Hdd to ssd boot drive transfer

[swirle13]

Hi all! this is my first tom's hardware forum post
I have a question about an ssd as a boot drive, but more of a "how" than "why." I had heard about the flooding in thailand right before I was to build my computer, and quickly snatched up a seagate barracuda 1tb hdd for $55, and haven't gotten an ssd yet. I'd like to get a 120Gb ssd, or around that size, for a boot drive, but I already have my OS installed to my hdd. Is there a way to move my OS to a new ssdand not have to do a new install? But if I did, how could I remove the OS from my hdd without formatting and losing my saved game data (60+ hours of skyrim )?

 

[danraies]

It is possible to transfer an operating system and associated files from one drive to another. One method is to create a windows backup from the current drive and then use the windows install disk to install the backup onto the new drive.

However, you should not "clone" an HDD install onto an SSD install. When Windows installs it knows what kind of drive you're using and several settings are different depending on whether you're installing on an SSD or an HDD. It is technically possible to do what you want to do, but it is not a good idea.

There may, however, be a way to salvage your Skyrim save game data without salvaging the entire operating system.

 

[nikorr]

Hi all! this is my first tom's hardware forum post
I have a question about an ssd as a boot drive, but more of a "how" than "why." I had heard about the flooding in thailand right before I was to build my computer, and quickly snatched up a seagate barracuda 1tb hdd for $55, and haven't gotten an ssd yet. I'd like to get a 120Gb ssd, or around that size, for a boot drive, but I already have my OS installed to my hdd. Is there a way to move my OS to a new ssdand not have to do a new install? But if I did, how could I remove the OS from my hdd without formatting and losing my saved game data (60+ hours of skyrim )?

Hi,

U can use Windows Easy Transfer ,
but if u should keep your documents on the storage drive, because if your system gets corrupted, u may loose the Doc files too, so if they are on the storage HDD, nothing happens to them.

U should use SSD for the System + Program install's + Page file.


Move Your Libraries...
http://www.tweakhound.com/windows7/tweaking/5.html

Tweak your SSD...
http://www.tweakhound.com/blog/?page_id=1730

 

[JohnnyLucky]

A clean install of Microsoft Windows 7 is the preferred method.

Although cloning is definitely possible there is a possibility that something could go wrong.

 

[quesionboy]

you could use some clone software to clone your old disk to your SSD, here you could refer to this "How to clone old hard drive to new hard drive" hope this could help you.

 

[danraies]

you could use some clone software to clone your old disk to your SSD, here you could refer to this "How to clone old hard drive to new hard drive" hope this could help you.

You could, and it would work, but it is a bad idea. Like I said before, a Windows install on an SSD and a Windows install on an HDD are different. Cloning an HDD install to an SSD is not ideal. As JohnnyLucky mentions, a clean install is the preferred method.

 

[swirle13]

thanks guys, yeah, i was thinking a clean install and then possibly the WET (windows easy transfer) but i wasn't sure if there were any other ways. also, thanks for confirming my suspicions concerning transferring an HDD install to an SSD. Thanks for the help guys