SSD Questions on New Computer

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  1. Posts : 12,012
    Windows 7 Home Premium SP1, 64-bit
       #41

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    paulyjames said:
    Hey guys. So i had just copied the ssd in the enclosure to my external hard drive. Its 232gb total and about 150gb used so 82gb free. It was taking about 2 hours... but then as it was say 80 percent finished, that message was no longer there. I then checked my external hard drive and it only copied about 54gb to it. I know this because my external had about 919gb free out of 931gb.


    I then went into the external hard drive and noticed not all folders were copied. I then just copy and pasted each folder that was not in the external hard drive. I did this with all and all that is used up was 54gb total. Does anyone know why? However, i took a look and the files that i wanted to transfer to my external are there. But i have no idea what the other 96gb is?

    Nobody can help you with this because nobody knows what you want to copy, what you should copy, what you think you copied, what your folder structure is, where you keep stuff, or any of that.

    The best you can do is to look on the external and see if you can actually find and open any file you cared about that was originally on the SSD.


    About the why don't i just power up my new laptop first... well when you get a new laptop, you plug in power then power it up. But when you do this, im pretty certain it ask you to install windows.



    Tell us in words of one syllable why you are "pretty certain" of that.

    Has that ever happened to you?

    Have you ever bought a laptop?




    I want to have the ssd replaced first then start it up right?


    Not if you have good sense.

    Because let say i do start it up, i certainly am not doing the installation right?

    That's correct. As far as I can tell, you shouldn't be installing anything.

    But is there a way to properly shut it down?

    You tell me. Have you ever properly shut a computer down?

    Because everytime i ever got a new computer, i made sure i set it up correctly by following all instructions. So you want me to turn on laptop and it works... how do you want me to shut it down properly?

    You tell me. Have you ever properly shut a computer down?

    Or do you want me to just do the installation myself with the hard drive as it is. Then go there and ask them, okay i need to replace the hard drive to ssd?

    Install what? You bought a Dell PC with Windows 10 and Windows 10 is not already installed?

    Suppose Windows 10 is NOT already installed. How in the world are you going to install it if you are unclear about how to turn a PC on and off?

    You need to look at my post 37. The end of it. Concentrate on those 4 things, one at a time.

      My Computer


  2. Posts : 12,012
    Windows 7 Home Premium SP1, 64-bit
       #42

    see comments

    paulyjames said:
    Well from what im describing i want the clean install right?

    Not necessarily. If you want the new Dell to end up EXACTLY as if you had ordered it from Dell with the SSD in it, then NO, you would not want a clean install.


    And as to the i never installed windows before... does getting a new computer few times and well powering it up and then following instructions like putting your name, password if you want etc counts or does that not count?

    It does not count. That isn't even remotely doing an installation. That's configuration at best.


    However, i have many times with an older computer formatted my computer and installed windows again. I did this with either a windows cd or a windows file in a usb. However, each time i did this, after i did the format of my computer, assuming i have 232gb available on that hard drive to make it simple. It would always show about 160gb or so used up because i deleted the wrong partition etc each time.

    A clean install of Windows takes up less than 30 GB. You might have done an upgrade install, but not a clean install. If you had deleted ALL repeat ALL partitions, you would have done a clean install and would not be wondering about deleting the "wrong" partition.


    So that would count as installing windows but i did it wrong correct?

    You did some type of install, but not a clean install.

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  3. Posts : 12,012
    Windows 7 Home Premium SP1, 64-bit
       #43

    see comments

    paulyjames said:
    Okay so we all agree im going to bring the ssd and laptop to him and have him do everything. However, do you suggest i just delete my documents, files, pictures and other things on the ssd besides programs? I already have those backed up on my external.

    BEFORE you go the shop, you should copy all that you care about to the external.

    Personally, I would delete all of my personal info from the SSD before going to the shop. That stuff is your personal business and none of his business AT ALL. You can do what you want. If you don't care if he has access to all of your personal files, then don't delete anything.



    And the other thing is the powering up. That is what confuses me the most. Unless you want me to power up the laptop, start it up and then setup windows on the 5400rpm, how do i shut down the computer properly then since thats what shows up on the computer screen first when you are setting up the computer?

