Question about adding an SSD

[Recuperate]

Is there a guide or "walkthrough" perhaps anyone could link me to for Xfering data to an SSD?

basically what im asking is this, i have everything on an HDD atm, what id like to do is add Win7 to it [would i be able to just take it off HDD somehow and drop it into SSD? or would i need to reinstall it to SSD--i still have the Win7 OS cd/key used for HDD] and a few programs ie, World of Warcraft / Path of Exile

was thinking about getting one for Xmas but id like to know how to xfer the data and whatnot

i5-2500k cpu
AMD 7770 gpu
650w psu
700gb HDD
P8P67_EVO mobo
8gb G.skill Ram
h100 cpu cooler

^^^ dont know if info is needed but if so there it be

Will check back in some hours if you guys need any other info

[chazus]

You can do one of a two things.

1) Straight copy from HDD to SSD (Data on HDD must be smaller than SSD's maximum capacity, also assumes you have Win7 64bit on HDD, and would use that on SSD)
2) Clean install on SSD + transfer of some files

[Zhira]

If your new SSD drive is larger than your current drive, you should consider drive cloning. Personally I've done this countless times with Samsung SSDs using their own cloning software. It's not as hard as some people think. A GOOGLE search should reveal other free HDD cloning software.

Pesonally I would go with chazuz' option no. 2. Mount the new drive and do a clean install. Afterwards you can either transfer data from the old one or just keep it as a second "data" HDD.

Good luck.

/ Z.

Edit: Sorry..... Didn't catch your harddrive size in your original post. My bad.

[Lights]

If possible as mentioned cloning - else i would prefer a new installation of win7 on it.

Dont know how true it is for the newest generation of SSDs, but older ones get worn if you have a lot of data going in/out all the time.

Personally i have a small smaller SSD which is only used for OS and basic software. Games etc is on a fast normal hdd.

[chazus]

Again, depends on size. The whole "SSD's wear out or have limited lifespan" is largely myth and misunderstanding. It isn't 'false', just misleading. Most 128gb+ drives have a life span of 20-30 years for a normal user playing games and doing internet stuff. The larger the drive, the larger this span.

I can't tell you if you can clone it or not since we still don't have the info. You can do either or, depending.

[BicycleMafioso]

Thread moved to subforum

[tophero]

chazus - what do you recommend keeping on an ssd? I've got a 250 gb evo that I'm going to be using and was planning on just keeping the windows directory and a second directory for a game or two (BF4). Everything else I was going to put on my other drive, a 1tb WD Blue. Is it necessary to move all of that off or are there other directories from the Win 8 installation that would be fine to just leave on the SSD?

[Fiana]

chazus - what do you recommend keeping on an ssd? I've got a 250 gb evo that I'm going to be using and was planning on just keeping the windows directory and a second directory for a game or two (BF4). Everything else I was going to put on my other drive, a 1tb WD Blue. Is it necessary to move all of that off or are there other directories from the Win 8 installation that would be fine to just leave on the SSD?

OS, software and games.

Obviously music and videos will be absolutely fine on hdd data drive.

Some people recommend moving swap file from SSD but people already have it for years without any consequences, it looks like modern SSDs are reliable enough for that as well.

Realistically in 5 years your 250GB SSD will be not big enough to install windows10 + bloated modern software. So you'll have to replace it anyway.

[Deleted]

I agree to ^.

Moving only Windows to an SSD makes no sense. You need to put your software or games on it as well, especially stuff like Firefox or your mail client. That's why I don't get why some people bought 64GB SSDs when they came out, but that's another story.

I have a more than 2 year old Crucial M4 256GB and never stuck to tricks & tips like "don't put your swap file on it" or "try not do write so much on it" (fast reads and writes is what ssds are made for, so I'm going to use it for exactly those things). I updated the firmware obviously, since I ran into blue screens due to bugs after 5000 hours or so.

Today: 12416 hours up-time, 1135 times switched on, and according to the SMART values my device used up 1% of its expected life-time. Windows, my photoshop and audio recording tools swap on it, and I regularly copy virtual machines on it in order for them to run quickly.

If you consider that firmwares and overall quality is higher today than 2-3 years ago, I would just use it like any HDD and take no special precautions (other than not defrag it).

[Fascinate]

Imho, get a large SSD and put everything on it, makes windows much more intuitive that way and you get SSD benefit with everything. Ok if you own a ton of music or you have a digital library of movies you will obviously want a HDD but i think for most people a 500gb ssd with no HDD makes sense. Everyone always tells me i need to backup my important info and having a single ssd is a bad idea, what info do i need to backup lol? If i ever needed to wipe my drives and do a fresh install i could download everything i need in a couple hours, there is nothing sacred on my PC id be losing.

I have 11 games on my PC 4 of them being mmo's and i still have 280gb's of data left on a 500gb hdd, i couldnt fill it if i tried. What i mean by windows being more intuitive with 1 drive is you dont have to select where you want stuff being installed with one drive, you just hit next next next, you also dont have to remember where you put stuff where. Also with shortcuts in windows 7 for example, with two drives windows has no idea where you put music....download....pictures etc, you have to set that manually along with other annoying stuff.

This is just my opinion and what i plan on doing when i save up enough for a large ssd, not a priority mind you just something that would be a nicety.

[chazus]

I'm of the school of thought that EVERYTHING should go on the SSD except: Movies, Music, Pictures. Why? Rarely accessed, don't need quick access time, and easy to manage. Sure, a game might be used rarely and is quick to access, but you have to deal with multiple drive installs and whatnot.

[Otaka]

Everything you move from harddrive to harddrive will have same rules no matter what... programs wont work and need reinstalling but view files can be opened such as pictures and videos aswell as data files like addons and interface settings of WoW will work if you move them from the old folder to the new game directory.

On my SSD i keep games that are open world with good graphics and alot of details... such as Arma 3 (the view distance is huge in that game so quick data access makes it load faster). Aswell as other heavy games such as Crysis 3 and GTA.

[Revolutions]

Again, depends on size. The whole "SSD's wear out or have limited lifespan" is largely myth and misunderstanding. It isn't 'false', just misleading. Most 128gb+ drives have a life span of 20-30 years for a normal user playing games and doing internet stuff. The larger the drive, the larger this span.

I can't tell you if you can clone it or not since we still don't have the info. You can do either or, depending.

It isn't limited lifespan. Its limited writes, which is why you shouldn't defrag an SSD. An SSD has thousands of writes and a regular user will probably end up replacing it long before it becomes an issue.

[tophero]

Fair enough - thanks everyone for responding.