Can I put an old HDD from broken computer in new Helios 300 as a game drive?

I have the 17 inch Helios 300. Before I got it, I had a Acer Aspire E15 with a 1tb HDD. Recently. I tried to boot it and there seems to be an issue with windows, but it does not really matter as I never plan on using that laptop anyway because I have a Helios 300. Is it possible for me to take the old 1tb HDD (with windows 10) and add it to my new Helios 300 that can work as a game drive? Also, will it void my warranty if I open up my laptop to install the Hard Drive? Finally, I want to know if I can use the Helios 300 to wipe off the data that is already on that Hard Drive because there is around 500 gb of storage that I do not need on it, and would rather delete the 500gb of storage off of it and use it as a drive to store my games.

Accepted answers

thefirebirdman

Yes, you can use the 1TB. It should be a 2.5" SATA HD and will plug into the expansion port in the Predator. I would not recommend it for gaming. Its ok for gaming but you'll see a significant improvement installing an SSD instead. You can a 1TB SSD for around $100 and it makes a vast difference with gaming. My understanding is that removing the cover for RAM and HD upgrades does not void the warranty. If you decide to use it anyway, once its installed, you can easily delete the data off of it using File Explorer in Windows. If it was the boot drive in the old laptop I would recommend you re-format it rather than just deleting the data.

Also, just a warning, if it WAS the boot drive in the old laptop Windows 10 will likely detect the installation of Windows on it and give you an option to boot either instance. Just make sure you boot from your normal Windows 10 instance, then re-format the drive. Also MAKE SURE you don't want this data. Once you format the drive its not recoverable.

thefirebirdman

No, if there is no Windows instance installed on the extra drive or if Windows 10 doesn't recognize it, it'll simply boot normally and you'll see the additional drive in File Explorer with the next driver letter available assigned. If there is an instance of Windows on that drive and Windows 10 detects it, it'll ask you which instance of Windows you want to boot.

All comments

thefirebirdman

Yes you can use the 1TB HDD from your old laptop but I wouldn't recommend it for gaming. More on that in a second. The 1TB from your Acer Aspire should be a standard 2.5" SATA HD. Just remove it from the Aspire and install it in the SATA expansion slot in the Predator. My understanding is that removing the cover to perform HD or RAM upgrades will not void the warranty. Once the HD has been moved over it'll show up as a new drive in windows, likely with the drive letter "D:" which is assigned by Windows. You can safely erase all the data on this HD as it is not the boot drive JUST MAKE SURE you actually want to delete all that data. You can use File Explorer and either delete the data manually or re-format the HD. I recommend the latter since the HD came from another laptop and you don't want to retain the data. Just know that re-formatting it will delete and it cannot be recovered.

As to why I don't recommend it. A regular SATA drive is fine for normal daily use but if you plan to use the laptop for gaming and plan to install the games on the expansion drive I would HIGHLY recommend you buy and install an SSD instead. They're a little pricier now than usual but still cheap and the SSDs provide a significant improvement for gaming. Its pretty much become the standard now. You can get a 1TB SSD for around $100. Brand doesn't matter, just make sure its a SATA SSD.

Good luck.

thefirebirdman

Yes, you can use the 1TB. It should be a 2.5" SATA HD and will plug into the expansion port in the Predator. I would not recommend it for gaming. Its ok for gaming but you'll see a significant improvement installing an SSD instead. You can a 1TB SSD for around $100 and it makes a vast difference with gaming. My understanding is that removing the cover for RAM and HD upgrades does not void the warranty. If you decide to use it anyway, once its installed, you can easily delete the data off of it using File Explorer in Windows. If it was the boot drive in the old laptop I would recommend you re-format it rather than just deleting the data.

Also, just a warning, if it WAS the boot drive in the old laptop Windows 10 will likely detect the installation of Windows on it and give you an option to boot either instance. Just make sure you boot from your normal Windows 10 instance, then re-format the drive. Also MAKE SURE you don't want this data. Once you format the drive its not recoverable.

blewyd

Another quick question. When I first boot, will it ask me what drive I would like to boot from? Thank you.

thefirebirdman

No, if there is no Windows instance installed on the extra drive or if Windows 10 doesn't recognize it, it'll simply boot normally and you'll see the additional drive in File Explorer with the next driver letter available assigned. If there is an instance of Windows on that drive and Windows 10 detects it, it'll ask you which instance of Windows you want to boot.

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