    See my earlier post. Suppose the Dell is defective and won't even start. What do you do? Suppose you don't start it up, but just take it to the shop and they can't start it up?

    If you buy a TV or a refrigerator, do you start them up to see if they work?

    I'd start it up and use it for a day or two personally. Why pay a shop to swap hard drives on a laptop that has a defective screen or a bad keyboard or a USB port that doesn't work. I'd send that back to Dell.

    What if the battery won't charge? Do you want to find that out today?

    Or would you rather find that out next week after you've paid the shop and then have to return the laptop to Dell? And then pay the shop again to put the old drive back in the laptop because you wouldn't be able to return the laptop to Dell if it did not have the original drive in it.

    You get to do what you want.

      My Computer


  4. Posts : 657
    Windows 10 Pro
    Thread Starter
       #44

    ignatzatsonic said:
    see comments

    paulyjames said:
    Hey guys. So i had just copied the ssd in the enclosure to my external hard drive. Its 232gb total and about 150gb used so 82gb free. It was taking about 2 hours... but then as it was say 80 percent finished, that message was no longer there. I then checked my external hard drive and it only copied about 54gb to it. I know this because my external had about 919gb free out of 931gb.


    I then went into the external hard drive and noticed not all folders were copied. I then just copy and pasted each folder that was not in the external hard drive. I did this with all and all that is used up was 54gb total. Does anyone know why? However, i took a look and the files that i wanted to transfer to my external are there. But i have no idea what the other 96gb is?

    Nobody can help you with this because nobody knows what you want to copy, what you should copy, what you think you copied, what your folder structure is, where you keep stuff, or any of that.

    The best you can do is to look on the external and see if you can actually find and open any file you cared about that was originally on the SSD.


    About the why don't i just power up my new laptop first... well when you get a new laptop, you plug in power then power it up. But when you do this, im pretty certain it ask you to install windows.



    Tell us in words of one syllable why you are "pretty certain" of that.

    Has that ever happened to you?

    Have you ever bought a laptop?




    I want to have the ssd replaced first then start it up right?


    Not if you have good sense.

    Because let say i do start it up, i certainly am not doing the installation right?

    That's correct. As far as I can tell, you shouldn't be installing anything.

    But is there a way to properly shut it down?

    You tell me. Have you ever properly shut a computer down?

    Because everytime i ever got a new computer, i made sure i set it up correctly by following all instructions. So you want me to turn on laptop and it works... how do you want me to shut it down properly?

    You tell me. Have you ever properly shut a computer down?

    Or do you want me to just do the installation myself with the hard drive as it is. Then go there and ask them, okay i need to replace the hard drive to ssd?

    Install what? You bought a Dell PC with Windows 10 and Windows 10 is not already installed?

    Suppose Windows 10 is NOT already installed. How in the world are you going to install it if you are unclear about how to turn a PC on and off?

    You need to look at my post 37. The end of it. Concentrate on those 4 things, one at a time.


    I looked at external hard drive and most files seem fine. So im good with that.



    About the why don't i just power up my new laptop first... well when you get a new laptop, you plug in power then power it up. But when you do this, im pretty certain it ask you to install windows or set it up... again im not sure right term.




    Tell us in words of one syllable why you are "pretty certain" of that.

    Has that ever happened to you?

    Have you ever bought a laptop?



    This is probably my 7th computer i ever used if you combine desktops and laptops in the last 12 years. The last few computers were laptops both were windows 7 and both broke recently. Everytime i bought a new laptop before this, i recalled it was already configured the way i like and i didn't need to install any ssd or stuff like that at the beginning. Everytime i powered on the laptop, it would have the welcome to windows xp, 7 etc. Then it ask if i like to install windows then ask for my name and password i want. The process takes about 30-45 minutes i believe everytime i set my new computer up for use. Am i wrong with any of this or is my memory bad here? The last 2 laptops im positive of this.


    Also if you start up the laptop, and say you want to shut it down without setting up and installing, are you suppose to just power off with the power button? I dont like this because if you do this even regularly, well it will say windows did not shut off properly. I dont want this message the first time i power on the laptop as it might cause problems. Is there anything wrong here with my logic? I mean when you turn it on, first thing should be set it up as smoothly as possible right?





    I want to have the ssd replaced first then start it up right?


