I built a new PC a couple of months ago after my previous motherboard failed. I installed a new SSD in the replacement system and left my old SATA SSD disconnected. Now I'd like to add the old drive for extra storage and recover a Minecraft world I spent hundreds of hours on. Can I simply install the old SSD, boot the computer, copy the world, and delete everything else, or is there anything I should watch out for?
2 Answers
If the SSD was stored safely and was working before, it should generally function as it did in the previous computer. You may notice a slightly longer boot while the system detects the additional drive, but that normally isn’t a problem. If files are protected by encryption or tied to the old user account, you may need to adjust permissions or use the original account to access them.
You can install it and access the files normally. The main thing is making sure the computer boots from your current SSD rather than accidentally starting from the old one. Once you’ve copied the Minecraft world and anything else important, you can wipe the old drive for storage.

If the computer does boot from the old drive, copy the world to a USB drive or another safe location first. Then restart, select the new SSD as the boot drive, and erase or reformat the old one.