SSD Install Question On New Laptop

Hello!

I have a new laptop coming from Mythlogic. It will arrive with a 750GB HDD. I'd like to install a Samsung 840 EVO 500GB that I just acquired.

Can I use the recovery disk they'll send me or do I need to do a clean Windows install? I'm confused about moving from a larger HDD to a smaller SSD..does this matter? I've read things about shrinking the OS and wonder if this applies to a brand new laptop with not much on it.

Thanks in advance for your help!

 

You should do a clean install. The recovery disc they send you should be the Windows OS tailored to your system. The Windows installer doesn't need to shrink the OS down. It only need ~20GB max to fully install Windows.

 

I actually ended up getting a transfer kit and it was really simple. Perhaps not the ideal way to do it but I haven't had any problems so far. I took my original HD, put it back in, formatted it, and use it for storage. Piece of cake.

 

Samsung data migration is definitely a great migration utility.

No sector by sector copying (reason a shrink may be required).
Doesn't break master boot record.

Never had a performance or reliability issue with a samsung 830 sitting on a cloned OEM windows shortly after purchase.



Sent from my GT-I8190 using Tapatalk 4

 

Isn't the data migration tool a Samsung branded version of Nortron Ghost?

 

Yes, and it didn't work right for me. I kept getting "access denied." So I just pull out my Acronis from my previous migration and used that.

It display all the available drives for migration and you simple choose "from" then "to", and push go Simple as pie.

It may require a more complex version if you need to go program by program, but I did mine at the beginning so there was no clutter to worry about.

Acronis may have been an extra cost, but since I've upgraded my drives a couple of times (and will do so again), it has turned out to be a useful investment. It also offers the best backup tool for the money.

 

My own experience with rebranded cloning tools hasn't been without quirks either. The Intel tool (rebranded Acronis) doesn't like the Intel drive being on USB, I had to put it in an eSATA enclosure to actually clone. I mean, you can install the cloning utility on windows and then launch the process from there, but that doesn't really help if your notebook only has one drive bay since the Intel drive has to be in it and then you can't boot from windows. There is a bootable utility as well, but sheesh, let us clone through USB...

 

It isn't Norton Ghost to a single bit. Data Migration is written by Clonix. Samsung also uses Clonix as their OEM solution for preloading PC hard drives it seemed.

The help/about tab of the utility also explicitly states its made by Clonix. Bottom of the GUI, there's a "Powered by Clonix" watermark too.

Samsung stopped the Norton thing shortly after the launch of 840 and 840 pro. Samsung/Clonix data migration is compatible with all retail versions of 470, 830, 840, 840 pro and the evo.

 

Works on regular Windows, no DOS or whatsoever. It runs just like a regular application. Cloning through a SATA to USB enclosure works.

Although no file partition shrinks are required, Samsung/Clonix Migration utility only allows you to copy probably up to 80% of the SSD's total formatted capacity. I suppose that's some sort of a software side limitation to ensure a reliable, no frills drive clone.

Nonetheless, it's far better than any other cloning utility I've used personally. I have 2 830s with cloned OEM windows.


The last part of the video tells you the software's limitation. That's about what you need to know.

By the way, not only the Samsung provided USB to SATA cable works for cloning. 3rd party enclosures like Vantec Nexstar XT work too (tried that personally). Don't quote me though.

Again,
1. Doesn't break MBR
2. Doesn't have sector-by-sector clone induced issues, (at times, no TRIM, etc)
3. No corruption
4. No incidents of Windows screwing up.
5. Really quick.

Unfortunately, it is a proprietary tool for Samsung SSDs.

 

Have a look through this thread as well.
Helps you get the most out of your new drive.
Remember that SSDs should never be defragmented.