    Not if you have good sense.

    Because let say i do start it up, i certainly am not doing the installation right?


    [B]Sorry im confused. I thought you or someone else mentioned i should have the hard drive taken out first and then replace it with the ssd. Then power it up. If this is incorrect, then obviously i should be powering it on and following instructions to set windows up?


    When you say have i ever properly shut a computer down... well yes you press start and shut down. That is my proper definition. The wrong way is if you just hold on the power button to shut off for 5 seconds but you have to do this if your computer froze etc.



    Install what? You bought a Dell PC with Windows 10 and Windows 10 is not already installed?

    Suppose Windows 10 is NOT already installed. How in the world are you going to install it if you are unclear about how to turn a PC on and off?


    Windows 10 should be installed in this laptop right? Okay what is the process called when i power on the laptop then follow on the instructions and then click continue , type my user profile name and then get ready to use a computer. That is called setting up windows then? Or theres another name for this. That is what confuses me.


    But the thing that confuses me the most is someone had mentioned that i should replace the hard drive first before powering up the computer. If that person did not say this, then obviously i would power it on first. Does that make sense?
      My Computer


  5. Posts : 657
    Windows 10 Pro
    Thread Starter
       #45

    ignatzatsonic said:
    see comments

    paulyjames said:
    Okay so we all agree im going to bring the ssd and laptop to him and have him do everything. However, do you suggest i just delete my documents, files, pictures and other things on the ssd besides programs? I already have those backed up on my external.

    BEFORE you go the shop, you should copy all that you care about to the external.

    Personally, I would delete all of my personal info from the SSD before going to the shop. That stuff is your personal business and none of his business AT ALL. You can do what you want. If you don't care if he has access to all of your personal files, then don't delete anything.



    And the other thing is the powering up. That is what confuses me the most. Unless you want me to power up the laptop, start it up and then setup windows on the 5400rpm, how do i shut down the computer properly then since thats what shows up on the computer screen first when you are setting up the computer?

    See my earlier post. Suppose the Dell is defective and won't even start. What do you do? Suppose you don't start it up, but just take it to the shop and they can't start it up?

    If you buy a TV or a refrigerator, do you start them up to see if they work?

    I'd start it up and use it for a day or two personally. Why pay a shop to swap hard drives on a laptop that has a defective screen or a bad keyboard or a USB port that doesn't work. I'd send that back to Dell.

    What if the battery won't charge? Do you want to find that out today?

    Or would you rather find that out next week after you've paid the shop and then have to return the laptop to Dell? And then pay the shop again to put the old drive back in the laptop because you wouldn't be able to return the laptop to Dell if it did not have the original drive in it.

    You get to do what you want.


    Thanks for this info. I will delete all the personal information from my ssd hard drive first. The files that i want backed up are in my external so i am good with this.


    Yes what you say makes sense with trying it out to see if screen works, keyboard, battery etc. However, someone earlier mentioned for me to swap hard drive first before powering on the computer. This is what had me confused the most. Because if that person did not say this, then i obviously the process is okay i got the new computer. Then i power it up and start it up etc to see how it is. Then i go there with the new laptop and my ssd. But someone here mentioned swapped the hard drive first. Does that make sense?


    I will turn my laptop on in a bit but just waiting back on my last 2 posts questions. Thank you guys very much. Then i will bring the laptop either later today or early tomoorw. And one last question. How long do you think a process like this take for them to put ssd in, take old hard drive out, then finish everything where my computer starts up? I assume this probably is less than 45 minutes? Thanks.
      My Computer


  6. Posts : 12,012
    Windows 7 Home Premium SP1, 64-bit
       #46

    see comments


    paulyjames said:
    Sorry im confused. I thought you or someone else mentioned i should have the hard drive taken out first and then replace it with the ssd. Then power it up. If this is incorrect, then obviously i should be powering it on and following instructions to set windows up?

    You are confused.

    IF, I say IF, you had the knowledge, you could just replace the hard drive with the SSD and then do a clean install, at home, by yourself.


    But you don't have that knowledge.

    So you go to plan B, which is to "set windows up" to use your terminology. That's fine. You set it up on the existing hard drive and LATER worry about swapping drives.



