No USB to Sata cable with new SSD purchase , other ways to install.

[jonnyhillow]

Hello, i bought a SSD and to my shock it didn't come with a USB to Sata cable and the directions clearly say i need one to get my laptop to recognize the new drive before i take out the old one (a 5400 HDD that came with laptop).

The box even says for mobile and desktop PC's but the hardware is for a Desktop only . Computer is an Asus U56E running Win 7 SP1 64 bit and the new SSD is a 240 gig model .

I suppose i need to purchase a USB to sata cable to install it the right way since the directions show and instruct that is the way to do it .

I do have a system image of my entire system on an external drive and was wondering if it's possible to just take the old one out and put in the new SSD and use the system image .

Any feedback is appreciated

 

[janitoronmars]

Typically, most SSDs do not need any hardware to be installed in a laptop. If you pull your old hard drive out from your laptop you might see that it has a thin metal sleeve or something similar held in with screws, you can just use that same sleeve to install the SSD in your laptop. After you put the SSD in your laptop, I recommend doing a brand new Windows 7 or Windows 8 install, using the discs that came with your laptop. To take advantage of an SSD's speed, it is probably best to let Windows 7 or 8 properly align it during the install. I'm not sure why your instructions say that you need a USB to SATA cable. You could also simply use a 2.5 inch hard drive enclosure if you have one lying around. What brand is your SSD?

 

[jonnyhillow]

It's an Intel , i have the instructions here , it says plug your USB to sata adapter into the USB port and the other end into your new SSD and migrate your data .

After data is migrated you attach spacer to new SSD and swap the old hard drive with the new SSD , then you optimize and maintain.

I don't have install disks , i just have a win 7 ISO burned disk i made but i have a full system image on an external HD.

 

[janitoronmars]

[[TLDR: read my new post below, could be way simpler but you need to buy an enclosure]]

It does seem to me that those instructions are more applicable to a desktop machine, not a laptop. I have an SSD in my laptop and in my desktop and I did need a bracket to install the SSD into my desktop but in the case of my laptop, I just used the metal sleeve around the original hard drive and replaced it with the SSD. Do you have a desktop computer or access to one? You could hook up your new SSD to that computer to format it. I always recommend a clean install of Windows 7 followed by a reinstall of your programs and moving your old data over manually, just because that to my mind eliminates any issues you might have been having and gives you a clean slate since Windows tends to get gunked up over as programs are installed and uninstalled. But if you want to just recreate it from an image, here is what I would do (I am going a bit off memory so feel free to ask questions and make sure you have a backup of everything):

Prep:

Intel makes a migration imaging utility that may have come on a CD with your SSD or you can download it too. You can use this utility to create a new image of your current hard drive. If I remember correctly, you can also use this utility (which basically is a version of Acronis True Image that is locked to only be used with Intel SSDs) to create a bootable CD that you can then use to boot into your computer to create an image of your current hard drive. So go ahead and look for that and explore it. Make an image of your current hard drive and store it on an external hard drive and leave the burned bootable CD in the DVD drive of your laptop. Then:

• Shut down your laptop
• Remove old hard drive from your laptop (look on Youtube or Google for your specific model as to how to do this)
• Replace with your new SSD
• Make sure your external hard drive is plugged into a USB port on your laptop
• Reboot your computer, and it should boot from your CD. If it doesn't, try again and press F8 or F10 or F12 (depends on your BIOS) to get to a boot menu which will allow you to choose to boot from the CD.
• The CD should launch the Intel Migration Utility, follow the prompts to pick your old hard drive's image and copy it over to the new Intel SSD. (It's been a while since I last used this on my old Intel SSD, but read the install guide in the links below.)

After all this, your computer should boot off your new SSD. You might have to activate Windows again and if it doesn't work automatically, you might have to use phone activation.


Here's some links with more information, good luck!


https://downloadcenter.intel.com/Detail_Desc.aspx?DwnldID=19324


How to disassemble Asus U56E >> Inside my laptop

 

[janitoronmars]

And hey, if you want things to be really simple, get yourself a cheap external hard drive enclosure (Amazon.com: Sabrent Ultra Slim USB 2.0 to 2.5-Inch SATA External Aluminum Hard Drive Enclosure [Black] (EC-UK25): Computers & Accessories) put your SSD into it, plug it into a USB port on your laptop and follow the rest of the instructions that came with your SSD. After the migration is done, take out the old hard drive, put in the new SSD and reboot and you're done!

