Help installing and Picking an SSD

[Jenna Cat]

Hi. I recently purchased an SSD, not really knowing much about it
I can still return it if its not good or too expensive for the quality it will provide.

Here is the SSD: Samsung 850 Pro http://www.amazon.com/Samsung-128GB-2-5-Inch-Internal-MZ-7KE128BW/dp/B00LF10L02 (I got the 256Gb)

If the model seems too expensive or maybe even bad at performance please let me know and also if you want link more ssd's that are better or of the same quality and cheaper 😀

Also i belive when i asked someone they had mentioned transferring files from the HDD to the SSD is tricky, more specifically tricky for Windows 7. Can someone please tell me methods of installing an SSD. I believe the best method was backing up all my files onto another hard drive. But i dont remember quite what i was supposed to do exactly afterwards.

Thanks in advance for the assistance 😀

 

[popatim]

You should always have important files backed up. Never let them be kept in only 1 device (what will you do when that device breaks?) The more copies of these important files you have on different devices, the safer those files are.

The best method for installing windows to an SSD is to install windows fresh. Ie - a complete reinstall. Many users forgo this and opt to clone their current HDD over to their SSD but for this to work the space taken up on the HDD would have to be less than the space available on your SSD. You just can't fit 1tb worth of HDD files into a 250gb SSD...

If you have more data than will fit on your SSD then you either have to delete things until it all fits, purchase a 3rd party program which migrates the OS to the SSD, or install the OS to the SSD fresh. Before deleting files or using a 3rd party program I do suggest backing the HDD up fully so that if something goes wrong you can at least get the HDD back tot he way it was; this will require another drive or a stack of blank dvd's.

If your HDD will fit into the SSD space then you can use the supplied cloning tool which copies the HDD to the SSD. Again a backup is strongly recommended 'just in case'. When done you power off. Swap the SSD into the place the HDD was and leave the hdd disconnected (for now) and boot back up into the bios where you select the SSD as the primary boot device. Save and reboot into your new SSD powered System and verify everything is working right.

 

[Jenna Cat]

You should always have important files backed up. Never let them be kept in only 1 device (what will you do when that device breaks?) The more copies of these important files you have on different devices, the safer those files are.

The best method for installing windows to an SSD is to install windows fresh. Ie - a complete reinstall. Many users forgo this and opt to clone their current HDD over to their SSD but for this to work the space taken up on the HDD would have to be less than the space available on your SSD. You just can't fit 1tb worth of HDD files into a 250gb SSD...

If you have more data than will fit on your SSD then you either have to delete things until it all fits, purchase a 3rd party program which migrates the OS to the SSD, or install the OS to the SSD fresh. Before deleting files or using a 3rd party program I do suggest backing the HDD up fully so that if something goes wrong you can at least get the HDD back tot he way it was; this will require another drive or a stack of blank dvd's.

If your HDD will fit into the SSD space then you can use the supplied cloning tool which copies the HDD to the SSD. Again a backup is strongly recommended 'just in case'. When done you power off. Swap the SSD into the place the HDD was and leave the hdd disconnected (for now) and boot back up into the bios where you select the SSD as the primary boot device. Save and reboot into your new SSD powered System and verify everything is working right.

Wait you can redownload windows 7 onto the ssd as well? Nothing is affected by the fact that there are two live window 7 files in the system? (one on the hard drive other on ssd)

 

[ArtPog]

Jenna Cat:

First of all the Samsung 850 Pro you purchased is a super drive. You did well to purchase it.

The information/advice you rec'd from popatim is on the mark although I'm not in total agreement with him (or her) that the "best method for installing windows to an SSD is (a fresh install)." It may be true depending upon the particular circumstances of the situation. If you have a Windows operating system (OS) that you're totally satisfied with as to its operation in that it boots without incident and is totally functional in all respects I see no reason why you cannot clone the entire contents of that system to your SSD should that be your desire. While there's nothing inherently wrong with a fresh install of the OS you must consider that it will be necessary to then reinstall all your programs/applications + personal data onto the new drive. If you want to do this, fine. Understand that a fresh install of the OS is akin to setting up a new system but without all your previous programs & data until you reinstall those programs and data.

Anyway, tell us a few things...

1. What have you done with the Samsung SSD? Is it still "virgin" in the box it came in? Or have you used it in some fashion? How?

2. What kind of a PC do you have? Laptop? Desktop? Can you provide the make/model?

3. Any idea of the make/model of the motherboard in your system?

4. Have you ever worked on a PC before? That is to say have you removed its cover and perhaps installed this or that component?

5. Besides the Samsung what kind of hard drives (HDD) are installed in your present PC? Are you planning to use them after you install the SSD?

6. I take it you're working with the Win 7 OS. What is the total data in your PC? You're planning to transfer ALL the data over to the SSD? Or what?

7. Are you satisfied with your present system along the lines I indicated above? Giving you any trouble? Would you consider cloning the entire contents of your present system over to the Samsung SSD? Is there sufficient "room" (disk space) on the SSD to hold those contents?

8. Is the only reason you want to "transfer files to the SSD" (as you put it) is simply because of the better (faster) operation you'll gain from this "transfer"? There's no other reason, is there?

9. Do you think you have a fairly clear idea as to the distinction between "transferring files" and a disk-cloning operation?

If you want to continue this please be CLEAR & PRECISE in your responses.