[SOLVED] Just got a new laptop. I want to swap my old one's SSD with it

[shiro7]

So, in this older laptop of mine I have a 1TB SSD, and in the new one it's only a 128GB SSD (but the other specs are better). I want to swap this 1TB one with it. If I format this one, don't power up the 128GB and swap them around, will it be enough or cause problems?

 

[jay32267]

So, in this older laptop of mine I have a 1TB SSD, and in the new one it's only a 128GB SSD (but the other specs are better). I want to swap this 1TB one with it. If I format this one, don't power up the 128GB and swap them around, will it be enough or cause problems?

If you format the 1TB one...and install it...it shouldn't cause problems but you will have to reinstall Windows.

I would suggest cloning your 128 GB drive to the 1TB before swapping.....then you won't have to.

 

[USAFRet]

So, in this older laptop of mine I have a 1TB SSD, and in the new one it's only a 128GB SSD (but the other specs are better). I want to swap this 1TB one with it. If I format this one, don't power up the 128GB and swap them around, will it be enough or cause problems?

You need to power up the new laptop with its 128GB drive, and get the OS activated.
Then, you can swap the drives and do a clean install on the 1TB. This new install will activate itself when the system goes online.

 

[geofelt]

Presumably, your new laptop has windows installed on the 128gb ssd.
I also assume that your old laptop is no longer needed and will be abandoned.
Certainly, you should be able to install the 1tb ssd in the new and make it work.
One possibility is to reinstall windows. On laptops, it can be difficult to find the appropriate drivers .

Perhaps a better option is to clone our 128gb ssd to the 1tb ssd.
Buy a usb to sata adapter cable to do the job.
Macrium reflect should do it.
What is the make/model of the 1tb ssd?
If, by chance the old ssd is samsung, you can use the samsung ssd migration app.
Other ssd brands also have their own migration apps

When the copy is done, replace the 128gb ssd with the new 1tb ssd.
Keep the 128gb ssd around since it may eventually be needed to reset the laptop to factory specs.

 

[shiro7]

I had not heard of this cloning solution until now. Thanks for the information.

So, here's some info:

My old laptop is an Acer Aspire F5-573 series. My new one is an Acer Predator Helios 300. For drivers, the old one has a 1TB Samsung Evo 860 SSD and a 1TB HDD for storage. The new one came with a 128GB SATA 3 SSD M.2 2280 and a 1TB HDD.

I just ordered another Samsung Evo 860 (500GB), which I'll be inserting in the old laptop. I don't intend to abandon it yet, so I'd like to keep it functional with a good SSD. The idea is to first clone the 1TB SSD to the 500GB one, swap them around, and then clone the 128GB to the 1TB. Since the first cloning will happen between two Samsung drivers, I can simply use the Samsung migration app for that. Thing is that I don't know which brand the 128GB one is (the new laptop is still sealed so I can't check, but I highly doubt it's a Samsung driver). If it's really not from Samsung, that means the migration app won't be compatible with it, so I'll have to use a different program. Do you guys have any recommendations?

 

[geofelt]

I found this video on how to disassemble your new laptop.

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5qCWh4UyfQU

It looks to me like it has a second m.2 ssd slot.
It is not clear to me if the empty m.2 slot is sata only or if it can handle a pcie ssd.
Pcie is faster sequentially, but it also costs more.
As a practical matter, you would not notice the performance difference since most activity will be random.
Regardless your upgrading of the new is very easy.
Just install a new 1tb samsung m.2 device and use the migration aid to move the C drive to the new ssd.

 

[USAFRet]

I had not heard of this cloning solution until now. Thanks for the information.

So, here's some info:

My old laptop is an Acer Aspire F5-573 series. My new one is an Acer Predator Helios 300. For drivers, the old one has a 1TB Samsung Evo 860 SSD and a 1TB HDD for storage. The new one came with a 128GB SATA 3 SSD M.2 2280 and a 1TB HDD.

I just ordered another Samsung Evo 860 (500GB), which I'll be inserting in the old laptop. I don't intend to abandon it yet, so I'd like to keep it functional with a good SSD. The idea is to first clone the 1TB SSD to the 500GB one, swap them around, and then clone the 128GB to the 1TB. Since the first cloning will happen between two Samsung drivers, I can simply use the Samsung migration app for that. Thing is that I don't know which brand the 128GB one is (the new laptop is still sealed so I can't check, but I highly doubt it's a Samsung driver). If it's really not from Samsung, that means the migration app won't be compatible with it, so I'll have to use a different program. Do you guys have any recommendations?

If the target drive is a Samsung, use the Samsung Data Migration tool.
Otherwise, Macrium Reflect.