Maximum PC

I have Win 7 installed on one of my WD drives so I plugged in my new SSD and booted to the Win 7 so my new SSD could get the proper drivers going for it. While I was there I figured I could install Win Vista on the SSD, thru Windows.

I picked the new SSD from the list and the install came out fine. Only problem is I have to boot to the WD drive, then select the Vista install. I got no problem with the extra 3 seconds to choose Vista but I am worried I am still using my WD drive. The whole idea of the SSD is to have it run my OS with no moving parts i.e., no heat.

So, am I okay? Is my SSD just whoring off the boot sector of the WD drive or is the WD constantly running in the background while my SSD runs Vista??

Your bootloader is on the WD. Chances are if you take out the WD drive from the system, you won't be able to boot into Windows anymore. The proper way you should've done this is install your OS on the SSD with just the SSD alone. This creates a bootloader on the SSD. Then do additional installs.

Dr. Lat.....my brother you are/were 100% correct.

Thought a lot about this. When I ran the install disc, in my mind I think of just the disc talking to the SSD but in actuality, it talks to the entire system and when it discovered a current install of Win 7 on my WD, that was it. It created or ran a Boot Manager, stuck my SSD's install in it and made it the only way to start it up.

Once I took out the WD with Win 7 on it the install disc was forced to treat it like the only drive with an OS on it which means it has to be able to be boot to. Lesson learned....only took 5 times to install Vista 64, then Win 7 upgrade to finally get it right.

My first 60 gig SSD 4 years ago cost $300 but it was worth it and the only thing running on it was the OS and a few proggys. 3 other WD's are my slaves nothing more.

Then a few months ago my 3 year old SSD died, they are obviously not up to the longevity of the mechanical drives yet but I was stuck. I had to order a new SSD which meant days without my pc which has all of my tv shows on it (saved from tv). So I decided to install Win 7 onto one of my slaves so if/when the SSD dies all I have to do is boot to the WD and I am back up without missing a beat.