Moving OS from HDD to SDD help

Fiddlex

Hello

I'm getting a new SSD soon Samsung 120gb. I'm wondering what the procedure is for moving my OS onto the SSD. Should I just re-install the OS onto the SSD?

Will I have to format my HDD as well or can I keep windows and my files on my HDD also and just set my SSD as boot drive? Anyone have any guides I should follow?

Thanks

ozmo

Fiddlex wrote: »

Hello

I'm getting a new SSD soon Samsung 120gb. I'm wondering what the procedure is for moving my OS onto the SSD. Should I just re-install the OS onto the SSD?

Will I have to format my HDD as well or can I keep windows and my files on my HDD also and just set my SSD as boot drive? Anyone have any guides I should follow?

Thanks

I did the same last week - Im sure the correct response is nuke and reinstall everything - it resets the partitions to correct SSD sector- and has windows pickup correctly its running on SSD drives.

But I had a complex set up I didnt want loose and managed to transfer the os across. The PC I upgraded was an XP PC - yet managed it without issue - and performance is fantastic.

Steps I took...

0. Download Norton Ghost or whatever preferred windows based imaging software you like - Norton Ghost is the only thing left from Norton left i'd use - its very good - and there is a free version I think on the Samsung SSD Driver page.

1. Install the SSD in the pc as a second harddisk - make sure it appears ok with no [!] in devices - this makes sure it has loaded all the drivers ok.
1b. Use Windows Drive manager to register the new drive
1c. Install the Samsung Drive Magician software (comes with the SSD - is also on their site) - this is all the drivers and enables TRIM etc in XP - or the other performance boosts in more modern OS's.

2. This is the important bit - you need to make Windows forget it ever saw saw your new SSD - so the next time you boot the SSD will be C (not D or whatever).
Rename the Registry key (using regedit)
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\MountedDevices\
to
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\MountedDevicesOFF\
*Do not boot your PC now until this is put back in step 4- should be ok but cd drive etc might change letters*

3. Now Use Norton Ghost to image from your C to the empty SSD - make sure you enable the advanced option "Copy MBR"

4. Norton Copy is very quick -
Use Windows Drive manager to register the new SSD drive and right click to mark the partition as active.
You now should be in your old windows still - have windows cloned on new SSD - but with correct drivers installed and the registry ready to pick up the new drive.
(Just to put your old Windows setup back - Rename now your the Registry key back HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\MountedDevices\
before you power down)

5. Now shutdown pc - remove drive for now - set BIOS to boot from SSD drive.
5a. should be able boot now - but may not be optimal speed.

6. SSD works best if you enable AHCI in the BIOS - if you dont have it enabled - try boot once into windows - then reboot with AHDI enabled.
Normally you will hear you need to reinstall if you change this setting - but if you follow the above you will have the drivers installed and you should be able change this.


Oh - and the usual warnings - make sure you have everything important ( docs, photos etc) backed up before you start - careful with that regedit tool etc. If your pc has multiple partitions (small first 100MB boot partition etc.) that's a bit trickier - prob best reinstall then. Always make sure you are able to recover/undo if something goes wrong.

SickBoy

Samsung have their own software for this which is great.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v4lmGpGN3a0

You can download it here.
I've used it a few times and it works like a charm.
Older cloning software can mess up the sector alignment moving from HDD to SSD which won't cause data loss but will result in degraded performance as the misalignment of the information across the SSD will mean slower write and read times.

Also this will only work when cloning to a Samsung SSD, it will not allow a destination drive to be anything other than Samsung

invaderzimirl

well you can always do a sysprep and image the drive from one to the second and it should be able to re-initialize windows on your new drive,

Id recommend using Belarc to pull a copy of all your serials before you do anything just run the program and save the Webpage generated and about half way down there is a list of keys.

but normally when i get a new OS drive i like to take the chance to clean things up

Fiddlex

Thanks for the replies guys! I'm probably going to do a clean install of the OS onto my SSD rather than cloning my HDD as i just upgraded my pc so there isnt much on my HDD right now.

