Upgrading HDD to SSD

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gumsy

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Feb 23, 2015
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What is the most suitable method to upgrade from HDD to SSD?

Hi,

I'm a little computer illiterate and was hoping someone could advise me with a forthcoming scenario.

I currently have an older PC, HP Elite 7300 - Core i7 2600 3.4 GHz - 4 GB - 1 TB and was thinking about upgrading by adding some bits. I’ve heard that if you install a windows operating system on an SSD drive from which the PC boots up its amazingly fast, so I feel this is an option.

Basically my current PC has windows 7 along with some important software and graphics programs such as some of the Adobe suite and MS Office, which is currently installed on the C:/ drive. I am looking to add the following items:

1 x Samsung 500GB SSD 840 EVO – SSD
3 x Kingston 4GB DDR3 1333MHz Memory
1 x Windows 8.1 Pro

I’ve seen a video showing how to install windows onto an SSD, however my dilemma is that if I do this what will happen to Windows 7 currently on my C:/ drive, will this cause conflicts if it stays on? Also will I be able to continue to use my software programs if they are still on the old C:/ drive?

I would be most grateful if someone could advise on the best approach to this.

Look forward to hearing from you…
 
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With that SSD, you really want to install your applications on it as well.

You have 2 ways forward:

1. Clean install on the SSD. Then all your applications as well. (This is my usual recommendation)

2. Clone from the old drive to the new SSD. This takes everything from the old drive, and zaps it onto the new drive. Usually this works. Usually.
The prime question here is...how much used space do you have on the old C drive?
 
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You can clone a hard drive .
Everything including the OS and all installed programs and data are migrated to the new drive .

Connect the SSD to the motherboard via a SATA port .
Install Acronis Migrate Easy [ free use for 15 days last time I checked ]
and foillow the instructions to clone the drive . It will take a few hours . When you are done disconnect the old hard drive .
The machine will now boot from the SSD .

Most people would then format the hard drive and use it to store data . But you have an oem computer and the hard drive will have a windows recovery partition . I would leave it in the computer disconnected , and buy another mechanical hard drive for data storage .
That way you can always return to your machine set up if you have to clone the drive again for any reason
 
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It is best to do a complete reinstall of windows onto the new ssd drive.
Your programs would not work on the old hard drive with the SSD as the paths and registry keys are now not correct for that program.

You can clone your hard drive to the SSD but sometimes that does not go flawless.
The Samsung SSD will come with software that can copy your existing drive to the SSD.

For an SSD you need to put the BIOS sata setting to AHCI mode.
If reinstalling windows from scratch:
Go into bios and select AHCI for sata type (consult manual if you cant find the setting)

If you are going to clone the hdd:
Clone the drive
Remove HDD and boot SSD to test the clone was fine.
Perform this registry change: http://www.neowin.net/forum/topic/987378-how-to-switch-from-ide-to-ahci-without-repairingreinstalling-windows/
Reboot PC but enter the BIOS, change to AHCI
Save bios config and reboot. If done correctly the drive should now boot agian
 
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You would need to first format your old hard drive, removing Windows 7 and all installed software from it.
Then install the SSD (and RAM), making sure its plugged into your fastest SATA port (check Motherboard specification).
Turn PC on, enter BIOS and change boot order to boot from optical drive first (assuming you are installing Windows from disk).
(Also whilst in the BIOS make note of the letter assigned to your SSD drive)
Restart the PC with the Windows 8 disk in the optical drive and when it boots install Windows to the SSD.
(Optional: re-enter BIOS and change boot order so it boots from SSD first)
Thats basically job done.

You will then need to install all of the programs you want for Windows 8 (Microsoft Office etc). I would also backup any documents you want to keep before formatting your old drive, if you have a high capacity flash drive or external hard drive then you can copy all the documents, music, videos and photos onto there. Once you have Windows 8 installed you can then copy them all back over. (Another option would be to upload all of your documents to Google Drive, One Drive or DropBox).
 
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Thats true, you can install the SSD and install Windows 8 to it then reconnect the old drive and format it. Might actually be easier that way around.
 
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And an install of Win 7 or 8 should be done with only the target drive connected anyway.
 
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You guys have been most helpful and i think the option of formatting and reinstalling the applications on the new SSD will be the most suitable option to avoid any possible conflicts. I'll look into the migration option before doing so.

If i encounter any hardships or problems i'll keep them posted.

Great forum and great support from all.

It is much appreciated.
 
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It is the biggest/most noticeable upgrade you can make on a standard computer, more then a ram or cpu upgrade.
A normal hard drive has to spin a disk to the location of a file (or pieces of a file), thus the big difference in an SSD is not that it can read/write 3-5x faster but that it does not have to spin a platter to get to a new piece of data. Because of the almost instant seek time it makes random data access more like 50x faster.

You can do a clone and not have to reinstall everything, its just that there is always the possibility of something not copying over right, and then the possibility that what did not copy right was very very important.

If setting the bios to ahci and cloning the drive sounds like to much "work" then don't do it.
 
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Far more than that.
Heat, noise, reliability....and the whole system is snappier.

I have a moderately complex Excel file on a SSD here. The Excel application lives on one SSD, the file in question lives on another SSD.
Opens in under a second.

That exact same Excel file, on my machine at work, takes about 10 secs to open.

Obviously the two PC's are different, but the main difference is SSD vs not SSD.

As far as 'hard work' being worth it? Even just a clean install on a new SSD only takes about a day and a half to complete. OS, updates and all your applications.
It's not that hard or time consuming.

If you go the migration route, maybe a couple of hours while you go do something else.
 
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Hi all,

Much appreciated for all your feedback and advice.

I finally upgraded the SSD using the Samsung Data Migration tool, which i was very hesitant about. Fortunately it created an exact copy of my current drive and looks no different to how it was originally set up. The data migration took about 1 hour 20 minutes transferring at about 53Mb/s with a total of 227GB.

Wow! what can i say, the computer is amazingly quick.

- Start up improved by about 1 1/2 minutes, however the applications are amazingly quick.
- Outlook used to take about 30 seconds to start up now within 3 secs up and synced.
- MS Word used to take about 5-7 seconds, now under 1 second.
- My concern was the graphics programs, i.e. Adobe Photoshop, Illustrator and Dreamweaver all of which used to take about 30 seconds to start and now under 5 seconds.

Its a great move for anyone wishing to speed up their computer and applications.

P.S. its also much quieter, all i can now hear is the fan.

Once again thanks to all and all the advice was well accepted.
 
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Norton Ghost .
A cloning program is what samsung bundle with their drives
Its OK and works . Seagate uses a version of Acronis Migrate Easy , which you can get free for 15 days anyway
 
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