HDD-SSD help!!!

[shikiramaru]

i need help guys!!!
i want to transfer my windows 7 ultimate upgrade version to my SSD!!
and make my SSD my booting drive..

 

[RealBeast]

Best to do a fresh installation on the SSD with no HDDs attached (and select AHCI sata mode in the bios just before the reinstall), but you can clone your HDD to the SSD if you really must.

To start make a system repair disk -- just type that into the start run window and follow the wizard. For cloning I use Ghost 15, True Image, or EaseUS Todo Backup most often. Clone the *SRP first* and then the OS drive. Then check your partition alignment to insure that it is correct. Then optimize your SSD using this guide: http://thessdreview.com/ssd-guides/optimization-guides/the-ssd-optimization-guide-2/

 

[shikiramaru]

but i can't do a fresh install...my OS is only an upgrade version...and the old one was deleted already.. I was win7 home premium pre-built then i bought an win7 ultimate upgrade dvd..home premium is already gone..my my ultimate cannot be fresh install to ssd..so cloning is my only hope...
I also need some accurate guide..lol, im not a computer guy sorry..

 

[ram1009]

I cloned an HDD to an SSD using a dongle & software provided by a company called Apricorn. Worked perfectly. http://www.apricorn.com/products/notebook-hard-drive-upgrade-kits/sata-wire.html

 

[RealBeast]

but i can't do a fresh install...my OS is only an upgrade version...and the old one was deleted already.. I was win7 home premium pre-built then i bought an win7 ultimate upgrade dvd..home premium is already gone..my my ultimate cannot be fresh install to ssd..so cloning is my only hope...
I also need some accurate guide..lol, im not a computer guy sorry..

Cloning is simple. If you don't already have a cloning program, download and use the free and very good EaseUS Todo Backup: http://www.todo-backup.com/products/home/free-backup-software.htm

It has an online comprehensive user guide and will do the job.

Backup *all your data first*, then make the system repair disk that I described above. Then you need to first clone your SRP (system reserved partition) and then your OS drive. EaseUS can clone from larger partitions to smaller SSDs as long as the actual amount of space used does not exceed the SSD size.

I would probably first clean up all your temp files and caches with CCleaner (another free program) from here: http://www.piriform.com/ccleaner/download/standard

Understand your plan before you start and it will be fine. Once you have cloned the drive and you are ready to restart using the SSD, unplug the HDD and then restart with the system repair disk in the DC/DVD drive to correct the bootloader if necessary (sometime needed sometimes not).

When that is all done, then optimize your SSD.

Don't reformat your HDD until your SSD is running well and you are happy with the result -- if you screw up you can always do it over, not a problem as long as you keep the HDD intact.

 

[RetiredChief]

YOU can use your Windows 7 Upgrade disk to do a clean install WITHOUT having the old OS on it.
ADDED: PS this is ONLY legal if you own the qualifing uprage OS - WHICH YOU DO!

I Recomend the Clean install when going from a HDD to a SSD unless there is a good reason not to.

To use Windows 7 Upgrade to do a clean install can just google (will add steps in a min)
1) as already stated. !) disconnect all hdd so that only the SSD is connected. 2) make sure Bios is set to AHCI.
2) Place Windows 7 Upgrade disk, boot to it.
3) select Custom Instal, Do NOT input your key when prompted.

Method 1). Once windows is installed, reboot to dvd and this time select Upgrade and imput your Key this time.

Method 2, which I PREFER):
quote
A true geek has never been intimidated by the registry, but lets face it, it's a mess in there. To access the registry you will first need to open up the start menu and type "regedit" into the search field, followed by enter. To find the proverbial needle in this haystack, you will need to navigate through the tabs listed on the left in the following order:
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE/Software/Microsoft/Windows/CurrentVersion/Setup/OOBE/ . If you don't like doing it the hard way just click Edit then Find and type MediaBootInstall into the search field, and press enter.
Once found, double click MediaBootInstall and change the "1" to a "0". Once you have finished this, simply click Ok and close out the Registry Editor.
THEN
Before we try to activate our copy of Windows, we need to reset or "Re-Arm" the activation sequence. To do this, simply open up the start menu and type cmd but instead of just pressing enter, you need to press "Ctrl" + "Shift" + "Enter" to run it as an administrator. You can also accomplish this by clicking the start menu, typing cmd into the search box, then right clicking the command prompt application and selecting Run as administrator.

Once the command prompt appears type slmgr /rearm and press enter. Next simply type Exit and hit enter again, after which it will ask you to restart your machine.
END QUOTE
Source: http://www.maximumpc.com/article/howtos/how_use_your_windows_7_upgrade_disk_fresh_pc?page=0,1

 

[shikiramaru]

Best answer selected by Shikiramaru.