Best way to trasnfer OS to my SSD

[choppalouie88]

I bought myself a 125gb SSD this last month as my main drive is currently a normal HDD.
Now I heard the best use of an SSD would be fore me to transfer my OS and programs I want to run faster to my SSD. However I have no idea how to go about this, or how to make it my main drive while still using my 1tb HDD as an extra drive. I'd prefer if i didnt have to uninstall all my programs to do so (As my current HDD is nearly full), but if its necessary i'm fine with doing so. I just don't know a lot about this topic.

 

[esco_sid]

If your 1TB is almost full your best bet is to just do fresh install of OS on the SSD as its only 128Gb.

 

[JackNaylorPE]

Back in the day when 120 GB SSDs were all that was affordable, we installed a lot of them.... much to our regret. Many users were simply not as adept with managing windows file placement so they were bringing them back asking us to "clean out" C drive. On this box (2 SSDs / 2 SSHDs), I have the OS and programs on a 256 GB partition.... it takes up 177 GB.

So, using less than 250 GB is something to seriously consider before you embark on this journey.

There are numerous migration tools available which you will easily find with a web search ... but I have to say for those who have done it, they often wind up doing a reinstall.

It is very easy if you have prepared for it. Since the early 1990s, we have always put the OS on it's own partition. programs, data and games also got their own partitions but many users we built for were just fine with 2. The transfer is very easy in this case ... a) Use a partition imaging program to copy the disk image from the OS on the HD to the SSD. Boot from the SSD and:

a) Hide the old OS partition on the HD saving it as a backup in case the SSD dies, or
b) Format the partition and then expand the other partition into the free space thru disk management

You also have the option of installing fresh on the SSD in this instance. To make programs work, you have to resintall them over themselves to set up the registry on the SSD but this keeps all your customizations, recent files and all the other goodies.

With one huge HD partition, it get messy as your data programs are all in Windows controlled file folders

 

[choppalouie88]

If your 1TB is almost full your best bet is to just do fresh install of OS on the SSD as its only 128Gb.

Back in the day when 120 GB SSDs were all that was affordable, we installed a lot of them.... much to our regret. Many users were simply not as adept with managing windows file placement so they were bringing them back asking us to "clean out" C drive. On this box (2 SSDs / 2 SSHDs), I have the OS and programs on a 256 GB partition.... it takes up 177 GB.

So, using less than 250 GB is something to seriously consider before you embark on this journey.

There are numerous migration tools available which you will easily find with a web search ... but I have to say for those who have done it, they often wind up doing a reinstall.

It is very easy if you have prepared for it. Since the early 1990s, we have always put the OS on it's own partition. programs, data and games also got their own partitions but many users we built for were just fine with 2. The transfer is very easy in this case ... a) Use a partition imaging program to copy the disk image from the OS on the HD to the SSD. Boot from the SSD and:

a) Hide the old OS partition on the HD saving it as a backup in case the SSD dies, or
b) Format the partition and then expand the other partition into the free space thru disk management

You also have the option of installing fresh on the SSD in this instance. To make programs work, you have to resintall them over themselves to set up the registry on the SSD but this keeps all your customizations, recent files and all the other goodies.

With one huge HD partition, it get messy as your data programs are all in Windows controlled file folders

Ok, so if i freshly install only the OS on the SSD, hide the old OS HDD files, and then overwrite the windows registry with the one from my HDD I should be good?

 

[JackNaylorPE]

Not quite.... the purpose of having the back up OS install on the old HD is defeated if you are able to access the HD partition that HD OS is on from the SSD boot.

http://techstrick.blogspot.com/2012/06/how-to-hideunhide-hard-disk-partition.html

If you have one huge volume on the HD with OS, temp/ page files, programs and data in one big mish-mash, managing what is where is way more difficult. ***If** you had HD with:

C:\ OS and utilities
D:\ Page and temp files
E:\ Programs
F:\ Data

Now you get the SSD ...

