Win 8.1 install on SSD using Recovery USB

Toggle sidebar Toggle sidebar
Z

zaniro

Honorable
Aug 23, 2012
20
0
10,520
I want to swap out my 1TB 5400 RPM hard drive in my Acer Aspire V3 572G for a 840 EVO 250GB SSD. I believe that I can install Windows 8.1 on my SSD by using a recovery USB drive, as I did not receive any windows 8.1 discs with my laptop. I have heard conflicting information regarding whether this is possible or not, so am unsure if this is even possible. I was wondering if someone could confirm this for me? ... I am more desktop savvy and am unsure about Windows installations with OEM laptops.

I also came across a snippet of information on the Microsoft website that stated that: 'It's best not to use the recovery drive to store other files or data.' Does this mean that by storing personal documents and videos on a recovery USB I can compromise the recovery image? Or is it just a warning to the people who might delete part of recovery image by accident? I was planning on storing the recovery image (about 15GB) on a 32GB USB stick while using it to store videos and documents but I could buy 2x 16GB USB sticks instead if that statement is something to heed.

I could bypass the need for a USB stick and clone the hard drive to the SSD using a SATA to USB connector. Although, I heard there are issues with this over a clean install/ recovery drive install.
 
Solution
D


A simple system image will often cause sector misallignement due to the fact that most...
Sort by date Sort by votes
D

DataMedic

Honorable
Nov 22, 2013
384
0
10,960
If you use a utility like Paragon SSD migration tool you won't have issues with the SSD as some people do. It handles the sector alignment, partition resizing, etc. That'd probably be the easiest solution. Plus it'll copy over the recovery partition, so if you want a clean install after you can still do it.
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
Winly

Winly

Distinguished
Jan 2, 2007
1,303
0
19,660
About the recovery disk, you can call the laptop manufacturer and ask for windows installation disk, some companies may charge you from 10-50 dollars for the DVDs. You can save data on that partition but it's not recommended because it can be erase during the process. All those files in that recovery partition are not touch, recovery only will take the recovery files nothing else but like I said if you save files there they might get erase. Finally, you can make a OS image "system image" using a software and transfer that image to an external drive then later when you install the SSD just pass the image to the new drive and you all set to go
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
D

DataMedic

Honorable
Nov 22, 2013
384
0
10,960


A simple system image will often cause sector misallignement due to the fact that most hard drives are still using 512 byte sectors but all SSD's use 4K sector size. It will lead to premature failure and slow operation of the SSD because of having to read extra sectors every time it accesses a file (because they all overlap sectors).

Trust me, you need to use a utility such as Paragon, or do a fresh install so it can detect the sector size and align properly.
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
Solution
You must log in or register to reply here.

TRENDING THREADS

Latest posts

Moderators online

Share this page

COMPANY
RESOURCES
FOLLOW
Top Bottom