Changing a laptop to SSD

Now I have a two and a half year old Toshiba L550 Satellite -i5 CPU (dual core x four threads) 8GB RAM and a Toshiba HDD that I have had no end of problems with and just lately blueys ad nauseum. Plus it is really quite slow.

So I want to slip in an 80GB (and a 7OEM) as I don't use this laptop for much more than emails and here on SF and a couple of other forums.

The only problem is I can only find an Intel 320 series SSD to fit the bill from my local (usual) supplier, and may have to go to a 120GB as an option.

I have a Crucial M4 in my desky but am not totally happy with the speed when I read that folks are getting 10 - 15 second boots - mine is about 35 -40 seconds even though I keep as little as possible on it and use TRIM frequently.

So am wondering if anyone has any thoughts on any other brands such as Sandisk, Samsung, Patriot, Kingston, Corsair, the Patriot though has Sandforce in its build and it seems to get some flak from some quarters.

Any advice - appreciated.

The only problem I can imagine would be the laptop's bios properly recognizing it.
The only people that could really answer the question for you is either someone that has done it on the exact specific model you have. Or to contact toshiba and hope the rep is feeling generous with the info.

As for fitting it, I had a friend that just used the little hdd tray that came with his laptop and a little creativity to make sure it was secure.

Thanks to you both I can get the Intel - was just thinking for about $70 more I could get the 120GB Intel . Samsung sounds good but $100 more than the Intel

I'll also check with Toshiba too and check out their site re that BIOS I suppose if worst came to the worst I would have to reinstall the original drive and perhaps whack the OEM on it as the Toshy stuff / clutter is just a pain.
If it doesn't work out with the drive then thats it with Toshiba for me after two lappys going bung and a 24" monitor pixel-ling out after two months.

Plus I'd have a spare SSD eh?

I would think that if your BIOS will go to AHCI mode, there should be no problem. The Crucials come in a laptop edition which includes a spacer. I have one in my laptop and it does quite well. Sometimes the restart and start times are affected by how long it takes BIOS to post.

essenbe said:

I would think that if your BIOS will go to AHCI mode, there should be no problem. The Crucials come in a laptop edition which includes a spacer. I have one in my laptop and it does quite well. Sometimes the restart and start times are affected by how long it takes BIOS to post.

Ah thanks for that essenbe I was wondering if the straight SSD's would fit the laptop actually. I will have to get onto my usual supplier to find out what go is with that.

Now the post is quite short on this one but the time taken from power on to password is a long winded affair and I am guessing it is the clutter that Toshiba has on the machine. Now I know someone will say clear it out but I have no idea of what is essential for the machine to work - thats why I thought a clean install would benefit me.

Hmm, no idea why your M4 would be slow. I have an M$ on my desktop and it is mighty fast. Cleaning the startup programs is easy. Disable everything except the AV program and things you might have started yourself (gadgets (sidebar), docks, snipping tools, etc.). All the other stuff will start when needed.

On my Toshiba laptop I have a 90GB OCZ Vertex2. That turned out to be my fastest system (of 6 systems with SSDs). But I am sure the Intel 320 would be an excellent choice too. I have 2 older Intels in a HP laptop and a HP desktop and they are going strong since 4 years, 3 years respectively. The oldest measured to still stay alive until 2022 - whatever these measurements are worth.

ICit2lol said:

essenbe said:

I would think that if your BIOS will go to AHCI mode, there should be no problem. The Crucials come in a laptop edition which includes a spacer. I have one in my laptop and it does quite well. Sometimes the restart and start times are affected by how long it takes BIOS to post.

Ah thanks for that essenbe I was wondering if the straight SSD's would fit the laptop actually. I will have to get onto my usual supplier to find out what go is with that.

Now the post is quite short on this one but the time taken from power on to password is a long winded affair and I am guessing it is the clutter that Toshiba has on the machine. Now I know someone will say clear it out but I have no idea of what is essential for the machine to work - thats why I thought a clean install would benefit me.

I have read that some laptops need a spacer for the SSD and some are fitted to only accept a 7mm thick drive. I put one in my Samsung laptop and my Daughter's Dell and had no problems with spacers or thickness in either one. So, it just may depend on the brand of laptop.

whs said:

Hmm, no idea why your M4 would be slow. I have an M$ on my desktop and it is mighty fast. Cleaning the startup programs is easy. Disable everything except the AV program and things you might have started yourself (gadgets (sidebar), docks, snipping tools, etc.). All the other stuff will start when needed.

On my Toshiba laptop I have a 90GB OCZ Vertex2. That turned out to be my fastest system (of 6 systems with SSDs). But I am sure the Intel 320 would be an excellent choice too. I have 2 older Intels in a HP laptop and a HP desktop and they are going strong since 4 years, 3 years respectively. The oldest measured to still stay alive until 2022 - whatever these measurements are worth.

Ok whs I'll try that - I id try putting all Users stuff into the HDD but "lost" my email and it took ages to get it back to where I could use it.