The Processor Dual

[ignatzatsonic]

So the only way cloning will work is like I did the SSD in my HP. Clone the existing HDD onto the SSD, then replace?

Clone? No.

Imaging? Yes. From the new PC's hard drive to the SSD.

Or just download a free and legit Windows ISO of the same version that you get on the new PC. Burn it to a DVD and install from that DVD directly to the SSD after you put it in the new PC. Activate with your new Product Key from the sticker on your new PC. That's entirely legal.

We can point you to the source for the ISO if you want to do that.

You would lose whatever crap Dell or Gateway may have put on the new PC's hard drive. Not likely you'd need any of it anyway.

If you go the ISO route, you'd have to reinstall your programs. If you image, you won't.

You can't clone because the new HD is a lot larger than the SSD. And cloning is a bit shaky anyway.

I'd do a clean install to the SSD using an ISO, but it's your call.

 

[leehop71]

So the only way cloning will work is like I did the SSD in my HP. Clone the existing HDD onto the SSD, then replace?

Clone? No.

Imaging? Yes. From the new PC's hard drive to the SSD.

Or just download a free and legit Windows ISO of the same version that you get on the new PC. Burn it to a DVD and install from that DVD. Activate with your new Product Key from the sticker on your new PC. That's entirely legal.

We can point you to the source for the ISO if you want to do that.

You would lose whatever crap Dell or Gateway may have put on the new PC's hard drive. Not likely you'd need any of it anyway.

If you go the ISO route, you'd have to reinstall your programs. If you image, you won't.

You can't clone because the new HD is a lot larger than the SSD. And cloning is a bit shaky anyway.

I'd do a clean install to the SSD using an ISO, but it's your call.

What I did on my HP was buy the Kingston and an installation kit that came with a cloning CD and a USB cable that fit right into the SSD.

I installed the CD, connected the cable, cloned the HDD to the SSD, took out the HDD, put the SSD, booted it up without issue.

 

[ignatzatsonic]

What I did on my HP was buy the Kingston and an installation kit that came with a cloning CD and a USB cable that fit right into the SSD.

I installed the CD, connected the cable, cloned the HDD to the SSD, took out the HDD, put the SSD, booted it up without issue.

You can try a clone, but your new hard drive is 1 TB and will have multiple partitions. Your SSD is much smaller. I'm not sure if your cloning software disk can take that into account.

You can try it.

If it fails, you would fall back on imaging or a clean install via ISO.

 

[leehop71]

What I did on my HP was buy the Kingston and an installation kit that came with a cloning CD and a USB cable that fit right into the SSD.

I installed the CD, connected the cable, cloned the HDD to the SSD, took out the HDD, put the SSD, booted it up without issue.

You can try a clone, but your new hard drive is 1 TB and will have multiple partitions. Your SSD is much smaller. I'm not sure if your cloning software disk can take that into account.

You can try it.

If it fails, you would fall back on imaging or a clean install via ISO.

Good point! Both drives were 120G on the HP clone.

 

[whs]

Cloning will not work. You have to image/restore.

http://www.sevenforums.com/tutorials/149969-ssd-install-transfer-operating-system.html

 

[leehop71]

Okay, since the wife only has 55G on the 120 Kingston, it looks like my best bet is to reinstall programs on the new HDD and clone to the SSD.

From the research I've done, as long the drive being cloned has less information 55G (75% recommend to be safe) then the drive being cloned to 120G, there shouldn't be any issues.

Opinions?

 

[whs]

Again you are wrong. If you clone, the SSD must be at least as big as the partitions from where you clone. If you image, it does not matter. There the size of the data matters.

 

[leehop71]

Again you are wrong. If you clone, the SSD must be at least as big as the partitions from where you clone. If you image, it does not matter. There the size of the data matters.

I can't image directly from the HDD to the SSD, correct?

 

[whs]

That is correct. You need another disk to place the image. The you restore the image(s) to the SSD from that other disk.

 

[leehop71]

That is correct. You need another disk to place the image.

With Acronis, I can image to an external, then restore to the SSD?

 

[ignatzatsonic]

Okay, since the wife only has 55G on the 120 Kingston, it looks like my best bet is to reinstall programs on the new HDD and clone to the SSD.

Your situation is complicated because you need to transfer Windows and Windows licenses as well as hard drives.

You need to make images and you need some where to store them temporarily before they are restored. An external drive is the most likely spot.

1: If you want to put the hard drive that comes with the new PC into some other PC (wife's PC I guess), you would first need to make an image of whatever operating system is now on the SSD. Save that image file temporarily.

2: Then again use imaging to make another image of the operating system that is on the new PC's hard drive.

3: Then put the SSD into the new PC and restore the image you made in step 2 to the SSD, wiping out what is now on the SSD.

4: Then put the new hard drive that came with the new PC into the older PC and restore the image you made in step 1 to that new hard drive, wiping out whatever was originally on the new hard drive.

