Replacing 1TB hard disc drive to a 512GB SSD with factory reset ?

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learner16

Commendable
Jun 28, 2016
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I bought a dell inspiron Laptop with 1TB Hard Drive. I would like to swap this drive to an 512GB SSD hard drive. The laptop has still sealed and I am wondering can I swap and clone everything from the old drive to the new drive without creating log in. If I have to create a log in, after I swap the drive can i reset the laptop to the factory setting? Any help will be greatly appreciated.
Thanks
 
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SuperSoph_WD
Hey there again, learner16!

I'd recommend you do a clean install of the OS onto the SSD as I already mentioned. This will give you a fully reset installation onto your laptop without any issues. You just need to download the current OS version from MS support's website and then activate it using the same product key. (Since the OS is tied to the motherboard, as long as you are using the same computer, you should be able to use the same activation code).
You could also use a Windows Repair/Recovery Disk to reset the installation but you will need to create such a bootable disk, in case you don't have it. I'd also recommend you check your BIOS settings and try resetting them as well. Make sure you have the latest SATA...
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SuperSoph_WD

SuperSoph_WD

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Jul 30, 2014
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Welcome to Tom's Hardware, learner16!

You should keep in mind that swapping the internal HDD would void the warranty of the laptop, in case it's still covered. Make sure you notify the manufacturer's customer support in that case! Other than that, you shouldn't face any difficulties transferring the OS to your newly acquired SSD. Just make sure you use a cloning utility that allows you to select the partition/files that get cloned. Otherwise, the automatic clone might fill your SSD with useless data. I believe this tutorial would shed some light on the procedure.

No matter what kind of changes you make to your system or hardware, you should always backup your files before tampering with it!

If you wish to reset the laptop, you can simply clean install Windows onto the SSD without cloning. This is actually the recommended thing to do when upgrading your primary storage! You will avoid transferring any redundant system files from your current OS installation.

Hope this helps you. Let me know if you have additional questions! :)
SuperSoph_WD
 
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learner16

Commendable
Jun 28, 2016
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1,510


Thank you for your detail reply. First I tried to clone the HDD with an external dual bay docking station connecting to another computer ( I had removed the orignal HDD from the laptop) then installed it to the laptop. When tried to boot up the laptop did not recognized the new SSD. Then i put the original HDD back to the laptop and log in to the windows and clone from the laptop and then replace it with the SSD. The laptop booted up and worked fine but when I tried to reset the laptop to the factory setting it did not allow me to reset from the SSD. Seems like the recovery partition was not cloned. The internal HDD that came with the laptop has no other file other than the factory installed program and OS. It is roughly about 35GB of total I used a cloning software and Copied the original HDD to the SSD. it used about that much space and left the rest usable.
I need the laptop set back the factory settings but want to replace the HDD with a SSD.
Not sure what am I missed.
 
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SuperSoph_WD

SuperSoph_WD

Glorious
Jul 30, 2014
6,758
3
45,960
Hey there again, learner16!

I'd recommend you do a clean install of the OS onto the SSD as I already mentioned. This will give you a fully reset installation onto your laptop without any issues. You just need to download the current OS version from MS support's website and then activate it using the same product key. (Since the OS is tied to the motherboard, as long as you are using the same computer, you should be able to use the same activation code).
You could also use a Windows Repair/Recovery Disk to reset the installation but you will need to create such a bootable disk, in case you don't have it. I'd also recommend you check your BIOS settings and try resetting them as well. Make sure you have the latest SATA controller & chipset drivers for your laptop's model manually installed from the laptop manufacturer's official website. You should also make sure you have the SATA mode configured in AHCI for the SSD. Hopefully, this will get the SSD detected by your system.

Keep me posted!
SuperSoph_WD

 
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