    Windows 10 should be installed in this laptop right? Okay what is the process called when i power on the laptop then follow on the instructions and then click continue , type my user profile name and then get ready to use a computer. That is called setting up windows then? Or theres another name for this. That is what confuses me.

    Setup and configuration is a good name for it. But it is NOT installing.

    Pauly: temporarily forget about this drive swapping thing.

    Just start it up, set up and configure Windows, and use the laptop for a few days till you are satisfied everything works and it probably won't have to be returned to Dell.

    Then and only then think about the drive swap by the shop.

    At that point you have to choose between asking the shop to do a clean install to the SSD or asking them to do a clone/image onto the SSD.

    If you choose clone or image, all of the program installation and configuration you've done in the first few days will be carried over to the SSD.

    If you choose clean install, you will have to do ALL of that configuration again. Nothing wrong with that other than the time it takes. If they did a clean install, you would also give up whatever other applications Dell may have included in the deal---anti-virus, Office, or doo-dads---whatever the deal included.

    If the repair shop is completely competent and honest and I were in your shoes with your knowledge, I'd probably ask for a clone/image rather than a clean install.




      My Computer


  7. Posts : 12,012
    Windows 7 Home Premium SP1, 64-bit
       #47

    see comments

    paulyjames said:
    However, someone earlier mentioned for me to swap hard drive first before powering on the computer. This is what had me confused the most. Because if that person did not say this, then i obviously the process is okay i got the new computer. Then i power it up and start it up etc to see how it is. Then i go there with the new laptop and my ssd. But someone here mentioned swapped the hard drive first. Does that make sense?

    I'm guessing that's just confusion on your part.

    As I said in previous post, IF you had the knowledge, you COULD just swap drives and do a clean install onto the SSD at home. But you don't.


    Then i will bring the laptop either later today or early tomoorw. And one last question. How long do you think a process like this take for them to put ssd in, take old hard drive out, then finish everything where my computer starts up? I assume this probably is less than 45 minutes?

    I'd guess they'd charge you a fixed rate, depending on if you say "clean install" or "clone or image". Maybe an hour or so.

    But---I would not be in such a rush to do this. I'd use the new laptop as it is for a few days to confirm everything is OK with it. You don't want to pay the shop tomorrow and then find out on Sunday that something is wrong and you have to send it back to Dell---which would mean you'd have to hire the shop again to swap the drives back.

      My Computer


  8. Posts : 657
    Windows 10 Pro
    Thread Starter
       #48

    hi thanks for the response. Yes it should be a fixed rate but curious how long it takes.


    Yes setup and configuration is the word i should use now. Thats what i thought it was initially.


    At that point you have to choose between asking the shop to do a clean install to the SSD or asking them to do a clone/image onto the SSD.

    If you choose clone or image, all of the program installation and configuration you've done in the first few days will be carried over to the SSD.



    The 2nd method should cost more than the other right? Not thats its a big deal. I'm confused which of these do i want. I already have everything in my external hard drive that i want to transfer to the new laptop later on myself. Because didn't i already do the 2nd part already myself? I already have everything here. Is that right?


    If you choose clean install, you will have to do ALL of that configuration again. Nothing wrong with that other than the time it takes. If they did a clean install, you would also give up whatever other applications Dell may have included in the deal---anti-virus, Office, or doo-dads---whatever the deal included.

    If the repair shop is completely competent and honest and I were in your shoes with your knowledge, I'd probably ask for a clone/image rather than a clean install
    .


    If i do clean install, i have to transfer everything i want from my external to the new laptop? If so, thats fine because that was what i planned to do. The reason is b/c i transferred most of the files to external but im not going to transfer all these files to the new computer. Thus i have lot of files here in this external but probably just a bit more than 1/2 will get transferred to new laptop and i have to look through which ones. Does that make sense?


