Upgrading to SSD, only 1 drive bay

[Mikewazowski]

I am going to upgrade my hard drive to an SSD and understand the cloning process, but only have one problem: my laptop only has one drive port. Would this be the cloning solution?
1. Get an external hard drive.
2. Clone hard drive data to external drive.
3. Switch out hard drive with SSD.
4. Clone external drive data to SSD.
5. ???
6. Profit
If there is a way to do it without getting an external drive, I'll be glad to do it, but is this the only way?

 

[azathoth]

What laptop model do you have? There may be a hidden mSATA slot tucked away, wherein you can simply add an SSD and have both.

 

[Mikewazowski]

What laptop model do you have? There may be a hidden mSATA slot tucked away, wherein you can simply add an SSD and have both.

http://www.bestbuy.com/site/asus-flip-2-in-1-15-6-touch-screen-laptop-intel-core-i5-8gb-memory-1tb-hard-drive-black/2995123.p?id=1219567194763&skuId=2995123

 

[azathoth]

Apparently there is indeed an mSATA port, however it is not even listed in the BIOS. There is no concrete answer as to whether or not it works. You could try contacting customer support querying the mSATA port on the device.

Going with the safest assumption that it would not be functional, using an external hard drive would unfortunately be your only option. However, you don't HAVE to buy an external hard-drive just for this function.

You can cheat by simply purchasing a 2.5" HDD/SSD enclosure such as http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817392032&cm_re=hard_drive_enclosure-_-17-392-032-_-Product

This way you can directly backup from your old HDD, and you even have your HDD converted to an external drive for only $10!

 

[Alabalcho]

You don't need additional drive for clonning. Get external SATA-to-USB enclosure, and put your "other" disk inside. Most clonning applications allow to boot off CD/USB key, so you can have both of your disks connected to the laptop at the same time.

 

[USAFRet]

Samsung SSD's include the software and a USB cable specifically for this condition.

 

[ArtPog]

Mike...
Let me add my 2 cents...

1. Purchase a USB external enclosure to initially house your new SSD which is to serve as the recipient of the HDD's clone during the disk-cloning operation.

2. The USB external enclosure you want is a USB 3.0 device, NOT a USB 2.0 device. There are scores of USBEHD enclosures to choose from. As an example we're presently using this device - Orico 6518US3, see...
http://www.amazon.com/ORICO-6518US3-Super-Docking-Station/dp/B00CBPB4PM
Note this enclosure accommodates both 2 1/2" & 3 1/2" disks. That's definitely a capability that is useful.

Another type of USB enclosure that may appeal to you is the so-called "docking station", see for example, http://www.newegg.com/Product/ProductList.aspx?Submit=ENE&DEPA=0&Order=BESTMATCH&Description=blacx&N=-1&isNodeId=1

And there are many others to choose from. Just peruse the offerings from Amazon & Newegg. And it's child's play to install and/or reinstall a HDD (or SSD) in & out of a USB external enclosure - whatever the type.

The point here is that following the successful cloning of your HDD to the SSD you'll probably want to use that HDD as a secondary HDD for storage/backup purposes. So your USBEHD enclosure will come in handy for that.

3. As to the disk-cloning process...

There are basically three criteria to keep in mind before going ahead with that process.
1. Does your present system function without any problems in that the system boots without incident and thereafter functions trouble-free?
2. Are you comfortable enough with your present system that you would have no qualms in having a bit-for-bit copy of that system transferred to your new drive?
3. Will the disk-capacity of the new drive be sufficient to contain the total contents of the drive that you would like to transfer?

If your answers to the above are "yes" I would see no reason why you should not utilize a data-migration (disk-cloning) program to effect the transfer of data. Many users are more comfortable fresh-installing the OS rather than undertaking a disk-cloning operation, however I believe that if the three criteria listed above are met a disk-cloning operation is appropriate.

4. Then there's the disk-cloning program...

You didn't indicate what make/model SSD you planned to purchase, however many, if not most, of the SSD manufacturers provide a "data migration" program tailored to their particular SSDs. The Samsung program mentioned by USAFRet is a particularly good program based on our experience with it. It has a nice straightforward design, easy to use and reliable in doing what it's supposed to do.

The disk-cloning program I exclusively use is a commercial product that sells for $49.99 since I'm primarily interested in a disk-cloning program that can be effectively used - because of its speed & reliability - as a vehicle to create routine comprehensive backup system and I've never found any disk-cloning program its equal in this regard. I find that most users are loathe to purchase a commercial product because there are so many of these programs freely available on the net and it seems most users are solely interested in a "one-shot" disk-cloning program for the basic purpose you have in mind, i.e., a one-time cloning of the contents of your present drive to a new drive.

Possibly you have a disk-cloning (data migration) program already in mind.

It's possible you already have a disk-cloning (data migration) program in mind.