How I installed my new SSD

At a trade show, I won a 480GB solid state drive from Intel. I was hyped, because I was interested in getting one, but was shy of the $500 pricetag. SSDs promise much faster computer performance for those tasks that involve the hard drive. This includes things like booting the computer, starting programs for the first time, loading and saving files, and paging RAM.

Solid state drives are faster than hard drives, because they have no moving parts. They use the same memory technology as the memory cards I stick into my digital camera and smartphone. Having no moving parts means the drives are impervious to shock should I drop my computer.

Now that I had one, I faced this problem: into which computer to install the speedy drive? I have two desktop computers and two notebook computers. I finally decided that my newer notebook would benefit the most from it.

Installing the SSD (solid state drive) involves the following steps:

1. Clone the contents of the old hard drive onto the new SSD.
2. Remove the old drive.
3. Install the SSD.
4. Reboot the computer and hope it works!

Step 1: Clone the Old Drive

Cloning means to copy every bit of data from the old drive onto the new one. Every bit means everything, including hidden files, locked files, and the operating system. It turns out that Windows has a way of doing this, but the job is much easier with a third-party program.

I searched the Internet and it turns out there are free applications available. (In the early days of SSDs, vendors included the software and hardware tools to do the cloning, but as prices fell, these useful items were left out.) 

I picked out Macrium Reflect software, after it was recommended by one site, and was listed as having a dialog box interface. (Some of the other cloning programs operate at the command prompt, and I had no interest in that.)

To clone the old drive, I followed these steps:

1. Download (such as from http://www.macrium.com/reflectfree.aspx), and install the cloning software.

2. Insert the SSD in an external drive enclosure. You can buy these at electronics stores for maybe $15. I happen to have one with a USB 3.0 interface, which makes the file copying process about 4x faster than with USB 2.0 interfaces.

3. Attach the external drive to the computer.

4. Run the cloning software. If given a choice between cloning or imaging, choose cloning. (Imaging also copies all of the bits, but then zip the whole lot into a single compressed file; imaging is better for make whole-disk backups.)

5. Wait a long time. In my case, cloning 358GB took 6 hours, 16 minutes.

6. When done, exit the software and shut down the computer.

Step 2: Remove the old drive

With the computer turned off, remove the old drive.

I won't provide details, because every notebook computer is different, but I find that a set of jewelers screwdrivers (consisting of several flat and Phillips sizes) are indispensable for taking apart computers and their components. Also, a pair of needle-nosed pliers.

Step 3: Install the new drive 

Remove the SSD from the external drive enclosure, and then install it into the computer. (You reuse the old drive by putting it into the now-empty drive enclosure, and use it as a backup drive.)

Step 4: Reboot the computer

Reboot the computer and hope it worked! In my case, the surgery was a 100% success.

Windows noticed the new drive, installed a driver for it, and then asked me to reboot one more time. After this, I decided to benchmark the old and new drives.

Benchmarking

How much faster is the new SSD? I ran a couple informal benchmarks. Using the Windows Experience Index, the hard drive rating jumped from 5.6 to 7.9. (In Windows 7, 7.9 is the highest possible score, unfortunately, and so the actual score may be higher.)

Next, I timed how long Windows took to boot the computer. The old hard drive took 85 seconds; the SSD accomplished it in 29 seconds -- so 3x faster. (These timings are from when I pressed the power button to the time Windows desktop first appears.)

Summary

Now the depressing part. Yes, the new drive is speedy. But soon its speed will seem to slow as my perception of it normalizes.

The other negative is that the notebook computer has lees disk space, falling from a rated 750GB to 480GB. Or to put it another way, the amount of available space falls from 308GB free to 99GB free. I guess I'll have to erase a few movies.

On the positive side:

• The drive cost me nothing, a $500 savings (thanks to Intel and to me for being the first to answer a skill-testing question correctly)

• The notebook computer runs quieter, because there is no longer any drive noise; I am hoping the battery now last longer

• The up-to-3x-faster faster speed is appreciated

• And I now have a free 750GB backup drive installed in a USB 3.0 enclosure

Here are the specs for the SSD drive: http://ark.intel.com/products/66251

 

 

Comments

[Guy Vancollie]

Been considering the switch to SSD myself, thx for the helpful step by step process.

[Kyle Bernhardt]

I did something similar with my laptop, and found similar huge gains in performance. One thing that tripped me up was making sure the data was aligned properly on my new SSD, since SSDs store data slightly different that spinning platter drives; you can't just do a direct clone.

This Lifehacker article illustrates a method that makes sure your data gets properly aligned on your new SSD.

http://lifehacker.com/5837543/how-to-migrate-to-a-solid+state-drive-without-reinstalling-windows

[Billo Fane]

Wow, your new SSD boots your notebook in only 85 seconds!

When I started using AutoCAD in September of '86 we had a 6 mHz 486 computer running DOS with 2 meg of RAM and a 20 meg hard drive. It went from power-on to the AutoCAD command prompt in about 30 seconds. Mind you, it didn't have a ribbon interface or pretty icons or background wallpaper, but it did do its primary job.

[R. Paul Waddington]

That your 486 was fast at booting, Bill, is of no surprise, as it/you out-ran all of we humble users. You got it years before anyone else -- including Intel it would appear ;-).

Maybe you mean a 286 or possibly a 386 -- if it was a Compaq and part of the first batch of machines made with the first shipment from Intel in late '86.

[Bill Fane]

Paul's right, I had forgotten. It was a 286 but we had "crystallized" it. This meant putting ever faster clock crystals in until it hiccuped, then backing up one step. We were running a 6 mHz 286 at 10 mHz.

There are two signs of old age; the first is loss of memory....

...I forget the other two.

[jbmoran]

>>There are two signs of old age; the first is >>loss of memory....

>>...I forget the other two.

Bill,
The first sign is repeating yourself...

The second sign is, uh, repeating yourself..

Take it from one who knows - or, at least, knew...
jbm