 

[jonnyhillow]

I do have access to a desktop computer but i think buying the enclosure sounds like an even better idea , i assume i won't need to buy a USB to Sata cable if i just buy the enclosure.

 

[jonnyhillow]

[[TLDR: read my new post below, could be way simpler but you need to buy an enclosure]]

It does seem to me that those instructions are more applicable to a desktop machine, not a laptop. I have an SSD in my laptop and in my desktop and I did need a bracket to install the SSD into my desktop but in the case of my laptop, I just used the metal sleeve around the original hard drive and replaced it with the SSD. Do you have a desktop computer or access to one? You could hook up your new SSD to that computer to format it. I always recommend a clean install of Windows 7 followed by a reinstall of your programs and moving your old data over manually, just because that to my mind eliminates any issues you might have been having and gives you a clean slate since Windows tends to get gunked up over as programs are installed and uninstalled. But if you want to just recreate it from an image, here is what I would do (I am going a bit off memory so feel free to ask questions and make sure you have a backup of everything):

Prep:

Intel makes a migration imaging utility that may have come on a CD with your SSD or you can download it too. You can use this utility to create a new image of your current hard drive. If I remember correctly, you can also use this utility (which basically is a version of Acronis True Image that is locked to only be used with Intel SSDs) to create a bootable CD that you can then use to boot into your computer to create an image of your current hard drive. So go ahead and look for that and explore it. Make an image of your current hard drive and store it on an external hard drive and leave the burned bootable CD in the DVD drive of your laptop. Then:

• Shut down your laptop
• Remove old hard drive from your laptop (look on Youtube or Google for your specific model as to how to do this)
• Replace with your new SSD
• Make sure your external hard drive is plugged into a USB port on your laptop
• Reboot your computer, and it should boot from your CD. If it doesn't, try again and press F8 or F10 or F12 (depends on your BIOS) to get to a boot menu which will allow you to choose to boot from the CD.
• The CD should launch the Intel Migration Utility, follow the prompts to pick your old hard drive's image and copy it over to the new Intel SSD. (It's been a while since I last used this on my old Intel SSD, but read the install guide in the links below.)

After all this, your computer should boot off your new SSD. You might have to activate Windows again and if it doesn't work automatically, you might have to use phone activation.


Here's some links with more information, good luck!


https://downloadcenter.intel.com/Detail_Desc.aspx?DwnldID=19324


How to disassemble Asus U56E >> Inside my laptop

I formatted and re installed only a few days ago and have very little programs i add . I also made a bootable CD from Intel's website but your recommending i make another system image from Intel's utlity ?

 

[janitoronmars]

I do have access to a desktop computer but i think buying the enclosure sounds like an even better idea , i assume i won't need to buy a USB to Sata cable if i just buy the enclosure.

Yes, basically, the enclosure will be just like a USB to SATA cable. And after your SSD is in your laptop, you can put the old hard drive into the enclosure to use for backup or whatever, so you'll have a portable external hard drive to use too.

I formatted and re installed only a few days ago and have very little programs i add . I also made a bootable CD from Intel's website but your recommending i make another system image from Intel's utlity ?

If you don't have a lot to rebuild, I'd just start fresh and do another Windows install. But if you do want to use an image, just to make sure the migration utility can use it, I would make it using that utility. What did you use to make the old image? If you think the Intel migration utility/CD can use that image, then it should be fine too. Either way, it looks like you could go in a few directions with this but should have no issues.

 

[jonnyhillow]

My only real concern is that if there are any real negatives i will experience not following the exact directions that came with the device .

It seems i need to align the SSD and go through Intels toolbox and optimize etc.. I just read about people having issues with SSD's not being recognized etc... when they install it outside of how the directions say to do it.

Is the only benefit of installing it via the USB to Sata way the ease of how fast you can transfer data or is there other benefits?

Really appreciate the assistance by the way.

By starting fresh you mean installing Win 7 SP1 from the ISO image i have and going through downloading 170+ updates and all the time it takes ?

 

[whs]

I would do the following - note that the SSD has to be aligned before use.