If i just do a clean install onto the SSD, can i keep my hdd the way it is or will i have to format it also. Id like it to have the windows files on it as a backup drive.

invaderzimirl

you can use it as an external drive via USB and have access to all your files that way :-)

ozmo

Fiddlex wrote: »

Thanks for the replies guys! I'm probably going to do a clean install of the OS onto my SSD rather than cloning my HDD as i just upgraded my pc so there isnt much on my HDD right now.

If i just do a clean install onto the SSD, can i keep my hdd the way it is or will i have to format it also. Id like it to have the windows files on it as a backup drive.

You will need set in the bios that you want boot from the new SSD drive before installing the new windows.
If you don't you could end up with problems if you ever remove the old drive later(boot sector might be put on the wrong drive). Other than that - no real problem keeping the old HDD. Might be worth putting it in a usb external drive case rather than leaving it running always if you don't need it..


(edit: usb drive suggestion as already mentioned)

Fiddlex

invaderzimirl wrote: »

you can use it as an external drive via USB and have access to all your files that way :-)

I'm not sure I understand you correctly. Both drives will be internal drives, The SSD will be my main drive and the HDD secondary. the HDD is my main drive now, so i want to keep it as it is without formatting it and just install the OS onto the new SSD and set it as the boot drive.

Will that work out OK?

Fiddlex

ozmo wrote: »

You will need set in the bios that you want boot from the new SSD drive before installing the new windows.
If you don't you could end up with problems if you ever remove the old drive later(boot sector might be put on the wrong drive). Other than that - no real problem keeping the old HDD. Might be worth putting it in a usb external drive case rather than leaving it running always if you don't need it..


(edit: usb drive suggestion as already mentioned)

Thanks. I will still be using my HDD for installing applications and games that i dont need on my SSD, and it will hold all my downloads,media,pictures etc. So its still going to be used.

Jonny7

Fiddlex wrote: »

Thanks for the replies guys! I'm probably going to do a clean install of the OS onto my SSD rather than cloning my HDD as i just upgraded my pc so there isnt much on my HDD right now.

If i just do a clean install onto the SSD, can i keep my hdd the way it is or will i have to format it also. Id like it to have the windows files on it as a backup drive.

You might want to unplug the HDD while you install the OS on the SSD

then plug in the HDD after the OS is installed

I had an issue where it gave the option to boot from either SSD or HDD, but it created issues when a third drive was added and it completely bluescreened when either ssd or hdd was removed

Fiddlex

Jonny7 wrote: »

You might want to unplug the HDD while you install the OS on the SSD

then plug in the HDD after the OS is installed

I had an issue where it gave the option to boot from either SSD or HDD, but it created issues when a third drive was added and it completely bluescreened when either ssd or hdd was removed

Yeah i will disconnect the HDD during install so it only detects the SDD. Thanks

Brixworkwear

When you plug the HDD back in all that will happen is that you will get a screen that offers you the option of which windows you want to boot.
I dont know what version of windows your installing but if you right click on my computer> properties > advanced system settings > then in the "startup and recovery" section you will get the option to set parameters for which one is selected by default and for how long you want the splash screen to show for. Just pick the new installation and set the wait time to 1 sec. then you can always get back into the old installation if you need to.

syklops

Fiddlex wrote: »

Thanks. I will still be using my HDD for installing applications and games that i dont need on my SSD, and it will hold all my downloads,media,pictures etc. So its still going to be used.

What is your reason for switching to SSD? A HDD is much more likely to fail so I would be keeping my pictures, downloads media etc on the SSD and on the HDD only as a back up.

Unless you have a very specifically configured system, the most painfree way to do it is nuke and reinstall. Norton Ghost is fantastic for cloning setups though.

Brixworkwear

syklops wrote: »

What is your reason for switching to SSD? A HDD is much more likely to fail so I would be keeping my pictures, downloads media etc on the SSD and on the HDD only as a back up.

Unless you have a very specifically configured system, the most painfree way to do it is nuke and reinstall. Norton Ghost is fantastic for cloning setups though.

