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

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?

The top methods are discussed here in SSD - Install and Transfer the Operating System.

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 User Folders - Change Default Location or
Library - Include a Folder - 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.

gregrocker said:

The top methods are discussed here in SSD - Install and Transfer the Operating System.

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 User Folders - Change Default Location or
Library - Include a Folder - 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?

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

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 said:

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)

whs said:

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
Computer locks up during certain games, event viewer included