    I dont believe i get any antivirus or stuff on this laptop. I use openoffice so i dont need microsoft office. I assume this isn't a big issue? Also why does clean install remove all these things dell come with. That doesnt make sense really. Also from what you described and i already did the transferring of files from ssd to the external, shouldn't i go with clean install? A negative thing about the cloning is wouldn't i have a lot of files that i dont want in my new computer since they are cloning everything?
    Do most people clean install or clone? But no matter which method he does, when i get the laptop, it will be like a new computer. But if he did the iso/clone thing... i already know my hard drive is 232gb. Let say windows 10 take about 30gb. If i do clean install, then check my computer, it should be 30gb used and 202gb free. If i do clone... how much gb will be used?
      My Computer


  9. Posts : 12,012
    Windows 7 Home Premium SP1, 64-bit
       #49

    see comments

    paulyjames said:


    The 2nd method should cost more than the other right? Not thats its a big deal. I'm confused which of these do i want. I already have everything in my external hard drive that i want to transfer to the new laptop later on myself. Because didn't i already do the 2nd part already myself? I already have everything here. Is that right?

    Cost is something you have to ask them about.

    Yeah, you've got it about right:

    If you choose clean install, you'd have to later copy all of your personal files back from the external to the SSD. You'd have to reinstall and reconfigure everything that you did in the first few days.

    If you choose clone or image, you would not---all of that stuff would already be there--assuming all goes well. But it was still smart to make those copies onto the external as you never know what might happen.




    If i do clean install, i have to transfer everything i want from my external to the new laptop? If so, thats fine because that was what i planned to do.

    Yeah, anything that is a personal file. The clean install would include Windows ONLY. No additional applications and none of your personal files would be part of a clean install.

    The reason is b/c i transferred most of the files to external but im not going to transfer all these files to the new computer. Thus i have lot of files here in this external but probably just a bit more than 1/2 will get transferred to new laptop and i have to look through which ones. Does that make sense?

    Yeah. They are personal files unrelated to Windows. Do what you want with them. If you don't need them, then you didn't even have to copy them to the external.


    I dont believe i get any antivirus or stuff on this laptop. I use openoffice so i dont need microsoft office. I assume this isn't a big issue?

    It's up to you to know what Dell included and whether you need it or not. As far as I know OpenOffice is pretty good.


    Also why does clean install remove all these things dell come with. That doesnt make sense really.


    Why doesn't it make sense?

    A clean install means removing all partitions. Which means removing everything Dell put on there. Everything Dell included was on some partition. All you get with a clean install is Windows itself. Period.

    You better have your warranty straight with Dell. Maybe if you swap hard drives, the warranty is changed or voided entirely. I don't know.




    Also from what you described and i already did the transferring of files from ssd to the external, shouldn't i go with clean install?

    You tell me. You base your decision on what you would end up with with a clean install versus a clone. You don't end up in the same place.

    A negative thing about the cloning is wouldn't i have a lot of files that i dont want in my new computer since they are cloning everything?

    A clone would include EVERYTHING that was on the original drive as of the moment you took it into the shop. If that includes a bunch of crap then the clone would include the crap. A clone is an exact replica---100% identical, just sitting on the new drive rather than on the old drive.

    If you don't want a lot of files that would be in the clone, you could delete them BEFORE you take it to the shop. Or you could delete them from the clone after you bring it home.



    Do most people clean install or clone?

    Depends. With a clean install, all you have when you are done is Windows. You don't have Open Office, you don't have the previous programs or previous configuration. You have Windows, period. You have to then add whatever you want.

    Some people want a clean install precisely because they DON'T want the extra stuff Dell included. It's up to you to know what that extra stuff is.



    If i do clone... how much gb will be used?

    You tell me. It will be the same as it was when you walked into the shop. An exact replica.
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  10. Posts : 657
    Windows 10 Pro
    Thread Starter
       #50

    Hi thanks for the response. Wait are you telling me that clean install basically means zero bloatware? But the clone probably contain bloatware? I do not like bloatware and most computers do come with it. The dell xps looks pretty good for now.


    The clone/image thing. Let say i have a program installed in my ssd that in my old laptop called openoffice. Let say i had this program on my desktop. With the clone/image, this openoffice will appear on my desktop along with every single program that appeared on my desktop? Or it will just appear when on the start menu? Let say i have a big program that is on my desktop. Let say its 500mb of space. Same thing? Im using the dell xps now and windows 10 looks a lot different etc. But so far the laptop seems to be pretty good.


    My ssd shows about 100gb free out of 232gb after i deleted a few things so its using 132gb. So if doing clone, then my dell laptop will show the gb used similar to this plus a bit more for windows 10? If so, then 100 percent i will go clean install.
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