SSD Install (fresh windows etc.) - questions

[Guest]

Hello. I've recently purchased myself an OCZ Agility 3 (120gb) SSD, and am now looking to install it. I bought all the necessary cables and the 2,5" adepter for my case.

What I'm wondering now (after taking a look at multiple different guides), is the order I should actually do everything in (how-to's should be in order - will come back for help if problems arrise). So I'll just go ahead and post the order I've understood I should do things in, and then you can just tell me if there is something wrong with it.

1. Registry edit (only my current HDDs attatched) to enable AHCI mode
2. Shut down the computer
3. Power up the computer, go into BIOS and enable AHCI mode there aswell
4. Check that it works on my HDDs.
5. Power off, plug in my SSD
6. Power on and install newest firmware, using my HDDs as my primary drive.
7. Shut down the computer, disconnect my HDDs (apparently this should force my SSD to be the primary drive), and start power up using USB as primary launch device (installing W7 from a flash drive since my DVD drive is broken)
8. Install Windows, make sure I have defrag etc. disabled for my SSD, do tweaking (found a guide for that on tomshardware)
9. Shut down the computer and plug my HDDs in
10. Good to go?

So yeah, anything to add or correct is welcome, first time installing shiz, thought a storage device shouldn't be that hard to start from..

 

[mmilner1]

You are obviously taking every precaution to do it right, when I did my SSD install I unplugged my HDD, went into bios and enabled AHCI, then installed windows. During install I upgraded the newest Marvel drivers. I haven't had any problems. It would seem though that you're going to be successful if you install it with your step by step.

 

[smorizio]

your going to have to reinstall all your games and apps if you go that route. if you dont want to you can see if your ssd space is larger then the data on the old hard drive and clone the drive.

 

[fantastik250]

Hello. I've recently purchased myself an OCZ Agility 3 (120gb) SSD, and am now looking to install it. I bought all the necessary cables and the 2,5" adepter for my case.

What I'm wondering now (after taking a look at multiple different guides), is the order I should actually do everything in (how-to's should be in order - will come back for help if problems arrise). So I'll just go ahead and post the order I've understood I should do things in, and then you can just tell me if there is something wrong with it.

1. Registry edit (only my current HDDs attatched) to enable AHCI mode
2. Shut down the computer
3. Power up the computer, go into BIOS and enable AHCI mode there aswell
4. Check that it works on my HDDs.
5. Power off, plug in my SSD
6. Power on and install newest firmware, using my HDDs as my primary drive.
7. Shut down the computer, disconnect my HDDs (apparently this should force my SSD to be the primary drive), and start power up using USB as primary launch device (installing W7 from a flash drive since my DVD drive is broken)
8. Install Windows, make sure I have defrag etc. disabled for my SSD, do tweaking (found a guide for that on tomshardware)
9. Shut down the computer and plug my HDDs in
10. Good to go?

So yeah, anything to add or correct is welcome, first time installing shiz, thought a storage device shouldn't be that hard to start from..

If you are installing a new OS. I would modify a few things. Unplug your Hard Drive Disk and leave only your SSD plugged in. Then. I suggest going into BIOS and enabling all SATA Controllers to ACHI. Then boot into your SSD. Update firmware and other necessary drivers. Then turn off computer and plug in HDD. It will then make your previous OS called Windows.old folder. It's unnecessary to do a registry edit when you already enabled it in BIOS.

If not installing a new OS, then just do a regular registry edit and follow your procedure.

 

[Guest]

Update firmware and other necessary drivers.

But doesn't my HDD need to be the main drive when I'm about to update the SSDs firmware? I remember reading such from the OCZ guides, or maybe I just misunderstood it, heavily. (And, where'd I get the drivers from anyways, or can I run those from a flash drive aswell...?)

 

[fantastik250]

Are you using your SSD as the main drive or secondary drive?

If it's being used as a secondary drive, then you are correct about having drivers onto the main Hard Drive (where your OS is installed).

But firmware updates for SSDs are different. OCZ firmware update looks much more complicated than Crucial. With Crucial, all I have to do is download the .exe and it updates the firmware automatically. But with OCZ you need to download the firmware, record it onto a CD, and all that.

Take a look at the Update Setup and Procedures for your SSD:
http://www.ocztechnology.com/ssd_tools/OCZ_Vertex,_Agility,_Vertex_Turbo,_Vertex_EX,_Solid_2/

 

[Guest]

As mentioned earlier, I WILL eventually have it as my main drive, currently not even connected, and shouldn't it be easier to have it as secondary while installing firmware--> then installing it as primary with up to date firmware seeing as it's a fresh install?

Also, bumping the thread to get more opinions, installing tomorrow or the day after!

 

[fantastik250]

That is correct, you can do it either way. But, it's nice to have the OS on an SSD. I love the boot times

 

[smorizio]

just be care full of bios updates some will cause the ssd to erase all the data on the drive. most time vendors will have that warning because the drive have to be connected to another boot device.