After cloning a hdd to ssd, what to do to old drive to keep the original data?

Missed that bit in the OP about dropping OEM files into "original OS" folder. This will break msconfig suggestion. BIOS settings will designate the default boot volume but you won't be able to boot from OEM drive with system files relocated to a subfolder. The rest of my first comment stands. I guarantee users will poke on the "original OS" folder and mess it up. If you want to keep OEM load for a rainy day, do as others suggest and set the drive aside as is or make a .wim with DISM as I suggested. Just don't let users get their grubby mitts on the original OS files.

Qlemo: Thanks for the input.
It sounds like some of you were reading that I want to have 2 drives that are possible boot drives - both active. I don't. I just want to boot only from the SSD and set the hdd as a non-bootable 2nd drive for additional storage/backup with the possibility of keeping it as a fallback for a little while (maybe a month) if the SSD soils itself in the near future.

dbrunton, thanks,

Note:  I wouldn't keep both in the machine.  Windows is going to see it and that MAY cause problems with all sorts of mappings going on.

Well, that was the thought behind my question: "-Do I need to change it to "not Active"?"  That would eliminate what you're saying might happen, no?

gilnov, thank you,
I'm not looking to have 2 bootable drives, only 1, the SSD. So I'm looking for the best way to prevent the PC from looking at the HDD as a boot drive, ever, unless I need to use it as one. But that would only be for the near future, not a long-term "backup image". Once the PC is configured for the user and starts getting used, that original OEM load will be of little value.

I agree, users will often poke around and mess with things. Maybe I make the "original OS" folder hidden?

nobus, thanks for the help,

if you want to keep it "as an image" why not make an image - delete everything on the drive, and store the image on it?

- because it's extra time and work I don't want to put in. I just wanted it for short term, maybe a couple weeks, until the SSD is fully set up and user has started using it.

otherwise, as others said - you are asking for trouble. note : don't worry about the C and D labels, the system will change them, and probably label them as E and F

the C and D I was referring to were SSD as "C" and HDD as "D" drive- wondering about having 2 physical drives, both being active. I think I should be changing the HDD (D) drive to inactive.

So, to sum up:
-Someone could install 2 hard drives, both active and select either to boot from if they wanted, however this isn't my intention
-Doing that isnt a good idea for giving the PC to the unwashed masses - they'll get confused and it will cause problems
-you could store the original OS files in a folder, but grubby users might mess with the files- not recommended

Maybe if I make the "original OS" on HDD (D)  folder hidden and set the volume as not active, that will mitigate most of the problems - at least for the short term?

Qlemo:
The main point is to use the original hard drive as a second data drive, or for Crashplan backups, whatever is needed, and as a secondary usage, to keep the original data on it in case it's needed in the near term. So, powering it down wouldnt be a possibility.

On the other hand it is very unlikely the SSD will fail within one month ;-).

Well, I don't know.. I was going to get a a PNY CS1311 480 GB and reviews on Amazon and Newegg stated a lot of dead drives after 1 or 2 months. I did opt for a Samsung EVO, so hoping reliability will be better than that.

nobus:

>>  Someone could install 2 hard drives, both active and select either   <<  no you cannot have 2 active drives

this is why I asked the question originally:

-Is there only 1 active partition allowed per DRIVE or per SYSTEM? In other words, can a PC have 2 (physical) drives, C and D, each with an active partition?

So your answer would be: there is only one active drive allowed per drive AND per system? Why can't the second drive continue to have a partition marked as "Active" but the system just doesn't boot from that drive?

gilnov:

On the one hand, you want to preserve the OEM HDD and on the other, you want to USE it.

well, no, not really preserve, as in "not modify the drive". I just want to be able to use that OEM data if I needed to and was looking for an easy, if imperfect way of preserving it for a little while. I'm not really concerned with this PARTICULAR user, She would never go poking around in unknown folders, much less mess with anything in them.

So I guess I'm saying "this *is* the way I want to do this, just to do it quick and dirty, realizing there are some possible issues... what suggestions are there." I think the active partition question is the biggest one I'd like answered.

I ended up doing as I stated in the question, put it on a 3rd sata port, moved original OEM files into a folder and went with it. No problems. Yes, user could mess with it , so someone needs to use their judgement with that.  I didn't change the drives in any other way or the BIOS.