Will Acronis work on SSD?

[Rockrz]

I've used Acronis for for years (it ain't never failed me yet!) to capture the state of my system for restoration purposes...

Just curious... if I were to install an SSD for my C Drive, can I simply pop in my Acronis recovery CD and restore the system image like I would if I were replacing the C Drive with a standard hard drive?

Or, would have have no choice but to do a clean OS install (Win 7 64bit)?

Somebody told me SSD provides a nice increase in performance... but, I don't wanna do a clean install.

 

[Rockrz]

OR, would it be better to go ahead and install the SSD as a spare drive and and install Windows fresh while I'm still using my original C Drive to work from each day.

I'm thinking I could go to boot order when starting the machine and tell it which drive to boot from... I could temporarily remove my original C Drive, install the SSD long enough to install Windows fresh... then put my original C Drive back in place and boot to the SSD to finish setting up my programs and getting it all how I like it while still being able to work from my original C Drive for daily work (my PC is for work)

 

[stormy13]

Just curious... if I were to install an SSD for my C Drive, can I simply pop in my Acronis recovery CD and restore the system image like I would if I were replacing the C Drive with a standard hard drive?

That is exactly what I did when I got my SSD, only difference is I used Macrium Reflect.

About the only way it should cause a problem is if your current C drive/partition is larger than the SSD. In my case my C was 80 GB and the SSD is 120 GB., so I just went into Disk Management and added the unallocated space and the whole 120 GB was useable.

 

[Wishmaster]

So long as you are using Acronis 2010 or newer, there should be no issues.
Older versions may be problematic.


Ideally, a fresh install directly to the SSD would be best. But imaging your current drive will work too.
And no, you dont really want to use the SSD as a secondary drive. You want the OS and porgrams on it as thats where all the performance gain is. Unless, its a second SSD used for games or something along that line.

But for a single SSD system, it certainly should be the primary drive with Windows running from it.

 

[hoonose]

I added SSD's to a few PC's recently as C:\ drives. Backed them both up to the larger conventional D:\ drives with Acronis 2010, and they all work fine. They both restore from the Acronis Boot CD. But I would be aware that both have some long delays on booting up. And an especially long delay after hitting 'browse' for the backup files. So be very patient. As I recall both SSD installs were just image files, no fresh installs. I also had to do in addition, make the switch over to AHCI from IDE. The post-install conversion with Windows XP I Googled from somewhere. And I did a Paragon Alignment, again on the Internet somewhere. But that one didn't really do much as far as performance.

 

[Rockrz]

No, I was thinking about temporarily setting up the SSD as the main C drive, just long enough to load Win 7 Pro 64bit.... then, since I need to work daily, I could set the SSD up and one of the add on drives (my sata drive would go back to being the main C drive) so I could boot from it in order to load all my sofware as I have time to work on it.

If it's going to make a difference to fresh install.

If Acronis can handle it, then that's be the way to go cause who has a few hours to sit around loading everything all over again and going through all those settings to get everything just how you like it?

That's why I use Acronis in the first place... barring mobo failure, I'll never need to re-install all that stuff.

I'm probably going to wait a while to see what improvements are going to be accomplished on SSD as they continue to make them more reliable and longer lasting.

 

[A Guy]

I personally used the Paragon Migrate OS to SSD, but as far as reliable and longer lasting. Look at data already written, and expected life.



Go for it

A Guy

 

[Rockrz]

I suppose I could always keep a spare sata drive around for backup since my Acronis can easily put the image back there if the SSD gave me any problems.

OK, so if I were to seriously entertain the idea... which
SSD is considered to be the best in terms of quality?

 

[Rockrz]

And... all the top rated SSDs on Amazon are 2.5 form factor....
Whaddya do, buy one of those 3.5 enclosures to put it in?

 

[ignatzatsonic]

And... all the top rated SSDs on Amazon are 2.5 form factor....
Whaddya do, buy one of those 3.5 enclosures to put it in?

Top rated would be Samsung 830 model, Intel, Crucial, and possibly a Kingston HyperX.

You can buy an adapter to mount the SSD in a standard bay---or you can just tape it down anywhere you want. That's what I did when I first bought one, without any problems. They don't weigh any more than a pack of cigarettes and have no moving parts, so they aren't likely to move if taped and not likely to be damaged if they do move.

 

[A Guy]

My Intel came with the adapter. I suspect many do? A Guy

 

[Rockrz]

or you can just tape it down anywhere you want.

Duck tape? Or, would Goose tape work too?