Cost most likley. HDD are still cheap in comparison to SSD.

syklops

Brixworkwear wrote: »

Cost most likley. HDD are still cheap in comparison to SSD.

That doesn't make any sense. He has a HDD already and he is getting an SSD.

ozmo

syklops wrote: »

A HDD is much more likely to fail so I would be keeping my pictures, downloads media etc on the SSD and on the HDD only as a back up.

Yes - backups good.
Microsofts SyncToy is pretty cool at doing scheduled syncs so you can have important files duplicated in both places.

Photo can get very large though - Ive over 100Gigs - a lot when 256Gigs SSDs are still considered a larger drive.

SSDs are more reliable nowadays - but if you are unlucky to get a bad one (it happens) they fail without warning - and there's No recovery options or noise warnings etc (unlike HDD) - all data is just Gone.

-just saying..

Fiddlex

Brixworkwear wrote: »

When you plug the HDD back in all that will happen is that you will get a screen that offers you the option of which windows you want to boot.
I dont know what version of windows your installing but if you right click on my computer> properties > advanced system settings > then in the "startup and recovery" section you will get the option to set parameters for which one is selected by default and for how long you want the splash screen to show for. Just pick the new installation and set the wait time to 1 sec. then you can always get back into the old installation if you need to.

Ok thanks for that i will do that when i have my ssd. Btw im installing windows 7 i forgot to mention that.

syklops wrote:

What is your reason for switching to SSD? A HDD is much more likely to fail so I would be keeping my pictures, downloads media etc on the SSD and on the HDD only as a back up.

Unless you have a very specifically configured system, the most painfree way to do it is nuke and reinstall. Norton Ghost is fantastic for cloning setups though.

Im getting a SSD mostly for it speeds and faster loading times in games. I keep my computer very clean with minimal files. All of my pictures are stored on an external hdd or dropbox so i dont have to worry about that. The HDD will just be for games and applications really. Im going to just do a clean install on the ssd with the hdd disconnected and then reconnect my hdd.

syklops

Fiddlex wrote: »

Ok thanks for that i will do that when i have my ssd. Btw im installing windows 7 i forgot to mention that.



Im getting a SSD mostly for it speeds and faster loading times in games. I keep my computer very clean with minimal files. All of my pictures are stored on an external hdd or dropbox so i dont have to worry about that. The HDD will just be for games and applications really. Im going to just do a clean install on the ssd with the hdd disconnected and then reconnect my hdd.

You know that if you want faster loading times for games, the game will have to be on the SSD and not the HDD.

Brixworkwear

syklops wrote: »

That doesn't make any sense. He has a HDD already and he is getting an SSD.

Im not trying to start a fight here gent. Its just that if op wants to keep all their photos and some video (perhaps a backup of their dvd collection) it will take up a lot of space and you will not be long going through 2TB.

2TB HDD= €100 odd
2TB (4*250gb) SSD = €700 odd

Please don't take any offence from this post that is not its intention.

Brixworkwear

syklops wrote: »

You know that if you want faster loading times for games, the game will have to be on the SSD and not the HDD.

Was just about to post this. Run the game your currently playing from your SSD I run skyrim from mine with a rake of add-ons. the only problem is that I dont have time to read the tips in the different loading screens.:)

syklops

Brixworkwear wrote: »

Im not trying to start a fight here gent. Its just that if op wants to keep all their photos and some video (perhaps a backup of their dvd collection) it will take up a lot of space and you will not be long going through 2TB.

2TB HDD= €100 odd
2TB (4*250gb) SSD = €700 odd

Please don't take any offence from this post that is not its intention.

I am not trying to start a fight either. I asked why the move to SSD and you said probably cost because HDDs are cheaper which didnt make any sense to me.

I understand now that you meant that your answer was why he is keeping the HDD.

Brixworkwear

Good times. All is right with the world once again.

Fiddlex

syklops wrote: »

You know that if you want faster loading times for games, the game will have to be on the SSD and not the HDD.

I do know that which is why im only putting games on my HDD that i feel dont need the speed of the SSD. The games i mostly play will be on the ssd. :P