Upgrading a Compaq HDD to SSD.

[JTsyo]

So Newegg has a pretty good deal on a SSD that I was considering for my wife's laptop. Trouble is the laptop is a Compaq and just came with recover CDs. Once I install the SSD how would I get the OS and drivers on it?

 

[corkyg]

Clone the exsting drive to the SSD and you should lose nothing. You can also copy the Recovery partition to a Thumb drive. Then if you do a clean install on the SSD (some will advocate that) you can place it on the SSD. And, lastly, just remove the HDD, put it away in a safe place and then install the SSD. The HDD can always be put back in to run the Recovery routine.

 

[sm625]

Yeah I thought the deal I got on my OCZ SSD was good too. Until the damn thing died. I would never buy another OCZ and would never recommend one.

 

[JTsyo]

Yeah I thought the deal I got on my OCZ SSD was good too. Until the damn thing died. I would never buy another OCZ and would never recommend one.

hmm maybe a SSD isn't a good idea for a laptop. From what I've read the on-off cycles aren't good for them. They do better being on 24/7.

 

[thelastjuju]

I dunno about that.. I've heard of plenty of people who have SSDs in laptops, and they're loving it.

Plus since laptops tend to boot up and down a lot more frequently than a desktop would, the drastic increase in boot times and/or sleep or hibernate times are going to be a huge plus.

I'd avoid the OCZ too though. Out of ALL the SSD manufacturers out there, they are the only ones who have struggled to get the technology right.

 

[Gunbuster]

hmm maybe a SSD isn't a good idea for a laptop. From what I've read the on-off cycles aren't good for them. They do better being on 24/7.

That is complete anecdotal FUD.

P.S. On-off cycles are bad for EVERYTHING. Entropy sucks.

 

[mfenn]

You can reinstall Windows 7 as long as your laptop has a sticker with the serial key on it (being a major brand, it should). Here's a guide on how to do it along with links to the media. You might have to call MS to activate instead of being able to do it online, but they should activate you since you're reinstalling on the same motherboard.

 

[AnitaPeterson]

Careful there... I've been reading extensively about the migration from HDD to SSD, since this is something I want to do in the near future... You don't want to end up with a slow system, if you don't do the partition alignment:

http://forums.anandtech.com/showthread.php?t=2064313
http://lifehacker.com/5837769/make-...ned-for-optimal-solid-state-drive-performance
http://lifehacker.com/5837543/how-to-migrate-to-a-solid+state-drive-without-reinstalling-windows

 

[sm625]

Unfortunately for me I bought 3 OCZ drives before I shunned them forever. The one in my laptop has not died yet. (Knocks on wood) It is has been power cycled well over 500 times so far. It is pushing 1000.

 

[mfenn]

Careful there... I've been reading extensively about the migration from HDD to SSD, since this is something I want to do in the near future... You don't want to end up with a slow system, if you don't do the partition alignment:

http://forums.anandtech.com/showthread.php?t=2064313
http://lifehacker.com/5837769/make-...ned-for-optimal-solid-state-drive-performance
http://lifehacker.com/5837543/how-to-migrate-to-a-solid+state-drive-without-reinstalling-windows

If you do a clean install of Windows 7, the installer takes care of the alignment for you.