I have a desktop PC with three SSDs: a 1TB NVMe drive and two 2TB SATA drives. Currently, Windows is installed on the C drive (1TB NVMe), along with some files on the D drive (2TB SATA). Recently, I've been using Arch Linux more and want to install it on the NVMe drive for better speed, while shifting Windows to one of the SATA drives.
My goal is to make the configuration look like this:
- Drive 1: Arch on the 1TB NVMe
- Drive 2: Mounted to Arch for mass storage
- Drive 3: Windows on a 2TB SATA, possibly reduced to 1TB, with the remaining storage allocated to Arch.
I'm looking for guidance on how to safely move the Windows installation to a SATA drive while transferring Arch to the NVMe without messing up either of my operating systems. I'm considering using `dd` for the transfers, but I'm unsure if that's the best approach. Any advice?
2 Answers
First off, make sure you back up all your important data externally before starting! I wouldn't recommend using `dd` to move Windows because it's sensitive. Instead, consider Clonezilla or Macrium Reflect for the migration.
1. Disconnect any extra drives not involved in the transfer.
2. Shrink the Windows partition on the NVMe to make room for Arch, or vice versa.
3. Migrate Windows to the SATA drive first. It's safer to handle the fragile Windows installation first, keeping the original NVMe as a backup.
4. Once Windows is on the SATA and functioning, you can clean the NVMe and move Arch there.
Always double-check everything before making changes to avoid data loss and ensure both OSs boot correctly after the transfer!
I recently went through a similar process. I used MiniTool in Windows to clone my old NVMe to a new 32GB one. I pulled both drives and connected them to an enclosure, cloned the drive with a dedicated NVMe cloner (it’s not a must, but it simplifies things), and then adjusted the partitions as needed with MiniTool afterward.
You could also use GParted in Linux or Macrium Reflect (the free trial) to resize partitions, but be sure to unmount the drives before doing that.