Upgrade advice dual HDD + SSD

algemron · 20 Apr 2018 at 10:37

newbie who needs some advice

would it be possible to install an SSD alongside my existing HDD
what I want is to get a 128gb SSD and have this as my boot drive (guessing I'd have to reinstall all the programs onto this drive so they all boot from it)

but I wanted to know if something like this was possible and how easy it is to do.
I know some of the new systems seem to have a dual setup but wasn't sure if they've been designed that way and how simple it would be to do this myself

any advice, links etc that can be given would be greatly appreciated

Armageus · 20 Apr 2018 at 10:40

How big is your existing hard drive (or how much is in use on it)?

You can use software such as Macrium Reflect to copy your existing hard drive to your new SSD (shrinking the existing partitions etc to fit, providing they use less space than your new ssd), meaning you don't have to reinstall anything and can then just format the hard drive and use if for data etc.

algemron · 20 Apr 2018 at 17:29

i have a 2tb hard drive and about 95% is free
i'mtrying to store/use an external so that the main system can run smoother and not be weighed down by lots of "stuff"

mrbazmondo · 20 Apr 2018 at 18:06

Do a disk clean, in the advanced bit remove all restore points, then remove all prev versions of windows + whatever they have taking up space that they let you delete. Basically get rid stuff thats taking up space to shrink the image as much as you can.
Then use the disk migration tool you can download on the ssd manufacturer site to copy the filesystem to the new disk. When done pop out the old disk and it'll boot the ssd. If keeping the old disk in there make sure you set the BIOS to boot from the SSD.

algemron · 22 Apr 2018 at 11:53

thank you
i'llstart getting the bits together and sort

seagate_surfer · 23 Apr 2018 at 20:55

It's pretty straightforward to do and often a preferred method for current PC's because you get the performance of the OS on the SSD and still get the bang-for-your-buck storage capacity for the rest of your data with the HDD. If you're running Windows, you can tie your license/key to a Microsoft account.

algemron · 5 May 2018 at 15:01

thanks for this
how would I go about finding out if I have room to install an additional SSD into my PC?

BongoHunter · 7 May 2018 at 20:50

algemron said:
thanks for this
how would I go about finding out if I have room to install an additional SSD into my PC?

What PC / Motherboard do you have - if unsure an app called CPUZ can tell you its model name

algemron · 8 May 2018 at 20:37

Alienware 0PGRP5 A02

BongoHunter · 8 May 2018 at 20:55

My Google foo tells me this is an X51 R2 - looking at pics of the board it definitely has 3 SATA ports (1 in use by exisiting HDD, 1 for Optical drive - so luckily 1 free!), and a further google returns this video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8fg28qY_Xbo

So you'll need a short SATA cable, any 2.5" SATA SSD you like (Crucial MX500 and Samsung 850 Evo are good quality) and little double sided tape from the look of the video - I would suggest going for 250GB drive or more, and then just leave files on the HDD, and put Windows and your most played games and used apps on the SSD.

Cheapest 120 GB drives on OcUK are about £30, cheapsest 250 GB are about £50

algemron · 9 May 2018 at 20:09

BongoHunter said:
My Google foo tells me this is an X51 R2 - looking at pics of the board it definitely has 3 SATA ports (1 in use by exisiting HDD, 1 for Optical drive - so luckily 1 free!), and a further google returns this video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8fg28qY_Xbo

So you'll need a short SATA cable, any 2.5" SATA SSD you like (Crucial MX500 and Samsung 850 Evo are good quality) and little double sided tape from the look of the video - I would suggest going for 250GB drive or more, and then just leave files on the HDD, and put Windows and your most played games and used apps on the SSD.

Cheapest 120 GB drives on OcUK are about £30, cheapsest 250 GB are about £50

thank you for this looking at the youtube video it seems that the drive is velcroed onto the side of the DVD drive case.
do you think it would be possible to mount the drive on a bracket and add it in that way?
or would i need to do something similar to what was done in the youtube video?

BongoHunter · 9 May 2018 at 20:28

You could fabricate a bracket, or as an alternative to velcro you could use "servo tape" will do the job for years, something like:

https://www.eurorc.com/product/1631?change_country=gb

You can get it from most decent model shops that stock RC car gear, it would be pretty much permanent for this kind of application

algemron · 10 May 2018 at 18:39

ok thank you very much
looks like I need to get the drive a combined Molex cable and a SATA cable (and velcro)

do you know if I need any specific driver software to do this (apart from the Macrium Reflect as stated above to copy the drive)

BongoHunter · 10 May 2018 at 18:44

You shouldn't need any drivers, if any are missing you should be able to get them through windows update

Habakkuk · 27 May 2018 at 05:28

I've always preferred a fresh install of windows over copying a drive.

I found a middle ground - make a clean image with drivers installed & use it to restore a known good state later.

algemron · 27 May 2018 at 09:13

so put a fresh copy on then use a back up to bring it up to date

Habakkuk · 27 May 2018 at 21:34

No, put a fresh copy on, get all your drivers installed & then create an image of it for next time.

algemron said:
so put a fresh copy on then use a back up to bring it up to date

algemron · 27 May 2018 at 21:50

Make an up to date copy with all drivers on and then use that

Got it

algemron · 21 Jul 2018 at 11:00

I have just put my SSD in my computer and when I try and use the Macrium Reflect to copy over I get a message that there is insufficient space.

Which of the options on the clone drive do I need to select to have the SSD have the OS so I can use it as the boot drive for my computer?

Idea was to have it as the OS boot and have Microsoft office and a few programs on it

https://ibb.co/bLPnGy

algemron · 21 Jul 2018 at 12:01

do I need to do something to the drive to make it recognised by the computer?