Just Bought an SSD, What to Do Now?

LMattylicious on 11/08/2015 - 16:21

Hi Ozbargain,

I gave into the SSD temptation from all the Ozbargain post and bought the Crucial BX100 250GB SSD (thanks tightarse) and was wondering if anyone can provide help on what to do next.

Basically I want to start my Operating System (Windows 7) from the SSD so I can take advantage of the fast startup time. Currently everything is running off my HDD, so how do I transfer my Windows 7 from my HDD to SSD safely without losing any information? My ultimate goal is for the Operating System and/or computer games to run off my SSD while using my HDD for storage space.

Any information from the Ozbargain community would be greatly appreciated :)

Thanks!

Computing

Comments

  • aim54x on 11/08/2015 - 16:38
    +1

    It depens on how big your existing hard drive is, if is 256GB or smaller you are in a bit of luck, if not you will probably have to trim and seperate the stuff on it so it is less than 250GB (probably closer to 200GB to be safe).

    If you are keen on keeping your data, then cloning may be the way to go. When I did my laptop I basically followed this guide

    http://lifehacker.com/5837543/how-to-migrate-to-a-solid-stat…

  • ProjectZero on 11/08/2015 - 16:41
    +1

    My ultimate goal is for the Operating System and/or computer games to run off my SSD while using my HDD for storage space.

    Unless you're games are really small or you're talking about the MS games, then it probably wouldn't work out very well for you.

    without losing any information

    What information are you referring to?

    This is what I did when I installed my SSD, fresh install OS onto SSD (you can still keep your old drive in there or just take it out during the installation). Once you've done that, you can link up all your files (My document, music etc.) to your secondary drive.

    • Davo1111 on 11/08/2015 - 16:56

      I use a 250GB SSD in my daily computer. Bandwidth is cheap, and now that everything is linked to steam I don't have to keep a bunch of isos

      • ProjectZero on 11/08/2015 - 17:25

        Same, all my games are installed onto HDD… I did have skyrim running from my SSD at one point but it didn't really change the loading times all that much.

    • Mattylicious on 11/08/2015 - 17:05

      Thanks ProjectZero, sound much easier than I thought :)

      The information I was referring to is basic photos, music, documents etc.. Again, thanks for the advice!

      • ProjectZero on 11/08/2015 - 17:28
        +1

        No worries, I would highly recommend just backing up your data onto an external drive and then format the old HDD so you can free up the space the old OS has taken… once you've done that move all the data back onto the old HDD and follow this guide. You don't have to do all of them if you don't want but there is a guide on "linking" your files. It's the first section under the "Optimization after System Setup", if you do this, it shouldn't be any data loss issues with any OS wipes in the future as all your data is permanently linked to a separate HDD (with the obvious exclusion of a HDD failure).

    • Odin on 11/08/2015 - 18:04

      Unless you're games are really small or you're talking about the MS games, then it probably wouldn't work out very well for you.

      What?

      Your OS will take up about 40GB max. Then you're going to add 200GB of games? Man, cut down on the gaming, there's no need to have 200GB of games installed.

      • ProjectZero on 11/08/2015 - 18:26

        From my experience, a game now a days is roughly 30-40GB installed.

        My Win 7 OS takes around ~20GB when optimised using the guide i linked before.

  • Paul Atreides on 11/08/2015 - 16:44

    get a ssd and put it in your pocket, never let it fade away….

  • Davo1111 on 11/08/2015 - 16:55

    create windows disk, swap the drives, install win, put the old drive in external case, copy files.

    Obviously back up first.

  • airzone on 11/08/2015 - 18:06

    I believe Easeus partition manager will be able to assist you. I've used it a few times, just make sure that you have < 240gb of stuff on your hard disk.

    http://www.easeus.com/partition-manager/personal.html

  • Colombian on 11/08/2015 - 18:07

    Give it to me!!!

  • Nutrino on 11/08/2015 - 18:50

    Do A clean install.

  • KaTst3R on 11/08/2015 - 18:58

    I have always thought you could just hook up the SSD and just copy the entire C: onto the SSD. Then just swap around the boot drive at bios. Seems like it is more complicated then that.

    • Mattylicious on 11/08/2015 - 19:51

      Haha I thought it was like that at first, that's why I had to ask to make sure I don't screw anything up.

      • KaTst3R on 11/08/2015 - 20:34

        I have never cloned a HDD as I always fresh install when using a new drive. I am happy for an expert to explain why I cant just copy everything over (if the old HD is smaller than the new one) and boot the new drive instead.

  • Sage on 11/08/2015 - 19:09

    make a system image and use the restore function (from the install/repair disc) to restore it to the other drive.

    however you may want to consider installing a fresh OS. with less applications installed and changes to the registry etc, it will run smoother. it depends if you have a lot of junk on your computer but I would say a new OS is always nice.

  • oscargamer on 11/08/2015 - 19:19
    +1

    when u buy an ssd - you usually get the option to automatically move your data over from your existing hdd

    • scrimshaw on 11/08/2015 - 19:31

      Only if your SSD comes with a software CD containing a partition management software. Sometimes they be stingy bastards and only give you a demo or evaluation version, not the full SW.

      My Intel migration software is actually a crippled version of Acronis True Image, and it only works when the detected SSD is an Intel one. Which still isn't bad considering it does not expire.

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