Can I compress program files to migrate to an SSD?

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HVCFOG3Y34

HVCFOG3Y34

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Oct 2, 2013
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I have a problem, I have an HDD with windows installed and I recently got an SSD that I want to install windows on and run my computer off of that. Can I compress my files into a zip file so it can fit into my SSD then move and extract them to the HDD and use a symbolic link to keep all the program settings and configuration? Is there anyother ways for me to keep my programs? I have too many to reinstall.

Update: With that program + just uninstalling programs, I cleared up 150-200GBs of space on my HDD and removed 103 programs. I am still working at removing and deleting programs.

Accidentally selected best answer, so ignore that.
 
Solution
ShakedG


You could get one of the many cloning...
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Noooo.....

What you are proposing is far too much work and way to prone to failure.

With a new OS drive (SSD or whatever), you have 2 ways forward:

1. Clone from the old drive to the new drive.
This requires investigation into the current used space, and how large the new SSD is.
Easier, if it works. If it doesn't, then you'll be messing with it for days.

2. Clean install on the new SSD. This requires reinstallation of your applications as well.
May take longer, but far less prone to failure.


There is no magic bullet. "Programs" do not travel easily. Or at all.
 
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Well then i'm screwed. I'm not installing 300 programs. I do not have the time or patience to reinstall all of them.
 
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You could get one of the many cloning programs to try and clone your HDD to your SSD. But before you do that: what size is your SSD, and how much used space is there on your HDD?
Also note that cloning a drive is very prone to failure, and if it goes wrong it could take days to solve it.
 
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Solution


Well...how much used space is on your current drive?
How low can you get it? Probably a LOT is not programs, but rather video/music/etc.
How large is the proposed SSD?
 
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If you currently have 300(!) installed applications, that probably means over the last couple of years you've installed 500, and uninstalled 200. A lot of those uninstalls left a lot of crap behind in the Registry.

Cloning this over to a new drive simply brings all that old cruft over to a new drive.
Maybe now is the time to declutter...:)
 
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I already had this discussion with i think you and one other guy. My used HDD storage is bigger than my SSD and I don't want to reinstall my programs.
My HDD has 300+GB used and my SSD is 119.
Idk how low I can get it im working on that now. I actually have 332 programs (says so in "programs and features") says though that it only takes 65.8GBs So I don't know where the other 240GBs are coming from, assuming games like minecraft that aren't listed. Can't be pictures or videos because those are stored on an external.
My SSD is 199GB
 
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To clone to a 120GB SSD, you need the actual, used space, to be well below 90GB.

A lot of current cloning applications won't even try if there is too much used space.
For instance, the Samsung application will only clone to a 250GB SSD if the proposed space is below 200GB. It throws an error message.

Install WinDirStat, and see what is taking up your space.
 
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"Install WinDirStat, and see what is taking up your space. "
You almost certainly have a bunch of old downloads, temp files, a bunch of music and videos....
 
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Doing it now.
 
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What SSD did you get? Usually SSD's come with a cloning program. When I got my SSD (Crucial MX100) I used Acronis True Image (it came with the SSD, so i used it. No need to actually purchase it), and it let me choose exactly which files and programs I wanted to transfer. A lot of programs offer the same thing, and you can choose to just copy over the OS and some other programs.
 
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It allowed selection/deselection of individual "programs"? If so, that is a new wrinkle.
I'd have to see a screenshot of this selection process to believe.
 
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I misspoke, it allows the exclusion of certain files, however it does not clean your registry. Therefore you are correct it does not allow the exclusion of specific programs, however it does allow the exclusion of certain files.
 
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Yes. Does it just give me info and its up to me to delete things. Thats what im doing so far.
 
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Actually, no.
Just yesterday, I bought a WD Green drive for backups. It includes a copy of Acronis True Image. I just installed and ran it, and read through the user manual....I see nothing in there about selecting 'which programs to migrate'.

If you have some other info, I'd be very interested in seeing this.
 
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Right...it just shows used drive space. It is up to you to determine what to do.
Generally, the only things you 'delete' are regular files. Music, docs, etc. You don't 'delete' programs. You uninstall those, through the control panel.
 
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Right. These things allow exclusion of stuff that lives in the Libraries. Docs, Music, Video, etc.
Application (programs) are a whole other thing.
 
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Speaking specifically about this issue, using a program like this would allow him to exclude everything but the applications, which is exactly what he seems to be seeking.
 
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Maybe. But it depends on what space is used once you exclude those things.
He currently has 300+ 'applications' installed. Those, plus the OS...more than 90GB? Unknown.

And personally, I'd prefer to weed those things out manually, rather than let the clone thing do it. That way I know what it is doing.
 
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How is that still too much? What is the limit and what sets that limit?
 
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