1. Replace the HDD with the SSD

2. Use command prompt from any Windows installation or recovery disc and define an aligned primary active partition on the SSD. The commands are:

Diskpart
List disk
Select disk n (where n is the number that was given for your SSD in List disk)
Clean
Create partition primary align=1024
Format fs=ntfs quick
Active
Exit

3. Restore the image you have into that partition.

The procedure that Intel gives you is a full OS migration scenario. But since you have an image, you can do the above just as well.

 

[janitoronmars]

I think you'll be fine! At worst, you'll find that you have to put your old hard drive back into the laptop if the SSD isn't working out for some reason. The alignment thing is why I recommended a clean Windows install, by the way, which is how I've always done it when installing an SSD. I've never done a straight clone migration just because I like that clean slate start and that way I know I am maximizing the performance gain from the SSD. I've done, let's see, an SSD Windows 7 install on an old Intel hard drive, SSD Windows 7 install with GPT formatting on a brand new Samsung SSD, two OS X Lion installs on Samsung SSDs and an Ubuntu install on that same old Intel SSD. Typically, I treat SSDs just like any other hard drive but it is important afterwards to run the software that came with the SSDs to optimize it for best performance and make sure SSD-specific stuff like TRIM is on and functioning.

I'd say dive in and report back if you have issues. Good luck.

 

[jonnyhillow]

Thanks a lot janitoronmars and WHS (by the way have you considered a "mens room attendant " position instead of custodian ?

I have found that saying your a "mens room attendant" always impresses that special lady friend while custodian sometimes makes them think your a loser .

Will report back if i have issues

 

[jonnyhillow]

Well i followed the commands WHS mentioned and all completed successfully but the new SSD is still not recognized. The SSD is showing it's disk is zero and it said the disk 0 is now formatted and the primary patition.

It also said it's active but when i went to restore there was no disk found.

 

[whs]

What program did you use to make the image.

 

[jonnyhillow]

I used the Win 7 built in program, it always has worked fine and is always recognized so i'm not sure why it's not here.

Can i install a fresh version of win 7 with my win 7 sp1 image that i burned to disk using a microsoft ISO image? I have no issues of the SSD showing in bios or anything.

I can also make an image now with Macrium and put it on the external hard drive and try again.

 

[janitoronmars]

So you are saying you tried to restore the Windows created image using the Intel utility and it didn't take?

 

[jonnyhillow]

So you are saying you tried to restore the Windows created image using the Intel utility and it didn't take?

I followed the command prompts that WHS posted and when all was completed i hooked up my external drive to the computer and tried to install a system image that i had made with Win 7 system image maker a few days ago .

When advanced options screen and command prompt came up i went with the system image and it was not recognized.

I followed this exact as described:

. Replace the HDD with the SSD

2. Use command prompt from any Windows installation or recovery disc and define an aligned primary active partition on the SSD. The commands are:

Diskpart
List disk
Select disk n (where n is the number that was given for your SSD in List disk)
Clean
Create partition primary align=1024
Format fs=ntfs quick
Active
Exit

3. Restore the image you have into that partition.

 

[janitoronmars]

Did you shut down the computer before hooking up the external hard drive? Does the program see the backup image at all or does it fail after starting the process? Maybe shut down the PC, plug in the hard drive, reboot and see if it gets recognized that way. I still don't understand how you tried to restore the image, but this may be beyond my knowledge because I've only used the Intel utility itself to restore an image.

WHS, what do you think, any suggestions?

 

[jonnyhillow]

Did you shut down the computer before hooking up the external hard drive? Does the program see the backup image at all or does it fail after starting the process? Maybe shut down the PC, plug in the hard drive, reboot and see if it gets recognized that way. I still don't understand how you tried to restore the image, but this may be beyond my knowledge because I've only used the Intel utility itself to restore an image.

WHS, what do you think, any suggestions?

Windows found the external hard drive like it always has. Thats not the problem , the problem is when i chose what image to restore and clicked to start the process thats when it can't find the image.

I used a system repair disk to get into windows since the new SSD was installed but had nothing on it .

 

[whs]

The Windows imaging has it's quirks. I would try Macrium. You can burn the Macrium WinPE CD with the iso on my Onedrive. Just download and burn it to CD. With that CD you can both image the system and recover. If you have the 100MB system partition, you have to image/recover that too. That partition is needed for booting.

If you want to deal only with C, you can copy the bootmgr to C before you mahe the image of C.

http://www.sevenforums.com/tutorials/209885-bootmgr-move-c-easybcd.html