Cloning a HDD to a smaller SSD

[skinbin]

I bought a notebook (ASUS S400C) a little over a year ago to go alongside my main PC to use for simple web browsing and word processing for university while I wasn't at home. I've decided I want to upgrade the HDD to an SSD, but I don't have the cash (or the need, having only used a little over 53GB of space in the whole time I've had it) to get a 500GB SSD to match the 500GB HDD I have currently. I was thinking of just going with a 120GB SSD since this'll be plenty for me. Is this going from 500GB to 120GB going to be relatively easily achievable?

 

Thanks

[Altecice]

nope its not easy at all. Its far quicker just to do a clean install.

[skinbin]

I'd be comfortable with doing a clean install, the only problem with doing so is the laptop didn't come with the Windows product key or the the disc.

[Altecice]

I'd be comfortable with doing a clean install, the only problem with doing so is the laptop didn't come with the Windows product key or the the disc.

 

Is it windows 8? If so its stored in the BIOS. It will be picked up automatically.

[skinbin]

Updated to Windows 8.1, but yes. So if I were to go ahead with the upgrade to an SSD, I just need to create a bootable USB drive and perform a clean install onto it once it was swapped out with the HDD? I've only done a clean install onto the same HDD once before so I'm a little new to all this aha

[d33g33]

i migrated from a 1tb mech to a Kingston 240gb drive. There is free software that reduces the partition down to its smallest size which 'should' let you migrate it to the SSD.

 

I can't remember exactly but i think I might have used this tool http://www.disk-partition.com/articles/free-hdd-to-ssd-migration-software.html

 

Some SSD's you buy come with software to do this, like Samsung.

[skinbin]

Yeah I had seen those when I was looking at the sort of money I'd be spending for this upgrade, and found a bundle with a 120GB Kingston SSD with an 'upgrade bundle kit and adapter' for only £10 more. By the sounds of it that would be the much simpler route to go then.

[Captain_WD]

I bought a notebook (ASUS S400C) a little over a year ago to go alongside my main PC to use for simple web browsing and word processing for university while I wasn't at home. I've decided I want to upgrade the HDD to an SSD, but I don't have the cash (or the need, having only used a little over 53GB of space in the whole time I've had it) to get a 500GB SSD to match the 500GB HDD I have currently. I was thinking of just going with a 120GB SSD since this'll be plenty for me. Is this going from 500GB to 120GB going to be relatively easily achievable?

 

Thanks

 

 

Hey skinbin,

 

I would recommend a clean install as you would avoid transferring any errors, corrupted data and compatibility issues from your old drive to your new one. A fresh install would refresh your build and would help you get rid of unneeded and unwanted files and potential malware.

 

Cloning a old HDD to a SSD might result in a bad maintenance of the SSD as some of the vital features like TRIM might be missed.

 

Captain_WD.

[skinbin]

I think I'll just go with a fresh install if I decide go to ahead with this then, it has the added benefit of getting rid of all the bloatware and other crap that I haven't gotten round to uninstalling aha

[ChineseChef]

I would recommend a clean install for ease of configuration.  But cloning to a smaller drive is actually super easy.

 

You will need a second HDD, like an external. 

 

*What you do, is perform a full disk image from within windows.  Tell it to put the image on the external or second drive.  Ensure that you burn a recovery disk (this is crucial).

*Swap out the HDDs.

*Boot to the recovery disk.  Tell it to load the backup from the external disk.  At this point it should copy everything down, and it should boot up fine.

 

Only potential issues are the partition changing size and Windows thinking it has a magnetic drive instead of the new SSD, and not configuring/using it correctly.

The partition would be a none issue really, as you can just shrink it before hand if you are worried.

And while I haven't done it in windows 8, I think it should be able to recognize that you have an SSD.

 

I have done this process before with windows 7, going from magnetic to SSD.  It is relatively simple, though potentially time consuming. 

 

Biggest key - Don't wipe or mess up your original drive, and you can always pop it back in / start over as needed.

 

I am not at my home computer with 8.1 on it, so I can't check if it is still tricky to find.  But here is an article on how to do the image/backup if you don't know how to do it from within windows.

 

http://arstechnica.com/information-technology/2012/12/using-windows-8s-hidden-backup-to-clone-and-recover-your-whole-pc/

[Captain_WD]

I think I'll just go with a fresh install if I decide go to ahead with this then, it has the added benefit of getting rid of all the bloatware and other crap that I haven't gotten round to uninstalling aha

 

What @ChineseChef is referring to is system restore. This is different from cloning as you don't actually "clone" the drive but create an image of it in a compressed file and then expand it through system repair disk. Cloning means you actually copy a drive's sectors exactly how they are and paste them on the new drive with no change in them. 

 

Imaging is also a viable option and ChineseChef gave you some good guidelines on what it is and how you can do it if you decide to go with this process instead.

 

Captain_WD.