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How to upgrade to an SSD

PierreCCesario
By PierreCCesario
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Hi! If I don't get an SSD now(for my new build), it'll really save me some money. Question is, how do I make my new SSD clone Windows and only Windows from my HDD? I'm sure I have more questions lurking behind my head...

i5 4590 | Sapphire R9 380 Nitro | MSi H97 Gaming 3 | 8GB HyperX Fury 1600MHz | 1TB WD Blue | ADATA SP900 128GB | Seasonic M12II 620W | NZXT. S340 (Black & Red) |

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Hi! If I don't get an SSD now(for my new build), it'll really save me some money. Question is, how do I make my new SSD clone Windows and only Windows from my HDD? I'm sure I have more questions lurking behind my head...

 

I dont think thats possible, most cloning processes require wiping the drive

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The cloning process copies EVERTHING on the drive. If you want only the operating system then do a clean install of the operating system.

It requires a windows 7 ISO and key.

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LAPTOP: Inspiron 1720, Modded BIOS, X9000 Core 2 extreme OC'ed and undervolted to 3.4GHz (windows only) , 6GB DDR2 800, 8600M GT, 1920x1200 Glossy display, Sigmatel Audio, 2 Kingston HyperX 120GB drives (1 with Windows 7 x64 pro & 1 with OSX 10.9.5) X9000 Processor World Record Holder since 02/2013 on Geekbench 2 : http://browser.primatelabs.com/geekbench2/search?dir=desc&q=x9000&sort=score

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The cloning process copies EVERTHING on the drive. If you want only the operating system then do a clean install of the operating system.

It requires a windows 7 ISO and key.

Well, that's unfortunate. Would it be cheaper to get the SSD now or later(later means I have to buy a Windows key again)?

i5 4590 | Sapphire R9 380 Nitro | MSi H97 Gaming 3 | 8GB HyperX Fury 1600MHz | 1TB WD Blue | ADATA SP900 128GB | Seasonic M12II 620W | NZXT. S340 (Black & Red) |

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Hi! If I don't get an SSD now(for my new build), it'll really save me some money. Question is, how do I make my new SSD clone Windows and only Windows from my HDD? I'm sure I have more questions lurking behind my head...

Maybe you can partition the drive so You have a partition with Windows and the installed programs and another with the data. You may then be able to clone only the Win7/programs partition to your SSD. I don't really see an advantage over doing a clean install though.

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Maybe you can partition the drive so You have a partition with Windows and the installed programs and another with the data. You may then be able to clone only the Win7/programs partition to your SSD. I don't really see an advantage over doing a clean install though.

Thanks for the tip! Hopefully it works.

i5 4590 | Sapphire R9 380 Nitro | MSi H97 Gaming 3 | 8GB HyperX Fury 1600MHz | 1TB WD Blue | ADATA SP900 128GB | Seasonic M12II 620W | NZXT. S340 (Black & Red) |

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First things first. The price on SSD's will always be dropping. Just as anything else, over time the prices of items drop. (That is with all things being equal) If you can get a once in a lifetime deal on one I would say get the drive. I say this because of the next revelation. YOU MAY NOT HAVE TO BUY ANOTHER KEY.

 

IF you have your windows 7 install disc AND a key for the disc AND the only thing that you are changing is the hard drive you can re-use the key.

 

Windows will let you re-activate an install on a new hard drive if nothing else has changed. You have to go ahead with the install as you normally would and get it up and running, (Make sure during the install you UNCHECK "Activate windows automatically") After you get done setting everything up and installing all of your drivers you will see a reminder that windows want to activate. (Activate Now) go ahead and activate the install. It will fail on activation and provide you with a phone number to call in your country. Go ahead and call the number and it will go through an automated sequence. When asked how many systems has this windows activation been used on? Say ONE. When you are asked if you have had a hardware failure, say YES. (specifically if asked if you have had a hard drive failure.) Like magic,  you will get a new activation code to put into your system!

 

As far as creating a partition for the programs and the install, IMHO, I believe that there is no gain in putting the system on one partition and the programs on another on an SSD. They used to do that to make the systems more responsive and for "neatness" of the operating system. SSD's make the responsive part a mot point as they are just insanely fast. They have their own cleaning utilities as well as the TRIM function that is built into windows 7. Just remember most Techies and manufacturers suggest that you DO NOT DEFAG AN SSD.

 

Good Luck!

                  Did I help you to fix your problem or at least did offer somewhat valuable advice? Consider giving my post a "informative" or "thumbs up".

SYSTEM 2: Modded G3 case with Gigabyte GA-G33M-S2L, Intel E8600 (O.C to 4.2GHz.), 4GB GSkill PC8500, Nvidia 8800GTS (512M), Cooling provided by Scythe Big Shrunkin, HDD 1 = OSX 10.9.5, HDD 2 = Windows 7 Pro X64. (Placed 3rd in MacMod  of the year 2012) (For info see:  http://insanelymac.com/forum/topic/285641-and-the-winner-for-macmod-of-2012-is/

LAPTOP: Inspiron 1720, Modded BIOS, X9000 Core 2 extreme OC'ed and undervolted to 3.4GHz (windows only) , 6GB DDR2 800, 8600M GT, 1920x1200 Glossy display, Sigmatel Audio, 2 Kingston HyperX 120GB drives (1 with Windows 7 x64 pro & 1 with OSX 10.9.5) X9000 Processor World Record Holder since 02/2013 on Geekbench 2 : http://browser.primatelabs.com/geekbench2/search?dir=desc&q=x9000&sort=score

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Just remember most Techies and manufacturers suggest that you DO NOT DEFAG AN SSD.

