brand new ssd and how to migrate?

hello everyone
how everyone has been? its been a quite a long time since i posted anything.
got quite busy with college and exams

back to topic
was looking forward to upgrade my laptop for quite some time
now when my dad gave a yes and a budget, i started looking for options
first thing came to my mind was ssd
as it was the only thing holding my system back
have a 750gb hdd + 32 gb msata
still quite a lot faster than only hdd
i got to know that first hand when my msata ssd failed(not quite, it just wasnt getting detected by intel rapid storage, hence not getting boosted)
hence during my endeavors to get it back, i accidentally formatted my system drive while creating a new cache disk! :cry:
thank the gods, i had made a alien respawn back up on a pen drive a year back
now back to stock

i recently ordered a samsung 840 evo 500gb
yes, it is 500, NOT 512 gb
i was quite surprised
saw its reviews on lots of websites(mainly anandtech, tomshardware, etc)
it consistently came out on top
i hope i made a good choice

my only issue is
how do i make it the boot disk and copy all the data
recently formatted hence only about only ~100gb of data total
i am currently running windows 7 ultimate
dont want to reinstall, too much hassle

also
i read that ssds need different maintenance than hdds
didnt quite understand them
could somebody help me out with them?

thanks in advance!

PS: the ssd cost me INR 16849 = 275.53USD, free shipping
http://www.primeabgb.com/samsung-500gb-ssd-840-evo-mz-7te500bw.html
what do you guys say? did i get a good deal? i hope so
thats the cheapest i could find
others were selling it around 20k-22k INR = 327-359.77 USD

 

Hi, what you want to do is put the new SSD in the spare slot. Change the boot order in the bios, and attempt a restore to the new drive. Doing it this way the caching and original installation is not messed with and simply changing the boot order back (say you find you need something to resize partitions?) gets you back to the original installation. Respawn may create, or want to create a same size partition on the new drive. This is where disk imaging software that usually comes with SSD's will help as it can resize partitions to fit. Just don't follow any instructions about changing the drive access method (AHIC) - it will break caching.

I've seen stuff about making sure there is 'slack' left on the drive and that you should not use a defragmenter, but they usually detect an SSD and don't run anyway. I do have some SSD specific tools in System Mechanic that I run occasionally but I don't know if it is actually helping out?

Good Luck.

 

For migration, I've always used this......

Paragon Migrate OS to SSD - System migration to Solid State Drives (SSD) - Overview

the easiest way to migrate with no headaches

Video: http://images.paragon-software.com/...-tours/migrateos/clip_1/MigrateWin7toSSD.html

 

hey man
thanks a lot for the quick reply

i was really hoping to avoid the restore route
wont just 'select all,copy and paste' work?
but as you suggested
it might help me, leaving as it is as a backup boot device

i restored from the stock system back up(like a new alienware) which the alien respawn was always bugging me to do (thank god!)
i hope that will still work, just have to point it to the new disk right?
will i have to do any formatting or anything before hand?

i still want that 750gb drive to have caching
will changing the boot order affect the caching?

 

you mean cache your mSATA to your EVO? that would kill your performance! The EVO is much faster

throw the mSATA away or sell it

 

hahahahaa
oh no
you got that wrong
i was talking about the stock 750gb hdd which came along in my new alienware
the only ssd currently i have is the msata, set up with intel rapid storage for cache

 

ah sorry , my bad I misunderstood

 

Nope, been many years since copying an OS from one drive to another worked!

Yes, just point the restore at the new drive AFTER changing the boot order in the bios. Do not move any drives around or you will break the caching and have disk access issues. Respawn, like all other disaster recovery tools will take care of partitions. They assume a brand new drive.

You might run into problems if respawn wants to create exactly the same partition size as the original - even though you are only using a fraction of it. If that happens, put it back to stock boot and use the utility that came with the drive to create an image. This will be resized to fit during a restore. Hopefully you never get to this problem

Doing it this way, when you are happy with the new install you can format the HDD to clean it up, and the caching will be working all through the process. Only moving a drive will break the caching, it's more a physical thing than software (firmware )

all the best

 

I've heard that doing a straight migration from a HDD to a SSD is not ideal, as the OS may still configure itself as if it's on a HDD, which will hurt SSD performance.

Personally what I do is save my personal data, then do a clean OS install onto the SSD. That way the OS will install correctly and work optimally.

 

AlienRespawn works perfect for such migration. I've done it dozens of times.

 

thanks a lot dude
so you mean to say
not to move my hdd from slot0
and install the ssd in slot1 and change the boot order?

hope it wont affect anything

what about 3rd party migration softwares?
how good are they?
samsung is bundling their samsung magician software
are they worth it?

 

I read that as well but have seen no evidence. If you try to run defrag it detects an ssd, and they are so fast it's not worth spending time thinking about it (IMO).

I always try the image option - IF the source is clean of most stuff. Quick enough and usually simple just to try it

 

I wouldn't even waste your money or time on trying to figure out how to use some "third-party" software. The AlienRespawn software is already installed on your computer, unless you formatted it without making a backup (which, diagnostically, is a big mistake).

 

No,it wont. If you do move drives then Caching breaks and can be a pain ot get it back.

As said Respawn should be your friend here but the magician software will be able to do clever stuff like offer you the option to resize partitions. Just Do Not take it's advice and change the bios access method. Guaranteed to mess up an image restore!