Ssd upgrade query

NoustieChris · 2 Aug 2013 at 22:13

Thinking of upgrading to an SSD, but don't fancy a complete backup and reinstall of everything. Is there software which can allow you to only export Windows 7 from your main storage drive to the SSD or can you do something to partition the storage drive and then copy/export the partition?

NoustieChris · 2 Aug 2013 at 22:13

Basically I don't want to back up 300GB of stuff...

Dervious · 2 Aug 2013 at 22:51

Clone the HDD to the SSD then delete what you don't want on the SSD.

A fresh install of Windows 7 would be the best option, if a little time consuming.

oldestgregg · 3 Aug 2013 at 00:58

A fresh install of Windows 7 would be the best option said:
True but as I have just mentioned in another thread, installing windows is a lot faster on an ssd. 15 minutes to working desktop then put your programs on.

NoustieChris · 3 Aug 2013 at 07:05

So, is it then possible to remove Windows from my current main storage drive without formatting?

ince · 3 Aug 2013 at 08:45

Cloning is a good option that I did and works well

Dervious · 3 Aug 2013 at 10:43

oldestgregg said:
True but as I have just mentioned in another thread, installing windows is a lot faster on an ssd. 15 minutes to working desktop then put your programs on.

What I usually do is install Windows to SSD, install Antivirus, install Windows updates, install drivers, install basic apps (adobe flashplayer etc).

As I mentioned in another thread, the initial install of Windows usually takes less then 15 minutes on an SSD, but the install process is not really complete until you have updates and drivers. Yes, these things take less time when installing to an SSD, but it certainly takes a lot longer than 15 minutes. If you already have drivers and apps downloards, you might be ready in about another half hour, apart from downloading and installing 150+ updates. I usually like to get all the updates downloarded and installed before I start using my PC properly (or handing it over to the customer). I save myself a lot of time waiting for updates by having a customised Windows 7 SP1 disc with about 150 updates built in. Using this leaves me with about 30 of the newest updates to download and install.

My advice would be to go for a fresh install, as long as you have the time and the experience/confidence to do it. If not, cloning is fine, but it is advisable to check for partition alignment after you`ve cloned from HDD to SSD, and uses something like SSDTweaker or Samsung Magician (if you have a Samsung SSD) to make sure that Windows is configured for optimum SSD performance.