Migration to SSD when Windows media not supplied

itm · 21 Oct 2013 at 18:27

I want to migrate my Samsung Q330 laptop to an SSD, but don't have the option of doing a clean Windows install because Samsung didn't provide Windows installation media - only a Windows recovery option on a reserved partition on the HDD.
Is there a clever way of using this recovery option to migrate the same version of Windows to different physical media (i.e. the SSD), or is my best option to plug the SSD in as a USB drive and use something like Easeus ToDo Backup to do a full disk migration from the HDD to the SSD? (i.e. all partitions + boot sector)

kefan77 · 21 Oct 2013 at 18:28

just download W7 iso from digital river, create bootable USB and do a clean install.

Glanza · 21 Oct 2013 at 18:29

For time and ease I'd just ghost the drive over.

itm · 21 Oct 2013 at 18:55

kefan77 said:
just download W7 iso from digital river, create bootable USB and do a clean install.

I had no idea that the Digital River resource existed - thanks. I think I'll go that route to make sure that the O/S is correctly "aligned" etc for the SSD. Unfortunately the Windows sticker on the base of the laptop was worn away so the CD key wasn't legible, but I then discovered the Magical Jelly Bean Keyfinder which seems to be a bit of a lifesaver!

Many thanks