 

Heh, defag :P

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First things first. The price on SSD's will always be dropping. Just as anything else, over time the prices of items drop. (That is with all things being equal) If you can get a once in a lifetime deal on one I would say get the drive. I say this because of the next revelation. YOU MAY NOT HAVE TO BUY ANOTHER KEY.

 

IF you have your windows 7 install disc AND a key for the disc AND the only thing that you are changing is the hard drive you can re-use the key.

 

Windows will let you re-activate an install on a new hard drive if nothing else has changed. You have to go ahead with the install as you normally would and get it up and running, (Make sure during the install you UNCHECK "Activate windows automatically") After you get done setting everything up and installing all of your drivers you will see a reminder that windows want to activate. (Activate Now) go ahead and activate the install. It will fail on activation and provide you with a phone number to call in your country. Go ahead and call the number and it will go through an automated sequence. When asked how many systems has this windows activation been used on? Say ONE. When you are asked if you have had a hardware failure, say YES. (specifically if asked if you have had a hard drive failure.) Like magic,  you will get a new activation code to put into your system!

 

As far as creating a partition for the programs and the install, IMHO, I believe that there is no gain in putting the system on one partition and the programs on another on an SSD. They used to do that to make the systems more responsive and for "neatness" of the operating system. SSD's make the responsive part a mot point as they are just insanely fast. They have their own cleaning utilities as well as the TRIM function that is built into windows 7. Just remember most Techies and manufacturers suggest that you DO NOT DEFAG AN SSD.

 

Good Luck!

Wow! Thank you so much for helping me out!

i5 4590 | Sapphire R9 380 Nitro | MSi H97 Gaming 3 | 8GB HyperX Fury 1600MHz | 1TB WD Blue | ADATA SP900 128GB | Seasonic M12II 620W | NZXT. S340 (Black & Red) |

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First things first. The price on SSD's will always be dropping. Just as anything else, over time the prices of items drop. (That is with all things being equal) If you can get a once in a lifetime deal on one I would say get the drive. I say this because of the next revelation. YOU MAY NOT HAVE TO BUY ANOTHER KEY.

 

IF you have your windows 7 install disc AND a key for the disc AND the only thing that you are changing is the hard drive you can re-use the key.

 

Windows will let you re-activate an install on a new hard drive if nothing else has changed. You have to go ahead with the install as you normally would and get it up and running, (Make sure during the install you UNCHECK "Activate windows automatically") After you get done setting everything up and installing all of your drivers you will see a reminder that windows want to activate. (Activate Now) go ahead and activate the install. It will fail on activation and provide you with a phone number to call in your country. Go ahead and call the number and it will go through an automated sequence. When asked how many systems has this windows activation been used on? Say ONE. When you are asked if you have had a hardware failure, say YES. (specifically if asked if you have had a hard drive failure.) Like magic,  you will get a new activation code to put into your system!

 

As far as creating a partition for the programs and the install, IMHO, I believe that there is no gain in putting the system on one partition and the programs on another on an SSD. They used to do that to make the systems more responsive and for "neatness" of the operating system. SSD's make the responsive part a mot point as they are just insanely fast. They have their own cleaning utilities as well as the TRIM function that is built into windows 7. Just remember most Techies and manufacturers suggest that you DO NOT DEFAG AN SSD.

 

Good Luck!

Will this still work if I buy a key online and download the setup files from Microsoft?

i5 4590 | Sapphire R9 380 Nitro | MSi H97 Gaming 3 | 8GB HyperX Fury 1600MHz | 1TB WD Blue | ADATA SP900 128GB | Seasonic M12II 620W | NZXT. S340 (Black & Red) |

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If you need to buy a key from micro$oft then go ahead and get the key and download the ISO from them and make sure that you burn a couple of copies and put the "key" on the disc. ALWAYS keep a backup copy!. If you do this then you do just the normal activation with no phone call or any thing special.........and you can leave the box checked to activate when you are online during the setup.

                  Did I help you to fix your problem or at least did offer somewhat valuable advice? Consider giving my post a "informative" or "thumbs up".

SYSTEM 2: Modded G3 case with Gigabyte GA-G33M-S2L, Intel E8600 (O.C to 4.2GHz.), 4GB GSkill PC8500, Nvidia 8800GTS (512M), Cooling provided by Scythe Big Shrunkin, HDD 1 = OSX 10.9.5, HDD 2 = Windows 7 Pro X64. (Placed 3rd in MacMod  of the year 2012) (For info see:  http://insanelymac.com/forum/topic/285641-and-the-winner-for-macmod-of-2012-is/

LAPTOP: Inspiron 1720, Modded BIOS, X9000 Core 2 extreme OC'ed and undervolted to 3.4GHz (windows only) , 6GB DDR2 800, 8600M GT, 1920x1200 Glossy display, Sigmatel Audio, 2 Kingston HyperX 120GB drives (1 with Windows 7 x64 pro & 1 with OSX 10.9.5) X9000 Processor World Record Holder since 02/2013 on Geekbench 2 : http://browser.primatelabs.com/geekbench2/search?dir=desc&q=x9000&sort=score

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