Im adding a SSD into my computer but still keeping my old HDD do i need to clone?

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sonicrang4r

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Aug 26, 2013
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Hey guys, Im getting my SSD today which im doing to put into my dellXPS 8700, I am keeping my old HDD in the computer so i have couple of questions.

1. Do I need to do anything before I put the SSD into the computer?
2. As i plan to use SSD as a boot drive and to store some games, how do i make it as my main Boot driver?
3. Is there a chance i will loose everything on my hard drive becuase I dont have a back up?

Thanks, all help is appreciated
 
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D
Cloning the drive to the SSD is not necessary if you don't mind reinstalling Windows and all your programs. The reason people clone is to avoid all that.

If you are going to clone, you'll need to first make sure that AHCI is enabled in your BIOS (it's a setting of hard drive operation mode either IDE, AHCI, RAID). If it isn't enabled you'll need to tweak your Windows registry before enabling it. This article explains how to do the registry fix: http://www.data-medics.com/how-to-enable-ahci-after-installing-windows.html

When you do clone, you should use software specifically designed to clone from a HDD to a smaller SSD as this will avoid a lot of problems such as sector misalignment (which can cause slow operation and untimely...
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DataMedic

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Nov 22, 2013
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Cloning the drive to the SSD is not necessary if you don't mind reinstalling Windows and all your programs. The reason people clone is to avoid all that.

If you are going to clone, you'll need to first make sure that AHCI is enabled in your BIOS (it's a setting of hard drive operation mode either IDE, AHCI, RAID). If it isn't enabled you'll need to tweak your Windows registry before enabling it. This article explains how to do the registry fix: http://www.data-medics.com/how-to-enable-ahci-after-installing-windows.html

When you do clone, you should use software specifically designed to clone from a HDD to a smaller SSD as this will avoid a lot of problems such as sector misalignment (which can cause slow operation and untimely failure). I personally like Paragon SSD Migration tool (http://www.paragon-software.com/technologies/components/migrate-OS-to-SSD/http://www.paragon-software.com/technologies/components/migrate-OS-to-SSD/) but there are other's that sometimes come free with certain SSD's. These programs usually allow you to choose folders not to copy if you need to conserve space, and will correctly adjust your partitions to fit.

If you're going to do a clean install, you'll likely just want to install the SSD (and possibly disconnect the HDD to prevent accidental over install to the wrong drive) and install Windows/drivers/programs/etc. Afterward just reconnect the HDD and make sure that it's booting to the new install. If not you'll just need to enter BIOS (usually by pressing del or F12 during boot) to adjust your boot order.
 
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