i got an SSD, need help transfering OS to new drive.

[MajorFoley]

Hey guys, at PAX australia i won a 120GB intel SSD 330 series. Currently my windows is installed on a 1TB HDD and my computer has another 2 HDDS used for other stuff like videos games, recordings etc.
The problem is while i want a clean install on my SSD i also dont want to go through the hassle of reinstalling all my games that dont use steam just because i have a fresh OS. Also add to the fact that the SSD will also take the letter drive C:\ where my HDD is now and the other HDDS already have letters E:\ and F:\ and if i were to change their letter name it would probably screw up with my programs because they were installed on those letters before the change.

So my questions are:
1. How could i transfer just the CORE parts of windows 7, registry, profiles etc so i dont use up all the 120gb on the SSD?
2. How can i do this without having to reinstall every game that doesnt use steam?
3. How can i rename the letters of the other HDD's without screwing up the programs.
4. I've also been looking up some stuff on SSD's like trimming and the need to disable defrag to increase life and efficiency of SSD. Is this true?

 

[gregrocker]

The top methods are discussed here in http://www.sevenforums.com/tutorials/149969-ssd-install-transfer-operating-system.html.

If you can get your OS/Programs image shrunk down to fit then you can image or clone it over. If your User folders fit, too, then fine. Otherwise you can copy them to a HD data partition and after reimaging link them following either http://www.sevenforums.com/tutorials/18629-user-folders-change-default-location.html or
http://www.sevenforums.com/tutorials/585-library-include-folder.html - the latter is needed it you plan to use WIn7 built-in Backup Imaging or it will insist on including the data partiiton in the System Image.

If the OS and all Programs won't fit or space gets tight you can uninstall lesser-used programs to reinstall on the HD. But Programs benefit most from the faster SSD speed so I'd not sacrifice them if possible, nor the modern Hibernate function which is perfected in Win7 and creates a Hiberfile the size of your RAM. Your paging file however can be reduced to 2gb if you have adequate RAM.

 

[MajorFoley]

The top methods are discussed here in http://www.sevenforums.com/tutorials/149969-ssd-install-transfer-operating-system.html.

If you can get your OS/Programs image shrunk down to fit then you can image or clone it over. If your User folders fit, too, then fine. Otherwise you can copy them to a HD data partition and after reimaging link them following either http://www.sevenforums.com/tutorials/18629-user-folders-change-default-location.html or
http://www.sevenforums.com/tutorials/585-library-include-folder.html - the latter is needed it you plan to use WIn7 built-in Backup Imaging or it will insist on including the data partiiton in the System Image.

If the OS and all Programs won't fit or space gets tight you can uninstall lesser-used programs to reinstall on the HD. But Programs benefit most from the faster SSD speed so I'd not sacrifice them if possible, nor the modern Hibernate function which is perfected in Win7 and creates a Hiberfile the size of your RAM. Your paging file however can be reduced to 2gb if you have adequate RAM.

Well there are games like league of legends n that i want to keep on a SSD, plus i guess there are other programs i can remove but what about codecs and that? Also while this addresses the cloning to shrink it, im guessing this would keep my registry settings so that the programs labelled on my HDD E:\ and F:\ would still be working?

 

[gregrocker]

You'll have to try it to see.

If you have any WD or Seagate HD in the mix you can use the free premium Acronis cloning/imaging app they offer. The Manual is easy to understand and on the Downloads page.

Otherwise the best methods are discussed in the tutorial.

Codecs are not normally a concern in Win7 which has all of them in its Media Player. If not many of us use VLC. VideoLAN - Official page for VLC media player, the Open Source video framework

 

[MajorFoley]

Sorry for the late reply, i only just put in my SSD, and im probably going to go with just a clean install and keep the other hard drive in there and then transfer what i want before wiping it. But is there a easy way to transfer registry settings since the SSD and HDD would both be classified as C:\?

