best to Install SSD on unused laptop? DIY?

Firstwatch

Hi All,

just got a great deal on a new laptop which comes with a 1 TB hard drive.
I was thinking of spending £70ish on a 250gb SSD and installing it myself, which I have never done before (never opened a computer before even ) using online guides.

Anyone have an opinion on whether this is a good idea and straightforward enough, or should I pay a shop to do it? what's a reasonable installation charge if so? will 250gb be enough? Thanks in advance.

Big_Graeme

Only you can decide if it is big enough, I use Win 10, I have the full Office 2013, Photoshop and Lightroom CC, Autoroute, iTunes and a few other bits installed, this is about 64GB.

Installing the drive is very easy, one or two screws to take off the panel, maybe a few screws holding in the drive and it slides out.

debitcardmayhem

Oh and don't forget to buy a caddy (preferably usb 3) for the old drive so you can clone it to the SSD

enfield_freddy

do you have re install disks? if not you will need a copy of the operating system and all your drivers before you start , however you my find that buying a simple hard drive case (usb) like this http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/IDE-Silver-USB-2-0-External-2-5-Inch-Hard-Drive-HDD-SSD-Case-Enclosure-/111293163885?hash=item19e996e96d


you can then run mini partition tools (free) and do a simple "clone" over to the ssd drive (tick ssd boxes) , then fit the drive in your computer , at which point you will have a spare 1 t drive that you can install in that case , format (delete all partitions using mini partition tools) and use for backup




mini partition tools http://www.partitionwizard.com/partition-magic-free.html?gclid=CjwKEAjw1f6vBRC7tLqO_aih5WISJAAE0CYwuRcGEdtTC45ux-HcHc_NKGL8a1j81eMpW7PJsTNPrxoCddLw_wcB

Mr_Robot_5

If you are looking to improve your system's performance, reduce noise and weight, and increase battery life then SSD is the way to go! yes it might cost you a bit more, but this is the price you pay for a better performance!
I would also suggest that you install windows from scratch and get rid of all the pre-installed software by the manufacturer! I never found these things really useful at all! they just sit there and take sapce on your computer!
I don't know what type of windows you are getting on your PC but I am assuming windows 8! In the past, a new Windows PC would display its product key on a sticker, usually on the side of a desktop and on the base or the bottom of the battery compartment on a laptop. But with Windows 8, Microsoft has switched gears and now stores and encrypts the key in the BIOS instead.
So if you need to reinstall Windows 8, you don't need to hunt for the product key. It's automatically applied and activated. That's certainly a plus, especially when the numbers on those product key stickers wear out or are just too small to easily read.
One thing you need to make sure of when you are installing windows 8. Is to download ans install the same version of windows that came with your PC. So if it came with windows 8 Pro you need to make sure that you have windows 8 Pro when reinstalling your OS. Microsoft certainly benefits from this new activation process since a Windows 8 product key embedded on one PC seemingly can't be used on another.
I hope this was useful!

alanclarke

Check if fitting an SSD yourself will affect the warranty on the laptop you buy, large suppliers like Dell say it will invalidated warranty, smaller places don't mind.

prowla

If your laptop has a removable CD/DVD drive, then you can replace it with an SSD; there are caddies available to fit a number of laptops.

Big_Graeme

alanclarke wrote: »

Dell say it will invalidated warranty, smaller places don't mind.

In my experience, that is not true.

London_Ash

Big_Graeme wrote: »

In my experience, that is not true.

Exactly, it's the first thing they will check.

benjus

I did exactly this recently - bought a laptop on a good deal with a 1TB hard disk and replaced it with a 500GB SSD. I think I'd struggle with only 250GB.

I've kept the old HDD so if I do need to return it under warranty I'll just put it back.

I'm quite experienced with computers though. It's pretty straightforward, just be careful opening the laptop (find a video if possible), make sure you don't have static electricity on you (ideally use an earthing wrist strap), make sure the power supply and battery are removed, and do everything nice and slowly.

Once you've copied the old HDD to the new SSD you may need to run the Windows recovery disk to make it boot from the SSD.

Fightsback

If you can afford it go for a 500Gb instead of a 250GB, they will in theory last twice as long for the same given number of erase cycles due to wear levelling.

Yes the do wear out eventually but are much more reliable than a HDD