Changing HDD to SSD

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jamesmc95

Member
Lately I've been noticing my HDD slowing so i wanted to upgrade to an SSD. Ive recently upgraded to 16GB of RAM and a brand new gaming X 1070 so I'm looking to make my PC feel like new again. Basically, i want to know if I change my HDD 1TB out for a 1TB SSD will I need to re-buy Windows 7 ? and if not how would I go about moving it all over? I'm a beginner so I really simple explanation would be great.


Any help would be appreciated.
 
Rakk

Rakk

The Awesome
Moderator
Presuming you're still using the motherboard that came with the PC then the Windows key will still be valid.

As for moving it over, you can either install it from scratch and then install everything on the new drive - this may not be fast but at least will mean you don't have any rubbish installed on there that you just don't need.

Or you can use some cloning software to copy the whole drive - something like Norton Ghost or Macrium Reflect Free will do.
 
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NathanCarley

Member
Pretty much what he asked. If i want to upgrade my current hdd, is it just the matter of taking that one out & putting the other one in, if it's the same motherboard? Do pcspec not send us windows key's if we bought from them?
 
SpyderTracks

SpyderTracks

We love you Ukraine
NathanCarley said:
Pretty much what he asked. If i want to upgrade my current hdd, is it just the matter of taking that one out & putting the other one in, if it's the same motherboard? Do pcspec not send us windows key's if we bought from them?
Click to expand...

As Rakk says, yes it's just a case of swapping them or adding them to the existing config.

Windows 10 keys are stored in the BIOS and linked to Microsoft Servers. Once the windows has been activated it's tied to that PC so you won't need to enter a key on reinstall.
 
T

Tony1044

Prolific Poster
Of course you could put both into your machine, set the USB or DVD drive as the first boot device, the new SSD as the second and finally your HDD as the third in the BIOS then use imaging software to boot to the USB/DVD and just bulk copy.

Once you're sure you have everything in good order, format the HDD and you have doubled your storage.
 
J

jamesmc95

Member
Thanks for the replies guys, i had another question. if i'm cloning my HDD to my new SSD would all of the little files that have built up over the years cause the new SSD to be slower as well ?


(Not a super clear explanation but i'm not sure how else to word it) But basically over the years my HDD has slowed down and if i copy everything over would all of those hidden files (random downloads, forgotten updates, half deleted games ect) cause the new SSD to slow down as well ? and if it will slow down the SSD how do i go about putting my windows 7 on the new SSD without paying ? and if so what will i need to do it ?
 
ubuysa

ubuysa

The BSOD Doctor
No, but they will waste space. The Windows disk cleaner tool can get rid of many of those for you.

Whilst cloning the HDD will work, if I'm installing a new drive I take the opportunity to do a clean reinstall of Windows and all my software. That way I know I have a clean system with no malware or junk left over from programs I've uninstalled in the past. Think of it as a spring clean.
 
T

Tony1044

Prolific Poster
Basic answer is not really - SSD's don't write their data the same way a traditional HDD does. Because it's basically blocks of memory the SSD decides in it's own controller where to write the data. This is to balance the wear over the cells (they have a finite read/write life but don't sweat it as it's 100's of thousands if not millions now and that's just the mean time between failures) and to optimise performance. Windows will believe it's writing to a certain segment of the SSD as per a table (think address book for data) but the SSD effectively gives it two fingers because it knows better, then pretends to Windows that it's done it anyway :)

But let's say you've got to a position where your copy of Windows is slow to start because it's loading a metric truck load of things at startup - yeah, these will be considerably faster, but the net result will be that Windows is still performing slower than it should.

It may well pay you to install a fresh copy of Windows to the SSD and keep the HDD for the data it holds (you also have the usefulness of a bootable disk if anything goes pop on the SSD), but as with anything the downside to that is your HDD has a lot of space wasted.

So having said all of that you may want to install a fresh copy of Windows on the SSD, reinsall the applications that would benefit from being on an SSD, copy (backup) all your important data (again maybe temporarily to the SSD) and wipe the HDD, moving that important data back to the HDD
 
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jamesmc95

Member
Thanks again for the info guys.

I think i would like to do a fresh install of windows but the trouble is my PC didn't come with the install disk it just has the windows registration code sticker on the back of the PC so i was wondering could i clone everything from the HDD to the SSD and is there such a thing like on iPhones to reset my windows 7 to factory settings (get rid of all those wasted files and programmes) without the need of a disk ?
 
mishra

mishra

Rising Star
If I were you I would do the following...

Install free software called Nirsoft ProduKey, as this will tell you what Licence number you have attached to your PC. You may have to disable your antivirus software before you install/download this tool, as your AV software may detect it as hack attempt (in order to retrieve embedded Licence number).

