Fitting an ssd into a laptop

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So im thinkn about changing my hdd to an ssd on my recently purchased laptop,how do i go about installing w7 as my laptop came with w7 preinstalled
 
Depending on the laptop, you should have been given 1 of 3 methods:

1) Recovery discs which allow you to recover the computer back to factory settings

2) Recovery partition which allows you to recover the computer back to factory settings by loading a hidden partition

3) Some form of software for creating recovery discs. These may make an image of your current system, which you can install afterwards, or they may make an image of the factory reset laptop

If your changing the HDD you need to make sure you have some way of recovering the OS afterwards
 
OR

1) Snaffle the drive out of your laptop.

2) Attach old laptop drive and new laptop drive to another computer

3) Clone old laptop drive -> new laptop drive with whatever software

4) Use new drive
 
ok,thats good info thanks,i will look into the recovery thing before i dive in,the only thing at the moment that i can think of is a programme called timestamp that is a recovery programme that came with the laptop, maybe save to disc and boot from the disc?
 
OR

1) Snaffle the drive out of your laptop.

2) Attach old laptop drive and new laptop drive to another computer

3) Clone old laptop drive -> new laptop drive with whatever software

4) Use new drive
The problem with this method is the SSD partition(s) won't be aligned, so performance will suffer.
 
i see what you mean,my hdd is split into 3 partitions,which may be a problem. the only other thing is there is an activation key ive just found on the windows system page, would i be able to reuse that?or is it one time activation
 
If you didn't get recovery discs with your laptop, you can just install the OEM version of Windows 7 (same edition as you have now) and transfer the certificate and token required for OEM activation. I've done this with my Dell laptop, like so:

1) Run "Token Restore" and backup your "token". You'll need to use Google to find this program.
2) Install a fresh OEM version Windows 7 (NOT a retail version) and do NOT enter a serial when asked.
4) Use "OpaTool v0.7" to install the correct "certificate" for your machine (e.g. DELL, SONY, etc.).
5) Use "Token Restore" to restore your backed up "token".

HOWEVER, I've only done this once and if you muck it up (or my instructions are missing a step), it might be a headache to activate your new copy of Windows. I'd suggest doing a bit of research about this first.
 
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