 

[whs]

If you make a clean install, you will have to reinstall ALL programs. There is no way to tranfer those nor can you transfer registry settings. The only files you can pick from the image are your user files. You will also be blessed with a gezillion updates of the OS when you reinstall. It will probably take you 3 days to get everything back as it was.

Tranferring the OS is a lot easier. Just follow my tutorial that Greg linked in his first post. And if you have any questions, post back.

 

[MajorFoley]

If you make a clean install, you will have to reinstall ALL programs. There is no way to tranfer those nor can you transfer registry settings. The only files you can pick from the image are your user files. You will also be blessed with a gezillion updates of the OS when you reinstall. It will probably take you 3 days to get everything back as it was.

Tranferring the OS is a lot easier. Just follow my tutorial that Greg linked in his first post. And if you have any questions, post back.

The problem is that the SSD is only 120gb and im already using more than that on the HDD with the OS plus i want the SSD to become the new C:\ Drive as i plan on wiping this HDD clean to make it a HDD that holds programs that arent video games (i already have a 2TB for those and is why i was asking about registry settings)

 

[SIW2]

That is the point of the paragon program. You can exclude things from the transfer.

Whs links to it in his tutorial. It is twenty bucks, though. http://www.paragon-software.com/technologies/components/migrate-OS-to-SSD/

 

[whs]

Right, you can use Pragon although I would cleanup C before you make the image. Move the user data to a data partition on the HDD (best solution) or uninstall a few of the big games - you can always reinstall them later and direct the installer to a folder on the HDD.

I don't know why you are so hung up on C. The active OS partition is always C (that's automatic) - unless you explicitely change the partition letter.

When you transfer the OS with an image, make sure you carry the 100MB system partition along - else your SSD won't boot.

 

[MajorFoley]

Right, you can use Pragon although I would cleanup C before you make the image. Move the user data to a data partition on the HDD (best solution) or uninstall a few of the big games - you can always reinstall them later and direct the installer to a folder on the HDD.

I don't know why you are so hung up on C. The active OS partition is always C (that's automatic) - unless you explicitely change the partition letter.

When you transfer the OS with an image, make sure you carry the 100MB system partition along - else your SSD won't boot.

So pragon is an image creator, and i can make it so it only backs up user data? What does that include? my appdata folder in users? music documents etc? im also having a major issue right now in this thread
http://www.sevenforums.com/general-...ng-certain-games-event-viewer-included-3.html

 

[whs]

Let's not mix subjects. Your other problem will be dealt with in the other thread.

An imaging program, whether Pargon, free Macrium or a number of other similar imaging programs all do the same thing. They image one or more partitions depending on your choices. And they image everything in the partition. That can be an OS partition that contains the operating system or a data partition that contains only data.

But your first step must be to reduce the amount of data that sits on the C partition so that you can fit it on the SSD. And if you have a 120GB SSD, the C partition should not contain more than 100GBs of data. You need some free space for future updates and for the SSDs garbage collection.

Once that is done, we can discuss the next steps. It would help us if you posted a full snip of yout Disk Managment.

 

[MajorFoley]

Let's not mix subjects. Your other problem will be dealt with in the other thread.

An imaging program, whether Pargon, free Macrium or a number of other similar imaging programs all do the same thing. They image one or more partitions depending on your choices. And they image everything in the partition. That can be an OS partition that contains the operating system or a data partition that contains only data.

But your first step must be to reduce the amount of data that sits on the C partition so that you can fit it on the SSD. And if you have a 120GB SSD, the C partition should not contain more than 100GBs of data. You need some free space for future updates and for the SSDs garbage collection.

Once that is done, we can discuss the next steps. It would help us if you posted a full snip of yout Disk Managment.

Then there really isn't a point trying to image the C:\ Drive which currently contains my OS because i planned on wiping it clean after i installed windows on the SSD and turning it into a data HDD, if its impossible to transfer registries and such, then im just going to have to reinstall the programs i want back. Im not about to go through every single spot of the c:\ drive and clean up 400gb's worth of data. And before i do anything with this SSD i need to solve my other issue first. So until its solved i'm probably not going to come back to this thread.