Once you have your code written down you have two options:
A) Remove your hard drive, fit new SSD and install OS like new system. In worst scenario you will have that Licence number at hand.
B) Buy Samsung SSD (or any other brand that come with cloning software, ie Toshiba). Then clone your current HDD into SSD, once that is completed remove old hard drive, boot from the SSD and then in Windows 7 do a lot of cleaning up by removing old software etc...

Personally, I would go with option A as a fresh install is the correct install :D

Shame you are not on Windows 10 as, after cloning, you could go with System Reset (Settings -> Update & Security -> Recovery -> Reset this PC). You may still want to try to upgrade to Windows 10 for free. I know it should no longer work, but it somehow does... I've recently upgraded my parents PC and laptop from Win7 to Win10 using Media Creation Tool (go figure?!)
 
J

jamesmc95

Member
mishra said:
If I were you I would do the following...

Install free software called Nirsoft ProduKey, as this will tell you what Licence number you have attached to your PC. You may have to disable your antivirus software before you install/download this tool, as your AV software may detect it as hack attempt (in order to retrieve embedded Licence number).

Once you have your code written down you have two options:
A) Remove your hard drive, fit new SSD and install OS like new system. In worst scenario you will have that Licence number at hand.
B) Buy Samsung SSD (or any other brand that come with cloning software, ie Toshiba). Then clone your current HDD into SSD, once that is completed remove old hard drive, boot from the SSD and then in Windows 7 do a lot of cleaning up by removing old software etc...

Personally, I would go with option A as a fresh install is the correct install :D

Shame you are not on Windows 10 as, after cloning, you could go with System Reset (Settings -> Update & Security -> Recovery -> Reset this PC). You may still want to try to upgrade to Windows 10 for free. I know it should no longer work, but it somehow does... I've recently upgraded my parents PC and laptop from Win7 to Win10 using Media Creation Tool (go figure?!)
Click to expand...

Okay i think to be sure i just going to do the cloning and then delete stuff rather than go through a fresh install, thanks for the info!

Just one last thing when my SSD arrives where do i plug the other SATA cable in ? as the one that is already installed is being used by the HDD. The mother board i have is an ASUS® SABERTOOTH X79: SOCKET 2011, R.O.G
 
SpyderTracks

SpyderTracks

We love you Ukraine
jamesmc95 said:
Okay i think to be sure i just going to do the cloning and then delete stuff rather than go through a fresh install, thanks for the info!

Just one last thing when my SSD arrives where do i plug the other SATA cable in ? as the one that is already installed is being used by the HDD. The mother board i have is an ASUS® SABERTOOTH X79: SOCKET 2011, R.O.G
Click to expand...

Just plug it into the same bank that the current drive is plugged into, any of the ports is fine in that bank.
 
SpyderTracks

SpyderTracks

We love you Ukraine
jamesmc95 said:
But i thought SSDs need a large L connector and a small one? (that is black and white) my HDD has 2 separate cables one big and one small
Click to expand...

The longer connector is power which comes off the PSU and standard sata connector goes to the motherboard as in the picture.

sata-ssd-connections.jpg
 
mishra

mishra

Rising Star
jamesmc95 said:
Okay i think to be sure i just going to do the cloning and then delete stuff rather than go through a fresh install, thanks for the info!
Click to expand...

Thing is if you have enough time on your hands. You can first install Windows 7 on SSD, then activate it, and if it works? ... well that's great! ^^
If it won't work, you can always clone old HDD into your new SSD (and then uninstall old stuff). Either way you should be up and running.

The whole SSD upgrade thing is a great way to sort out your software too. Go the fresh and clean way and it will work much better than just the cloned drive.
 
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jamesmc95

Member
My SSD has just arrived I've plugged it into the SATA on the mother board but the power cable with multiple connections doesn't seem to work, its like one power cable but has 3 connectors coming off of it in series but none of them are working except the one that is already plugged into the existing HDD( the way it came to me from PCS)
 
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mishra

mishra

Rising Star
...one picture is worth thousand words. Do you mean you only have one SATA power and then few old Molex connectors? Something like this:
LP4SATAFM12.B.jpg

If so you may need additional adapter to convert Molex into SATA power:
53673-a.jpg
 
SpyderTracks

SpyderTracks

We love you Ukraine
Or is it like this:

Y3dpM.jpg

... in which case I very much doubt the connectors have failed but one is working on the existing hdd, just doesn't make logical sense. It's more likely it's not plugged in correctly or the drive is dead or some alternative.
What makes you say it's not working?
 
R

Robanya

New member
Hi I had trouble cloning, but then used EaseUS and it cloned 1 TB disc onto 512meg SSD. Machine took 13 mins to load fully before and now takes 2mins 10secs to 2mins 30secs. Five time faster. Just plugged disc into 2nd slot ran free software to clone NOTE tick optimise for SSD, took abou 40mins and shutdown. Swapped connectors to make SSD first disk and Hi Presto, Identical machine running 5 times fasster with original 1TB disc as d: drive.
 
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