1. Unplug the HD data cable

2. Install / update windows (see installation procedure next message)

3. Shut down and reconnect HD cable, reboot.... make sure Boot order is SSD 1st in BIOS. BTW, SSD should be connected to lowest numbered SATA port, HD 2nd lowest

4. Hide the 1st Partition on the HD .. or if you are not afraid of accidentally deleting files from it, then just relabel it to X:\

5. Make sure all the other partitions are still labeled D:\ thru F:\ ... if not change to Z:\ or whatever and then change back to what the should be. Reboot and make sure everything took.

6. Now, if the HD was set up as described, you don't have any programs buried in C:\ProgramFiles ... you don't have any data in My Documents. So let's go about reinstalling your 1st program.

a) All the files are currently in D:\ Adobe\Acrobat 12 on the HD.... the necessary registry entries to run it under windows do not exist on the SSDs version of Windows tho so we need to accomplish that. So we start the installation procedure for Acrobat and, just like the first time around, you change the install location from C:\ProgramFiles\Adobe\Acrobat12 to D:\ Adobe\Acrobat 12

b) As the install progresses it will ignore any "newer files" and will recognize that the right files are present for all others, it will also make all necessary registry entries. Run the check for updates thing.

c) Now whether you run the program from the SSD boot or the HD Boot, it will work just fine

 

[JackNaylorPE]

Install procedure for Windows

1. Prepare for Windows installation with USB tool
https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/download/windows-usb-dvd-download-tool

2. Connect boot drive data cable to lowest numbered SATA port .... but don't connect:
-Ethernet cable
-SATA Data Cable for any other drives

3. Install Windows to boot drive

4. Turn off Windows ability to install Hardware drivers
http://www.tenforums.com/tutorials/8013-windows-update-
http://www.sevenforums.com/tutorials/82137-drivers-turn-off-automatic-driver-installation.html

5. Install all hardware drivers from original media in boxes See Item 7 below

6. Connect ethernet cable and run Windows Update till it stops doing anything

7. Install latest drivers for ALL hardware from manufacturers web sites. The reason we didn't do this in step 5 is 3 fold:
-Sometimes MoBo CD comes with licensed utilities with product key embedded and these are not on web site versions
-Its advisable to establish a working out of box conditions
-Sometimes newer drivers require latest Windows Updates

If you have a 2nd drive ....

8. Shut down and connect HD data cable to 2nd lowest numbered SATA port.

9. Boot to BIOS and make sure that SSD is the 1st boot device, if not fix it

10. Boot to Windows

 

[choppalouie88]

Install procedure for Windows

1. Prepare for Windows installation with USB tool
https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/download/windows-usb-dvd-download-tool

2. Connect boot drive data cable to lowest numbered SATA port .... but don't connect:
-Ethernet cable
-SATA Data Cable for any other drives

3. Install Windows to boot drive

4. Turn off Windows ability to install Hardware drivers
http://www.tenforums.com/tutorials/8013-windows-update-
http://www.sevenforums.com/tutorials/82137-drivers-turn-off-automatic-driver-installation.html

5. Install all hardware drivers from original media in boxes See Item 7 below

6. Connect ethernet cable and run Windows Update till it stops doing anything

7. Install latest drivers for ALL hardware from manufacturers web sites. The reason we didn't do this in step 5 is 3 fold:
-Sometimes MoBo CD comes with licensed utilities with product key embedded and these are not on web site versions
-Its advisable to establish a working out of box conditions
-Sometimes newer drivers require latest Windows Updates

If you have a 2nd drive ....

8. Shut down and connect HD data cable to 2nd lowest numbered SATA port.

9. Boot to BIOS and make sure that SSD is the 1st boot device, if not fix it

10. Boot to Windows

Ok thanks, can i get by with not knowing a lot about this if i follow instructions or do you recommend a video guide for this process?