wireless K350 Wave
    Mouse
    Logitech M570 Trackball and T650 TouchPad
    Internet Speed
    80 Mbps Down 30 Mbps Up
    Browser
    Internet Explorer 11
    Antivirus
    Windows Defender
    Other Info
    HP DVD1040e Lightscribe - External USB2
I wouldn't install Windows 8 to a drive that small. There is likely a utility that is installed that lets you use that drive as a cache. It will work something like Windows 7 Readyboost. If you do a factory restore with a recovery disk set it will be exactly the way it was when you first turned it on. Otherwise you'll have to do a clean install and install the drivers and utilities manually.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 10 Education 64 Bit
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Asus
    CPU
    AMD Phenom II X4 980 Black Edition Deneb 3.7GHz
    Motherboard
    ASUS M4N68T-M V2 µATX Motherboard
    Memory
    8GB 4GBx2 Kingston PC10600 DDR3 1333 Memory
    Graphics Card(s)
    NVIDIA Geforce GT640 2 Gig DDR3 PCIe
    Sound Card
    VIA VT1708s High Definition Audio 8-channel Onboard
    Monitor(s) Displays
    22" LG E2242 1080p and 2 19" I-INC AG191D
    Screen Resolution
    1280x1024 - 1920x1080 - 1280x1024
    Hard Drives
    Crucial MX100 256 GB SSD and 500 GB WD Blue SATA
    PSU
    Thermaltake TR 620
    Case
    Power Up Black ATX Mid-Tower Case
    Cooling
    Stock heatsink fan
    Keyboard
    Logitech Wireless K350 Wave
    Mouse
    Logitech M570 Trackball and T650 TouchPad
    Internet Speed
    80 Mbps Down 30 Mbps Up
    Browser
    Internet Explorer 11
    Antivirus
    Windows Defender
    Other Info
    HP DVD1040e Lightscribe - External USB2
I wouldn't install Windows 8 to a drive that small. There is likely a utility that is installed that lets you use that drive as a cache. It will work something like Windows 7 Readyboost. If you do a factory restore with a recovery disk set it will be exactly the way it was when you first turned it on. Otherwise you'll have to do a clean install and install the drivers and utilities manually.
HP provides Intel Rapid Start Technology Drivers and Intel Rapid Storage Technology Drivers on their website specificalyl for my laptop. I'm going to reinstall Windows 8 Pro so should I install it to the HDD then run those software?
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 8
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