Swapping in an ssd...

[suicidal_monkey]

I have a (Samsung) Win8 1Tb HDD laptop; and a shiny new blank 256Gb SSD...What approach would you guys recommend for switching the two? My Sony win 7 laptop had some DVD backup/recovery software that only barely worked but I've not noticed anything similar yet on the Samsung. Also someone said something about sector size differences being a potential performance issue if I tried a direct clone

Any help / suggestions greatly appreciated! '-)

[Penfold]

Im sure most would say a fresh install but I use Acronis.

You can dl a free 30 day version of disk clone.

[Chaosphere]

100% you should do a clean install.

Also, when you install the OS, install it with ONLY the SSD connected, then add the HDD later. If you don't do this, when installing the OS, Windows will install some system files over to the HDD. Although it may not ever noticeably impact on performance, it doesn't hurt to have it all on the faster drive just in case!

[TeaLeaf]

I'd do a clean install.  I swapped my N55SFF laptop hdd for an SSD last year and it was by far the simplest way of doing it.   If you have any files you then want to transfer back then just plug the old hdd into an icydock (other brands exist DYOR) and copy them back over usb.

SSD means major improvements for the laptop.

[Sneakytiger]

i'm using a hdd dock to swap information from a hdd to a ssd it's  child's play, i've done it many times with various hdds from ide to sata and to ssd.
A multi hdd dock is the way to go.

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Foxnovo%C2%AE-Docking-Station-One-button-Backup/dp/B00G9NUWQY/ref=sr_1_7?ie=UTF8&qid=1420882723&sr=8-7&keywords=hdd+multi+docking+station

[TeaLeaf]

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Foxnovo%C2%AE-Docking-Station-One-button-Backup/dp/B00G9NUWQY/ref=sr_1_7?ie=UTF8&qid=1420882723&sr=8-7&keywords=hdd+multi+docking+station

Also available through the dMw Amazon store!

[Tutonic]

Using a dock isn't a good way to clone a drive if it's got your Operating System on it - there's a bunch of other stuff that will need to be moved across that you can't see from within Windows.

I'd echo the other comments, and advise a clean install from scratch - then you can copy any old data at your leisure

[suicidal_monkey]

So ... a clean install would be definitely be preferable, but there's no windows install media with the laptop. Would you expect to be able to download official win 8 install images or would you expect to be using the "create recovery disk" that you can usually find buried in laptop menus somewhere or other?

[Gorion]

there's a bunch of other stuff that will need to be moved across that you can't see from within Windows.

Disable "Hide protected OS files"
Enable "Show Hidden Files and Folders"

Both are found in Folder options.  You should be able to see everything then.

[TeaLeaf]

Afaiaa you can download an iso, install and then register your existing licence once installed?   I tend to install from USB these days, I've found it the quickest and simplest route (I've a number of cheap usb drives which just sit in a drawer with 'some version of' Windows on them for use on various family PC's).

[Tutonic]

Disable "Hide protected OS files"
Enable "Show Hidden Files and Folders"

Both are found in Folder options.  You should be able to see everything then.

Right, but you also need to get the MBR/GPT sorted out - this is why it's always better to go down the clean install route.

If you really don't want to do a clean install, use something like CloneZilla: http://clonezilla.org/

[Chaosphere]

So ... a clean install would be definitely be preferable, but there's no windows install media with the laptop. Would you expect to be able to download official win 8 install images or would you expect to be using the "create recovery disk" that you can usually find buried in laptop menus somewhere or other?

http://lifehacker.com/how-to-create-a-windows-8-installation-dvd-or-usb-drive-505769939

I *think* that may be what you need?

Been a while since I did this, I have 2 USB sticks sitting in my draw with bootable Win7 and 8 ISOs on them, and I can't remember exactly how I got them there!!!

[albert]

Im sure most would say a fresh install but I use Acronis.

You can dl a free 30 day version of disk clone.

I second this option. Acronis is rock solid. I recently cloned my nearly full 750GB mechanical drive to a 1TB SSD. All games working fine. Takes a while though.

[Twyst]

If you're too cheap for Acronis, you can download a decent Linux rescue disk distribution and use dd to copy the partition.
As it's a direct on-disk copy the actual disk format doesn't have to be read by Linux.
https://wiki.archlinux.org/index.php/disk_cloning

[suicidal_monkey]

Many thanks all, I'll have a go with one or two of these suggestions as soon as I get the chance to mess about with the laptop, let you know what worked (or didn't) :-)