Switching from HDD to SSD

[MrHood22]

Is there anything special I have to do? Like firmware for my Mobo or something like that.

I'm looking at getting this:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produ...42&cm_re=OCZ_agility_2-_-20-227-542-_-Product

My Mobo is this:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813136038


Right now i'm in the process of creating a Clonezilla image (60gb) on my HDD. I intend to transfer that to my new SSD.

 

[Dangman]

If you're gonna clone the HDD to the SSD, don't use Clonezilla as it doesn't do SSD alignment IIRC. Use the latest version of Acroinis True Image if you want to clone the HDD to the SSD. Though it might be simpler to just do a fresh install of Windows 7.

Also you have to set the SATA ports to AHCI, not IDE, if you haven't already for optimal performance and TRIM support.

Finally, don't get that OCZ SSD as it is significantly slower than stated specs and it is very ovepriced. You can get a significantly faster SSD for $10 less:
$120 - Crucial RealSSD C300 CTFDDAC064MAG-1G1 2.5" 64GB SSD

Though do note that an updated version of the above SSD is due out on Monday.

 

[MrHood22]

If you're gonna clone the HDD to the SSD, don't use Clonezilla as it doesn't do SSD alignment IIRC. Use the latest version of Acroinis True Image if you want to clone the HDD to the SSD. Though it might be simpler to just do a fresh install of Windows 7.

Also you have to set the SATA ports to AHCI, not IDE, if you haven't already for optimal performance and TRIM support.

Finally, don't get that OCZ SSD as it is significantly slower than stated specs and it is very ovepriced. You can get a significantly faster SSD for $10 less:
$120 - Crucial RealSSD C300 CTFDDAC064MAG-1G1 2.5" 64GB SSD

Though do note that an updated version of the above SSD is due out on Monday.

Ahh thanks for the heads up about the SSD. I was just going on reviews.

As far as changing the SATA mode from IDE to AHCI. I did it in the BIOS but I couldn't seem to get it to boot from a hard drive or CD drive (also sata). Is there something else I must configure after I switch to AHCI in the BIOS?

 

[Dangman]

As far as changing the SATA mode from IDE to AHCI. I did it in the BIOS but I couldn't seem to get it to boot from a hard drive or CD drive (also sata). Is there something else I must configure after I switch to AHCI in the BIOS?

See if this works:
http://www.ithinkdiff.com/how-to-enable-ahci-in-windows-7-rc-after-installation/

 

[InvisiBill]

EASEUS Disk Copy is another one that will preserve the partition alignment. I cloned my laptop's HDD to SSD, then back to the HDD when I wanted to use the SSD for something else, then back to the SSD after a painful day of using the slow HDD.

 

[MrHood22]

See if this works:
http://www.ithinkdiff.com/how-to-enable-ahci-in-windows-7-rc-after-installation/

Super. It's in ACHI mode now. I'll give it a test over the next few days. One thing that was odd was that the values were already '0'. I restarted and it worked though. Thanks.