750gb Hd to 120 SSD

[steven467]

So i just ordered a 120gb ssd and was wondering is there a way to copy just my image of windows 7 to the ssd / does "image of windows 7" mean the whole entire HD?; as i know it won't all fit. If i were to do a fresh install on the ssd, what should be done with the HD's OS? Can i simply change my pc to boot from the ssd and be good to go? Just wondering what will be the simplest way to do this as i'd rather not have to reinstall each and everything little thing.

Thanks in advance.

 

[RealBeast]

It *can* be cloned to the SSD, but it is best if you do a fresh install to the SSD. You can keep your old drive intact until you are happy with the SSD setup, but you should disconnect the HDD during the OS install to the SSD and not reattach it until after it is done -- and remember to check that AHCI is on in the bios as the SATA mode just prior to the re-install.

 

[steven467]

Ok, how about programs that start up with windows, do they need to be on the ssd with the os or can they stay on the hdd with no issues? Also will i need to reformat the hdd for a better experince? i have a portable Hd so i could copy most across, just trying to avoid it.

 

[RealBeast]

They can be on either, but I have loads of my more used programs on the SSD. 120gb is actually a lot of space. You will need to reload the programs onto the HDD, and it would be a very good idea to take this as an opportunity to insure that you have good back up.

While it seems painful, it is worth the effort. I've installed many dozens of SSDs and found that cloning HDD to SSD is not a good idea the first time. I do maintain SSD images on HDDs later for re-flashing the SSD and that always works well for me with Ghost 15 or True Image.

 

[pcdad]

Using Reflect to clone the HD to SSD worked for me on my laptop. I used CCleaner and Defraggler first, then resized the HD to fit on the SSD.

 

[steven467]

Best answer selected by steven467.