Moving up to a bigger SSD

Liver

Supreme [H]ardness
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So I have an Intel 80g G2 in my machine right now. Through careful pruning and moving things to my platter drive I have made it last this long. But I am down to 2 gigs, and I need to get a bigger drive.

I already have a Intel 160g G2 that I'd like to use.

What I'd like to do, and this is where I need the help.

1. Update the 160g G2 firmware, if necessary. Should I do this?

2. Clone the 80g drive to the 160g drive. I am using Windows 7 Home 64 bit, what program should I use?

3. Or should I back up the drive and restore via back up (on my WHS)?

Reason I am asking, is that I set up the original drive as IDE, not as AHCI. Can I correct my mistake now without data loss or corruption?

4. I will update my MB bios, but I think its already updated. I'm using an Intel BadAxe2 with a 6600 quad. Going to upgrade in q2-q3 2011, but would like to make the most of it right now.

Thanks
 
1. Update the 160g G2 firmware, if necessary. Should I do this?

I would avoid firmware or bios updates on any hardware device unless there is a good reason to do so or it has a failsafe mechanism like Gigabyte motherboards.

2. Clone the 80g drive to the 160g drive. I am using Windows 7 Home 64 bit, what program should I use?

Clonezilla or acronis true image. Clonezilla is free and acronis you can download a free trial or a free version if you own any WD or Seagate drives.

3. Or should I back up the drive and restore via back up (on my WHS)?

Cloning will be easier and quicker.

Reason I am asking, is that I set up the original drive as IDE, not as AHCI. Can I correct my mistake now without data loss or corruption?

I believe there is a registry setting for that on microsoft.com. At least I have seen links to this posted a few times on this forum.

4. I will update my MB bios, but I think its already updated. I'm using an Intel BadAxe2 with a 6600 quad. Going to upgrade in q2-q3 2011, but would like to make the most of it right now.

I would not bother. With any motherboard flash there is always a risk of rendering the board unusable unless the board has a dual bios option. Unless you are having a specific problem (or can live with a month or so of downtime) do not flash.
 
Thanks so very much for all the information. I was wondering about the BIOS / firmware updating because SSD drives are much more recent than my motherboard. That was the only reason to ask.

Everything has been playing nice together, so I will not worry about updating firmware or BIOS.

Is the switch from IDE to ACHI worthwhile?

And when should I switch to ACHI, meaning when and how do I run the program?

Do I run the registry update, then change the setting in the bios (after restart)? Or another way. Good thing that I'll have two identical drives that I can mess with if something goes fubar.

Clonezilla or acronis true image. Clonezilla is free and acronis you can download a free trial or a free version if you own any WD or Seagate drives.

I can do either, I have several Raptors so I do qualify for the free version. Do you recommend one over the other for a novice?
 
Is the switch from IDE to ACHI worthwhile?

I believe so. For performance and other reasons (TRIM).

And when should I switch to ACHI, meaning when and how do I run the program?

I would clone the drive. Keep it in IDE mode. Unplug the smaller drive. Boot into windows using the new drive in ide mode. Apply the kb fix. Then power down and switch to AHCI mode.
 
Is the switch from IDE to ACHI worthwhile?
Yes, the NCQ that comes with AHCI, not ACHI, is definately worth the change.

TRIM works in IDE mode but there are qualifications depending upon if it's an Intel or AMD chipset.
 
I can do either, I have several Raptors so I do qualify for the free version. Do you recommend one over the other for a novice?

Acronis is probably easier for a novice to use...although I'm not sure if that version preserves alignment (which is especially important for SSDs).

drescherjm said:
I believe so. For performance and other reasons (TRIM).

As Old Hippie pointed out, IDE passes the TRIM command...though AHCI mode is still preferable, especially for SSDs.
 
I think I'm going to back up my computer and clone the drive.
 
I know that Acronis 2010 and 2011 full versions both keep proper alignment with SSD's.
 
I know that Acronis 2010 and 2011 full versions both keep proper alignment with SSD's.

I've looked over the Clonezilla page and I could not find any mention of alignment or SSD. Maybe I'm not looking for the correct term.
 
Well a co worker of mine had Acronis 2010 version I believe, so I borrowed his boot able CD. Made the clone copy and applied ACHI.

Everything turned out perfect!

I did take the SSD out of my MBP, but its all good!
 
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