If you do the above, the Windows license that is now on the SSD will end up on the new hard drive in the old machine. The old machine will have the same Windows it always had, just a different hard drive.

The new PC will have the new Windows license on the SSD.

How does that sound? Is that your intent?

 

[ignatzatsonic]

You could use Acronis, but Macrium Reflect Free is a sharper tool.

Do you have an external?

 

[leehop71]

Okay, since the wife only has 55G on the 120 Kingston, it looks like my best bet is to reinstall programs on the new HDD and clone to the SSD.

Your situation is complicated because you need to transfer Windows and Windows licenses as well as hard drives.

When it's all done, you need to have the Windows licen

1: If you want to put the hard drive that comes with the new PC into some other PC (wife's PC I guess), you would first need to make an image of whatever operating system is now on the SSD. Save that image file temporarily.

2: Then again use imaging to make another image of the operating system that is on the new PC's hard drive.

3: Then put the SSD into the new PC and restore the image you made in step 2 to the SSD, wiping out what is now on the SSD.

4: Then put the new hard drive that came with the new PC into the older PC and restore the image you made in step 1 to that new hard drive, wiping out whatever was originally on the new hard drive.

If you do the above, the Windows license that is now on the SSD will end up on the new hard drive in the old machine. The old machine will have the same Windows it always had, just a different hard drive.

The new PC will have the new Windows license on the SSD.

How does that sound? Is that your intent?

Way inexperienced for that. I guess I need to try a HDD same size as SSD.

I know that will work because that's what I did with the HP. Cloned the existing 120g HDD to 120g SSD.

 

[leehop71]

You could use Acronis, but Macrium Reflect Free is a sharper tool.

Do you have an external?

I do. 500G.

 

[ignatzatsonic]

You could clone what is now on the SSD to the new hard drive, but that would wipe out the operating system on the new hard drive.

You could clone what is now on the SSD to some 120 GB hard drive, but you could not then put that 120 GB hard drive into the new PC because the SSD Windows license is invalid on the new PC. That license has to stay on the old PC.

How do you propose to get the operating system on the new machine onto the (smaller) SSD?

I don't see how you can move Windows on a 1 TB drive to a smaller drive without imaging.

Unless you want to do clean installs.

 

[leehop71]

You could clone what is now on the SSD to the new hard drive, but that would wipe out the operating system on the new hard drive.

You could clone what is now on the SSD to some 120 GB hard drive, but you could not then put that 120 GB hard drive into the new PC because the SSD Windows license is invalid on the new PC. That license has to stay on the old PC.

How do you propose to get the operating system on the new machine onto the (smaller) SSD?

I don't see how you can move Windows on a 1 TB drive to a smaller drive without imaging.

Unless you want to do clean installs.

I think my only shot is to luck across a system with 120G or 160G existing hard drive, clone the HDD, as is, to the SSD, then set the SSD up?

 

[whs]

I would not use Acronis (unless you really know the program). I always recommend free Macrium.

http://www.sevenforums.com/tutorials/73828-imaging-free-macrium.html?ltr=I

 

[whs]

If you want to do it your way, that's OK. But you'll be back because it is probably not going to work.

 

[ignatzatsonic]

I think my only shot is to luck across a system with 120G or 160G existing hard drive, clone the HDD, as is, to the SSD, then set the SSD up?

I don't follow that AT ALL.

Suppose a friend has a system with a 120 GB hard drive. You buy it.

Following what you propose, you then "clone the HDD, as is, to the SSD".

And then what? The Windows license on the cloned SSD came from your friend's hard drive. You can't put that into ANY other PC and expect it to work.

Imaging is relatively simple.

You have yet to explain how cloning will in fact help you.

If you just want a 120 GB hard drive, why buy a "system"? Buy a 120 GB hard drive.

 

[leehop71]

I think my only shot is to luck across a system with 120G or 160G existing hard drive, clone the HDD, as is, to the SSD, then set the SSD up?

I don't follow that AT ALL.

Suppose a friend has a system with a 120 GB hard drive. You buy it.

Following what you propose, you then "clone the HDD, as is, to the SSD".

And then what? The Windows license on the cloned SSD came from your friend's hard drive. You can't put that into ANY other PC and expect it to work.

Imaging is relatively simple.

You have yet to explain how cloning will in fact help you.

If you just want a 120 GB hard drive, why buy a "system"? Buy a 120 GB hard drive.

I will explain this again. My wife has a 120G HDD in her HP. I went to TigerDirect.com, bought a Kingston V300 120G SSD, and a universal installation kit which comes with a cloning CD, and an adapter that plugs into the USB port on the PC, and into the SSD.
I installed the software, hooked up the adapter, from the pc to the SSD. I ran the cloning software. Unplugged the adapter, took the HDD out, put the SSD in the machine. Booted up, the SSD was exactly like HDD and I've been running it ever since.
Why couldn't I do the same thing with the new one, as long as the HDD was the same size?