Advice on installing an SSD for the first time!

[DublinDude]

Hi guys,

So I have decided to invest in an SSD for the first time. I have two 1TB Samsung drives in my pc at the moment. Windows has gotten quite slow to boot up and shut down as my drive is near capacity. So I want to get an SSD (prob a Crucial M4 128GB) for Windows/photoshop and a game or two and use my two HDD's for storing movies etc.



So I have a few questions:

Is there much involved in installing an SSD?
They are quite slim so I am worried about where it will rest inside the case?
Should I detach the current windows drive before installing it on the SSD?
What changes to I make to the bios? (boot order I presume)
Once Windows is installed, how do I remove it from the HDD but keep my files/folders
Any other advice would be great!

Thanks in advance.

 

[pauldun170]

I recently made the jump to SSD from a .5 TB WD black.

What I did:
1. Get CD keys for all existing win7 install and office 2010.
2. Un-plug old OS drive
3. Installed fresh copy of Windows 7\office 2010 on SSD using existing keys.
4. drivers\updates
5. Plug in old drive to move over important files\directories.
6. enjoy

I still have my old OS drive hanging out but it is unplugged. There was a few times where I booted into to it for some folders I missed but thats' bout it. I also have my libraries pointing to other drives.

 

[DublinDude]

I recently made the jump to SSD from a .5 TB WD black.

What I did:
1. Get CD keys for all existing win7 install and office 2010.
2. Un-plug old OS drive
3. Installed fresh copy of Windows 7\office 2010 on SSD using existing keys.
4. drivers\updates
5. Plug in old drive to move over important files\directories.
6. enjoy

I still have my old OS drive hanging out but it is unplugged. There was a few times where I booted into to it for some folders I missed but thats' bout it. I also have my libraries pointing to other drives.

Hi, thanks for that!

I presume by 'keys' you mean the serial number? My current hd with windows on it has a lot of files/folders that I will still want access to. So once the SSD is installed and booting to windows I would like to reconnect the old drive to access those folders. Plus remove the unwanted copy of windows!

 

[Denithor]

Installing a fresh copy, Windows 7 I presume? If so, set AHCI mode for SATA in the BIOS and then just install like usual.

Nothing more involved than normal Windows install if using 7 or Vista. More involved if rigging XP on an SSD.

Size doesn't matter. Honestly. Drive should come with an adapter to fit into a 3.5" bay correctly, if it doesn't just stuff it anywhere, secure with a single screw or velcro if worried. These have no moving parts, not sensitive to shocks/drops like normal HDDs.

I would detach the current boot drive before installing the fresh copy.

And then you can point Windows (fresh install) to use your old My Documents/etc folders on the HDD instead of filling up your new SSD. Simply go to properties of My Documents on C: and then select move and point it to the existing folder on the old HDD. Do likewise for your My Music, My Videos, etc folders.

 

[dma0991]

1. Is there much involved in installing an SSD?
2. They are quite slim so I am worried about where it will rest inside the case?
3. Should I detach the current windows drive before installing it on the SSD?
4. What changes to I make to the bios? (boot order I presume)
5. Once Windows is installed, how do I remove it from the HDD but keep my files/folders
6. Any other advice would be great!

Thanks in advance.

1. Not much, just remember to set AHCI at BIOS and do a clean format. You could use something like Acronis to clone it to your SSD but it is additional cost for the software and I still prefer a clean format.
2. If it comes with a bracket, use it and attach it to a regular 3.5" bay. If it doesn't and your casing has no mounting options for 2.5" drives whatsoever, use double sided tape and stick it somewhere.
3. Not necessary but you could.
4. Referring to the question 3, you can choose the SSD as the first boot device and it won't matter if you detach the HDD or not.
5. Do it before formatting, much easier.
6. You'll never go back to HDDs as primary drives anymore, I can guarantee that. :biggrin:

 

[DublinDude]

Installing a fresh copy, Windows 7 I presume? If so, set AHCI mode for SATA in the BIOS and then just install like usual.

Nothing more involved than normal Windows install if using 7 or Vista. More involved if rigging XP on an SSD.

Size doesn't matter. Honestly. Drive should come with an adapter to fit into a 3.5" bay correctly, if it doesn't just stuff it anywhere, secure with a single screw or velcro if worried. These have no moving parts, not sensitive to shocks/drops like normal HDDs.

I would detach the current boot drive before installing the fresh copy.

And then you can point Windows (fresh install) to use your old My Documents/etc folders on the HDD instead of filling up your new SSD. Simply go to properties of My Documents on C: and then select move and point it to the existing folder on the old HDD. Do likewise for your My Music, My Videos, etc folders.

