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    Thinking about replacing hard drive. Easy way to transfer everything over?

    Discussion in 'Alienware M15x' started by sstevenlynch, May 21, 2014.

  1. sstevenlynch

    sstevenlynch Newbie

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    I'm really thinking about replacing the original hard drive in my m15x with a solid state drive. I just bought this laptop second hand and wiping it clean and tracking down all the drivers was a pain and I don't want to have to do it again. Is there any way to transfer everything that is on the original drive to the new drive or will I have to reinstall windows and everything over again on the new SSD when I get it?

    Oh, and while I'm posting something, what kind of solid state drive will the m15x support? I figure its the 2.5 inch ones that fit, but do I want SATA II or SATA III? Will I have to take the back plate off to replace the drive or will a new drive go in the expresscard slot?
     
    sstevenlynch, May 21, 2014
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  2. King of Interns

    King of Interns Simply a laptop enthusiast

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    Have to open back plate. Any sata drive will work. However m15x can only run drives up to sata 2 speed. Still worth getting a sata 3 drive as when you get a new laptop you can then enjoy higher seq read and write. Actually though where it matters sata 2 doesn't yet bottleneck sata 3 drives.


    Sent from my iPod touch using Tapatalk
     
    King of Interns, May 22, 2014
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  3. fatboyslimerr

    fatboyslimerr Alienware M15x Fanatic

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    You need software like Acronis true image to clone the drive, and a USB caddy or sata-adapter thing. Some SSDs with everything you need to clone a drive.

    I would recommend you look exclusively at Samsung, Crucial or Intel SSDs as these have the best reliability.

    Sent from my One S running Kitkat
     
    fatboyslimerr, May 22, 2014
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  4. sstevenlynch

    sstevenlynch Newbie

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    Thanks for the info so far. I just bought a SSD and I also bought an enclosure for my old hard drive, now I am just trying to figure out how I am going to move everything over. I want to clone my old drive, but this laptop doesn't have 2 internal drive slots. Can I remove my old drive, put in the new drive, then put the old drive into the USB enclosure and still boot from it to then do the clone? I don't think that the enclosure will work for the SSD as it was only made for a HDD. Can you even boot from USB?
     
    sstevenlynch, May 22, 2014
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  5. King of Interns

    King of Interns Simply a laptop enthusiast

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    Actually you can use the disc drive slot to put another drive. Get a HDD ODD caddy and then you can slot your HDD in there!

    I just put a 2TB 9.5mm 2.5" drive into mine ODD caddy to replace the old 500gig. I run a SSD in the normal SATA II slot.

    The ODD slot is only SATA 1 but that is plenty for a HDD. I have seen transfer rates hitting 150mb/s and then reduce back down to 125mb/s on it once the buffer has emptied. Pretty much no HDD can outstrip SATA I.
     
    King of Interns, May 22, 2014
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  6. Alienware-L_Porras

    Alienware-L_Porras Company Representative

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    I would recommend a clean install over an image of the HDD.
     
    Alienware-L_Porras, May 27, 2014
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  7. gotmilk70

    gotmilk70 Notebook Consultant

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    If you have a Samsung SSD, The process is actually quite easy. If you have a way to put your SSD on a usb to sata converter, you can download the Samsung Data Migration tool off their site. The software will allow you to basically clone your current internal HDD inside your M15x to the SSD. (Granted you have the storage capacity on the SSD...) Once that is complete, it's as simple as swapping drives and powering up. I know because I have done it before. That process will allow your SSD to become your boot drive and it would be like as you never even swapped the drive...only with the speed and reliability benefits of a Samsung SSD
     
    gotmilk70, Jun 23, 2014
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