saltypeaks

I recently got a new Lenovo 13 with middle of the road specs and am upgrading the RAM and storage. The RAM was a breeze and no problem. The storage on the other hand is worrying me. I am pretty novice and need some advice on how to go about swapping the SSD. From other posts I concluded that I want to make a back-up image of the current SSD and use that to reboot the new one once installed. So my question is how do I go about doing this. I understand how to make a back-up image onto an external drive, but beyond that am not entirely sure what to do. Do I need to make a recovery disk? And if so can it be a bootable USB because the Lenovo 13 doesn't have a disk drive. Would really appreciate a step-by-step run down of how to do this, or a link to something along those lines. Thanks for any advice.

Solid anti-virus set-up, I recommend Avast and Malwarebytes, they work well together. Download PC Decrapifier to get rid of any bloatware. Then use CCleaner to keep it running smoothly by running cleaner and registry cleaner occasionally. Also, yeah avoid physically harming it with drops, food, drank and such...

I am finally upgrading my laptop for school this fall and decided on the Lenovo 13 - 128gb ssd, 4gb ram, 19x10 display. I then bought compatible 16gb of ram and a 500gb ssd from newegg instead of the more expensive Lenovo customization. So my question is when the laptop arrives how should I go about replacing the ssd, ram I got figured out...I think. Should I do all the things recommended for a new computer, update windows, uninstall crapware, install antivirus/malware programs, etc. THEN clone the ssd? OR should I just boot it, clone it and do all the other stuff on the new drive? Also what is the best way to go about cloning and putting windows and programs onto the new drive? I appreciate any advice and help, thanks!

Thanks for the answers, appreciate it!

First off, I have very little knowledge of computer hardware. I dropped my laptop and damaged the hard drive, it is a Acer Aspire 5742. The HD that was in it that broke is a WD Scorpio Blue 650GB. Should I just replace it with another one of the same model or is there a better option? I only ask because this is an older laptop and I figure that since it was made there is some better option for the HD. Thanks for any insight.