Hey, that sounds so much simpler that what I was thinking. Yep its Windows 7 (if I can find my disk and serial num)

What about safely removing windows from the original HDD but keeping all my files and folders?

 

[DublinDude]

1. Not much, just remember to set AHCI at BIOS and do a clean format. You could use something like Acronis to clone it to your SSD but it is additional cost for the software and I still prefer a clean format.
2. If it comes with a bracket, use it and attach it to a regular 3.5" bay. If it doesn't and your casing has no mounting options for 2.5" drives whatsoever, use double sided tape and stick it somewhere.
3. Not necessary but you could.
4. Referring to the question 3, you can choose the SSD as the first boot device and it won't matter if you detach the HDD or not.
5. Do it before formatting, much easier.
6. You'll never go back to HDDs as primary drives anymore, I can guarantee that. :biggrin:

Getting excited about this now! (sad huh)

My current windows drive has nearly 900mb of stuff on it I want to keep so I don't want to format it just yet. I just will want to remove windows once I have installed it on the SSD. Or will I need to keep windows on it?

 

[dma0991]

Getting excited about this now! (sad huh)

My current windows drive has nearly 900mb of stuff on it I want to keep so I don't want to format it just yet. I just will want to remove windows once I have installed it on the SSD. Or will I need to keep windows on it?

If you're not comfortable of losing whatever data you have in that HDD, you can leave Windows installed in the HDD and it can even work alongside with the SSD. All you will need to do is to switch the boot priority in BIOS and it will take care of itself. It will work, if you have an additional copy of Windows lying around.

 

[DublinDude]

If you're not comfortable of losing whatever data you have in that HDD, you can leave Windows installed in the HDD and it can even work alongside with the SSD. All you will need to do is to switch the boot priority in BIOS and it will take care of itself. It will work, if you have an additional copy of Windows lying around.

Yea, I suppose I could do that. I think Win only takes up about 22gb so its not a huge deal to just leave it there.

 

[Maximus96]

i followed this guide,

http://www.overclock.net/t/1156654/seans-windows-7-install-optimization-guide-for-ssds-hdds

 

[DublinDude]

i followed this guide,

http://www.overclock.net/t/1156654/seans-windows-7-install-optimization-guide-for-ssds-hdds

Thanks, its quite comprehensive!

 

[Dessert Tears]

During installation, you should disconnect all drives except your new SSD (and your optical if you're installing from DVD). The guide explains that it keeps Windows from installing the boot partition on one of your old drives and protects you from formatting or deleting your data.

 

[chusteczka]

If you have your Win7 system installed on a partition less than the size of the SSD, then you can use the Windows Backup/Restore function to do the following:

1) Image your system partition.
2) Restore your system partition onto the new SSD.
3) Shutdown your computer, disconnect the old system drive.
4) Restart the computer and boot from the new SSD drive.

Start button (lower left) | All Programs | Maintenance | Backup and Restore

 

[Zorander]

Sorry to hijack this thread but I have a sort of related question.

I need to reinstall Windows 7 on my Crucial M4. Can I simply boot up the installer and proceed with formatting the partition Windows will be in and then installing? Or are there certain steps I should follow to ensure optimal SSD performance?

Thanks.

 

[dma0991]

Sorry to hijack this thread but I have a sort of related question.

I need to reinstall Windows 7 on my Crucial M4. Can I simply boot up the installer and proceed with formatting the partition Windows will be in and then installing? Or are there certain steps I should follow to ensure optimal SSD performance?

Thanks.

If it isn't in AHCI already, do it now. The rest of the steps are the same, no special tricks necessary.

 

[Zorander]

If it isn't in AHCI already, do it now. The rest of the steps are the same, no special tricks necessary.

Already in AHCI in BIOS. So a normal reformat and reinstall using the Windows loader should do the trick then?

Reason I'm reformatting is because I've come across strange crashing issue (just freezes over time even when idling). I have also noticed that one of my SATA ports (not sure if this is connected to the SSD or HDD) is running in PIO4 mode, which I suspect is either caused by interference on the SATA cable or Windows going haywire.

 

[dma0991]

Already in AHCI in BIOS. So a normal reformat and reinstall using the Windows loader should do the trick then?

Yup. Shouldn't be that different compared to installing in a HDD.

 

[DublinDude]

Was just about to order and I realised my DVD drive isn't working for some reason!

It opens and lets me put a disk in but it wont load and when I double click on it in Computer it says 'please insert disk' :\