how to install win 8 pro oem on a new ssd

[Ronb]

i have windows 7 ultimate on my 500gb hard drive(drive C). i also have another internal HDD. I bought a 64gb SSD and i want to put win 8 pro clean install on the ssd and ultimately remove win 7 or reformat the HDD with win 7 on it. I've been looking on the web for ideas and i think i have a headache for every different idea i've found. some say to disconnect the hdd and so an install on the ssd then reformat. others say not to etc. I have an older mobo so i'm not up on the latest hardware but i think i can get this done. What would be the best steps to take in order to get this done. i'm looking for the best way to do this which may or may not be the easiest. oh btw the reason for me going to win 8 is to go up from 32 bit to 64 bit so i can add 4gb more memory etc. i find that using photoshop bogs down in the 32 bit version of the OS. another concern i have is what drive do i label as the c drive and how do i get the os on the ssd and point other software and components of the os to the hdd

[profJim]

I installed win7 x64 to a 60GB ssd almost two years ago.
My system is a P35-DS3L with an E6300 (R0) cpu overclocked to 3.50GHz.
I'm using 4x2GB Kingston HyperX T1 PC2-8500 memory.
I recently cloned my operating system to a new 128GB ssd because the ssd free space dropped to about 9.5GB and my system started to bog down at times.
It's best if your ssd only uses 50% - 60% of it's capacity.
I don't recommend using a 60GB ssd for a boot drive unless you are only using a few "basic" programs.

I installed the operating system with the ssd as the only storage drive during the install and while applying all windows updates.
All video benchmarks were later installed to my hard drive's E: partition in the appropriate Program Files folder to save space on the ssd.
Details are in new SSD: OCZ Agility2 60GB (Extended Capacity)
Let us know if you have any further questions.

My ssd is the C: drive.
My hard drive has separate partitions for temp/download files, data, media, backup and archive, where the last partition is also for windows weekly backups.

[Ronb]

So you did disconnect the HDD(s). If i take that route do i format the drive with win 7 on it? I'm hoping i'm even able to format it. I have 2 hdd's in the box now so i assume i would pull the cable on both. My goal is to only have the os on the ssd and nothing else that's why i got the 64 gb ssd. i never created partions on the hdd's since i have so many. i have 4 externals and 2 internals.
One concern i have with puting the OS on an ssd is how do i install software to the hdd. Anytime i install software it goes to the C drive so i do i put them on say drive E

[profJim]

Yes, disconnect your hard drives before you install the operating system on your ssd.
Others report that installing the operating system with additional drives installed can lead to MBR changes for other attached drives.
Once the o/s is installed, you can install your other drives and format any of them.

When you install most programs, the default location is in one of the Program Files folders on your boot drive.
I originally installed some programs in my E: partition on my hard drive by changing the C:\ default to E:\ programs folder.

If you're sure that you don't want win7, you can format that drive using win8.
When I first installed win7 on my ssd, the total space used was about 20GB.
Right now my largest ssd folder sizes are:
Windows - 25.8GB
Program Files (x86) - 7.4GB
Program Data - 2.9GB
Users - 3.2GB
ESD - 2.7GB
Program Files - 1.6GB

If/when you buy a larger ssd, do not buy a slightly less expensive ssd that has asynchronous Nand.
Check out Asynchronous vs. Synchronous NAND Flash SSD Performance for more information.

Let us know how win8 works out with your P35 system.

[Ronb]

i was looking thru the net and i came across an answer to how to direct installation to a drive other than c and it's done by going thru the registry which i'm fine with. i've been a programmer for a long time so this stuff isn't scary to me. i got the ssd from crucial.com and they and a person at microsoft said this drive would be fine as long as i install mostly the os. i like to ask questions though. i have a lot of things in My Documents which i will put on the former C drive. I'll then need to point to that when i access My Documents from a shortcut. i'm sure i can do this. i'm backing things up now. Right now the ssd is not seen by the system because it's not formatted. Will i have a drive letter conflict once i bring the other drives back on line. i can't have 2 C drives

Here's the registry change that this person suggested for installing to a drive other than the C drive:

Go to start button, in the start search box, type in Regedit. Click OK.

NOTE: Modifying REGISTRY settings incorrectly can cause serious problems that may prevent your computer from booting properly. Microsoft cannot guarantee that any problems resulting from the configuring of REGISTRY settings can be solved. Modifications of these settings are at your own risk.

Scroll to: HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\Curr entVersion] there is a string called ProgramFilesDir, by default with the value C:\ProgramFiles. You can change the value to D:\ProgramFiles and now any installed program will go to the new location of D:\ProgramFiles.

[profJim]

In theory, you shouldn't have any issues with your o/s on a drive with a different drive letter, i.e. not C:
I think that some programs might have issues when your o/s isn't on the C: drive.
The My Documents folder on my systems is never on the boot drive.

I have my TEMP folders on my D: drive, not on my ssd boot drive.
Some programs perform a lot of writes to the TEMP folder:

Disk reads and writes (B/sec) while Avast is scanning the C: drive

[Ronb]

In theory is the key phrase here. i may try installing the os using say letter B for the ssd and see what happens. I know i don't have to format it yet because the install will do that but i think it will designate C as the default drive letter. i'll see how this goes in a few. i'm finishing some backups then i'll play

[Ronb]

the install worked fine as we discussed but when i got to the activation part i was told the key was for an upgrade only. I bought this from Office Depot on line and they assured me it was the full version. good thing i unplugged the other drives. oh windows changes the drive letter to c and it can't be changed. i tried it and no go

[profJim]

Is there a particular reason why you don't want win8 on the ssd as a C: drive?
It sounds like the registry hack should provide a new default location to a different partition after windows has been installed.
Most of my program installations let me choose a different location for the program.
Even with different installation locations, the Users folder on the boot drive has a lot of program folders.
I haven't tried to use windows junction link to "move" folders to a different location.

A web search using windows 8 upgrade custom install might help with the activation key problem.
I bought the win7 home premium family pack (3 licenses) and had no problems with doing custom installs with my ssd's.

[profJim]

I checked Office Depot online and found 3 versions of windows 8 pro at Office Depot - Windows 8 Pro
Two of the offerings are clearly marked as upgrade versions and the "Traditional Disk" version specifications say that it is the full version.
All three currently have the same price: $69.99