Man, that's funny... I can't imagine anybody using
tape in their computer, cept maybe a redneck!

 

[whs]

I use self adhesive Velcro dots. They work well. An inch of Velcro tape in the bay and on the SSD will do the same.

 

[Wishmaster]

Ive done the Velcro trick as well. It does indeed work very well.

Just look closely at what you're getting though. For example, the Intel drives my have 2 different versions. One will be like $5-$10 more, and its skew will end with a K or K5.
Its the exact same SSD, but the K5s have the kits including an adaptor.

Another option, is buy a barebones SSD (just the SSD) and pick up an adaptor.
You can pick up some at New Egg for less than $5. Although I have a couple of the Aluminum ones I got with both Intel drives, I ended up picking up a plastic adaptor that holds 2 SSDs. It was less than $5, and holds both my Intel SSDs in the same enclosure.

I mounted them it one of extra CD/DVD drive bays. About the size of a typical HD, but holding 2 SSDs.



You have a few options, but as mentioned, you can get by without the little adaptors. Velcro does wonders.

 

[ignatzatsonic]

Duck tape? Or, would Goose tape work too?

Man, that's funny... I can't imagine anybody using
tape in their computer, cept maybe a redneck!

Matter of fact, I think I did use duct tape.

And I don't mind telling you that my neck is increasingly red---a little more each day.

I've also heard of people using nothing at all, just let the drive sit in a bay, hanging off the cables. I wouldn't do that personally, but it would work if the case isn't moved around a lot . The drives are very light weight.

 

[Rockrz]

Matter of fact, I think I did use duct tape.


And I don't mind telling you that my neck is increasingly red---a little more each day.

Well, tell bubba and them I said howdy... and to look me up on Spitter sometime!

I'll look around and see if I can find an SSD adapter, but ya'll lemma know if ya'll knows
of a good place to pick one of these fellers up at now ya hear?

Top rated would be Samsung 830 model

I see they have a Samsung 840 model out now... is that one supposed to be better?

I see they have this in 250gig on Amazon at
http://www.amazon.com/Samsung-Elect...nch-MZ-7TD250BW/dp/B009NHAEXE/ref=pd_sim_pc_6

And, what's the different between the one linked above and the Pro Series at
http://www.amazon.com/Samsung-Elect..._gb-MZ-7PD256BW/dp/B009NB8WRU/ref=pd_sim_pc_3

Does this drive automatically have some proprietary Samsung software already on it? I ask because the description says "Worry-free data security with AES 256-bit full-disk encryption"

I'd rather not have that as I'm not sold on the safety of encryption as it could potentially corrupt yo data. On the other hand, I never save data to C Drive anyway, just curious what comes preloaded on the drive from the manufacturer.

And, any word on how the Western Digital SiliconEdge SSD stacks up to the Samsung units linked above? WD was supposed to have been the first of the hard drive manufacturers to embrace SSD technology









.

 

[Rockrz]

OK, I just ordered the Samsung Electronics 840 Pro Series 2.5-Inch 256 SATA_6_0_gb Solid State Drive MZ-7PD256BW

I hear the Pro series is the best SSD on the market right now.

So, when it gets here I can simply use my Acronis to install my current Win 7 OS image, right?
Just like I would do if I were replacing my existing HD drive a standard HD?

And, once installed... how long do you think this SSD drive will last?
I use my PC for business so I guess I'll always have a standard drive around to install if needed.

And... will my Win 7 OS automatically manage TRIM for this drive which is supposed to extend it's lifespan?

 

[DavidE]

I used the Geeky way in this tutorial by whs and had no problems transferring the OS partition to the SSD using an Acronis Image.

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

 

[Rockrz]

OK, someone earlier in the thread stated that that didn't do anything different using Acronis than they would have if they had been installing a standard replacement hard drive and it works fine as long as you are using Acronis 10 or later.

So, I guess that's what I'm doing to do... put the recovery disc in my CD-Rom drive, shut down the system, install the SSD, boot up in to the Acronis recovery console and restore the image of my OS that is on a second drive that is in my tower.

I suppose I'll find out if this works...

And, is enabling AHCI a requirement?
http://www.sevenforums.com/tutorials/61869-ahci-enable-windows-7-vista.html?filter

 

[whs]

1. You can deal with Acronis the same way as on a HDD - no difference.

2. Trim is automatic

3. The SSD will last longer than you will care to keep it. One of my 4 year old SSDs has a life expetency until 2021. It will probably survive me, lol.