Are you still using the traditional hard disk on your PC, if Yes then you are missing out? You could easily swap it with a Solid-State-Drive(SSD) and upgrade your computer in terms of its speed. After this installation, you can feel the change, with the computer booting faster, the files opening and working more smoothly and the games loading faster than ever.
Windows could be reinstalled from scratch, and it will be more preferable if you copy your entire drive to the new SSD.
What You'll Need
First and foremost, obviously, is the SSD. You will have to buy an SSD. You have to make sure that you keep your computer features in mind while buying the SSD and ensure that it has enough storage to store all your data. For instance, if you are using a 500 GB hard drive then you should probably go for a similar size SSD or more.
But yes, if you are using a desktop computer with multiple hard drive spaces then you can use both the SSD and a hard drive. Here, you can store your programs on the SSD and your games and other media on your Hard Drive. This could get a little complicated at times though.
In this process, you have to connect both, your new SSD and the old hard drive, to the computer at the same time. If your device has only one hard drive slot then you need to get an external dock, adapter or enclosure that will connect your SSD to the computer with a USB.
You will find varieties of drive-cloning tools on the market and most of them are not free. So, if your drive manufacturer gives you a migration program, that will be best. For instance, if you are using a Samsung SSD then using the Samsung Data Migration would be for the best.
Here we will be using Macrium Reflect, which is a free drive-cloning tool that pretty much works with any hard drive and SSD. You just need to download the installer of the free home version and then run it through the wizard and it’s good to go. No matter which brand drive you use, Macrium Reflect can do your work. Thus it is your next best option.
Now you have all the necessities to clone your drive, so let’s get started.
Back-Up Your Data (and Free Up Space)
Before you start doing anything to your data, it is very important that you back up your data. You might end up erasing everything in just one click. So make sure that you have backed-up all your data first.
In case you are going to upgrade to an SSD that is smaller than your present hard drive, then you need to be extra careful. You need to first delete some files and free up your space before cloning it in that case. Once your data is secure you can move to the next step.
Plug-In and Initialize Your SSD
First, plug your SSD into the SATA-to-USB adapter, and then plug it into the computer. Brand-new drives might not show the drive pop up in File Explorer, but you don’t need to worry about that, it just has to be initialized first. You need to open the start menu and type “partitions” in the search box and then click on Create and format hard disk partitions option. The Disk Management opens. This will now prompt you to initialize the drive. You can do it using either the GPR or MBR partition table.
Here we will be using GPT for the SSD as it is a modern PC that we are using with UEFI firmware. If you are using an old PC with the traditional BIOS, then you can use an MBR partition table. You can look up your specific model of PC or motherboard and find out the kind of firmware it uses, in case you are not sure.
After the drive is initialized, it will show up on the bottom pane of Disk Management. After this, you are good to go.
Clone Your Drive
Now, open Macrium Reflect and you will be seeing a list of drives showing on the main window. Find the drive you are currently using, and select it. Then click on the Clone This Disk button appearing below the drive and start the cloning wizard.
A new window opens up. Here you will have to choose the destination drive -- in this case, the new SSD where you want to store.
If you have got an SSD that is of the same size as your hard disk then make sure that the box all the way to the left of your source disk is checked, and then click on Select a Disk to Clone. Then, choose your SSD from the drop-down list, and click Next.
But, if your SSD is smaller than your hard drive, then an extra step is required.
Just drag all the partitions, one by one, to the SSD, and click on the Clone Partition Properties on your main C: drive and resize it manually.
Now, if the SSD is larger, some unused space might be left on the drive -- in this case, you can select the main partition, click Cloned Partition Properties, and expand the drive, so that the empty space is filled.
Then click on Next and you will be asked whether you to save the backup schedule. You might as well uncheck the box and click OK to run the backup now. This will take some time so you can run your other chores of the house till this is done.
After completion, you can exit Macrium Reflect. Your new SSD in File Explorer will be complete with all your data.
Install Your SSD
Then you can shut down your computer and let your machine install the SSD permanently. If your device has only one slot, then remove the hard drive and replace it with the SSD.
If you are using a desktop with multiple ports, you can keep both the hard disk and the SSD attached to the computer, just make sure that the SSD is installed.
Reboot From Your New Drive
After the installation is done, you will have to tell your computer to boot from the newly installed SSD.
Although it might not be required in some laptops with one drive, if there are any problems while booting you can try this. For this switch on your computer and enter its BIOS/UEFI setup, which differs on every PC, but it will mostly say something like “Press DEL to enter setup” on the boot screen. Then press the corresponding key as it starts up.
Then find the BIOS’s boot options. Once you find it, select the option to change the boot sequence. From the list, select your SSD as your first boot drive, then move back to the BIOS’s main menu to exit after saving your settings.
Now, your computer will start rebooting from the SSD.
