So I decided to upgrade the ram from 4GB to 8GB and wanted to also add a second SSD to speed up the OS. I am working on a Gateway NV7915U laptop and am stuck trying to get my SSD up and working.
I ended up buying a used but tested/wiped Intel 120GB 510 series SSD for 50 bucks shipped. I currently have a 500GB HDD that came with the computer.
I physically installed the new SDD in the second hard drive spot, booted computer up and followed some instructions from a youtube video and was able to create a new volume under the new SSD, formatted the SSD etc. and it shows up now under my computer. I verified it was indeed working by saving a few files/programs to the SSD.
So next I wanted to just transfer the OS system only. I did a bunch of searches on Google as well as on this forum and found a few helpful posts but nothing that fits what I am trying to do. Most have only one hard drive slot so they are using an external HD and backing up stuff which is not what I was after. I downloaded Intel Data Migration Software and was going to try to just clone part of my HD (if that's even possible) but I couldn't even get passed choosing the "destination" drive. Both drives are shown and I am able to choose the "Source" drive which is the original 500GB HDD, it thinks for a bit and moves onto the "destination" drive but both drives are greyed out. What I mean by that is neither is selectable. They are shown there but greyed out. I expected the original HD would be greyed out because it was just chosen for the "source" but why is it greying out the SSD? I did searches on this and found others with the same problem and found all sorts of suggestions. Like this SSD calculator and it showed everything is correct as shown here in a screen shot so that's not the issue. Someone that had the same issue concluded that his SSD may have been reallocated too much whatever that means. So I really don't know what the deal is.
Even if I get the IDMS to work, I don't know if it will even do what I need. I cant clone everything because my 500GB drive has way more then 120GB on it. I don't have a win 7 backup disc to install win 7 on the SSD manually. If I did I would just install it on the SSD and after It was working I would delete it from my HDD. Then I have the reg key for win 7 to deal with. From what I read, its tied to the actual mother board and not the hard drive which I guess is a good thing.
So what am I doing wrong here? I just want to get the most out of this SSD without starting over and loosing all my files, music, downloads, pictures etc.
Another question that I couldn't find an exact answer to is after I get the OS squared away, do I have to re-download any programs that I have now that are running off the HDD? Or can I simply just drag&drop the program from the HDD to the SSD? Some say yes, some say no, some say its complicated with changing the registry. I wish they made a clone program that allowed the user to choose only the files they want to be cloned which would make life much easier for people doing what I am doing right now. There is a "manual" mode on the IDMS program but I haven't gotten far enough to see if it let me. Most of the threads/posts I read were back in 2012 and from what people were saying, that program only cloned the entire drive. No other options. But that may be false info as well. Its hard to know who is talking out of their ass and who actually knows what they are talking about.
I apologize for the long post, but I wanted to try and cover all bases so I didn't have questions "did you do this yet" or "did you try that" type of thing. Im sure I didn't cover everything, just what I thought was relevant.
As you can tell I am not computer savvy, like they say I know enough to get myself in trouble. I am a fast learner and can follow any instructions. I just need some guidance here. Any help or suggestions are welcome. Im willing to try just about anything at this point. LOL
Thanks for your time
Jeremy
I ended up buying a used but tested/wiped Intel 120GB 510 series SSD for 50 bucks shipped. I currently have a 500GB HDD that came with the computer.
I physically installed the new SDD in the second hard drive spot, booted computer up and followed some instructions from a youtube video and was able to create a new volume under the new SSD, formatted the SSD etc. and it shows up now under my computer. I verified it was indeed working by saving a few files/programs to the SSD.
So next I wanted to just transfer the OS system only. I did a bunch of searches on Google as well as on this forum and found a few helpful posts but nothing that fits what I am trying to do. Most have only one hard drive slot so they are using an external HD and backing up stuff which is not what I was after. I downloaded Intel Data Migration Software and was going to try to just clone part of my HD (if that's even possible) but I couldn't even get passed choosing the "destination" drive. Both drives are shown and I am able to choose the "Source" drive which is the original 500GB HDD, it thinks for a bit and moves onto the "destination" drive but both drives are greyed out. What I mean by that is neither is selectable. They are shown there but greyed out. I expected the original HD would be greyed out because it was just chosen for the "source" but why is it greying out the SSD? I did searches on this and found others with the same problem and found all sorts of suggestions. Like this SSD calculator and it showed everything is correct as shown here in a screen shot so that's not the issue. Someone that had the same issue concluded that his SSD may have been reallocated too much whatever that means. So I really don't know what the deal is.
Even if I get the IDMS to work, I don't know if it will even do what I need. I cant clone everything because my 500GB drive has way more then 120GB on it. I don't have a win 7 backup disc to install win 7 on the SSD manually. If I did I would just install it on the SSD and after It was working I would delete it from my HDD. Then I have the reg key for win 7 to deal with. From what I read, its tied to the actual mother board and not the hard drive which I guess is a good thing.
So what am I doing wrong here? I just want to get the most out of this SSD without starting over and loosing all my files, music, downloads, pictures etc.
Another question that I couldn't find an exact answer to is after I get the OS squared away, do I have to re-download any programs that I have now that are running off the HDD? Or can I simply just drag&drop the program from the HDD to the SSD? Some say yes, some say no, some say its complicated with changing the registry. I wish they made a clone program that allowed the user to choose only the files they want to be cloned which would make life much easier for people doing what I am doing right now. There is a "manual" mode on the IDMS program but I haven't gotten far enough to see if it let me. Most of the threads/posts I read were back in 2012 and from what people were saying, that program only cloned the entire drive. No other options. But that may be false info as well. Its hard to know who is talking out of their ass and who actually knows what they are talking about.
I apologize for the long post, but I wanted to try and cover all bases so I didn't have questions "did you do this yet" or "did you try that" type of thing. Im sure I didn't cover everything, just what I thought was relevant.
As you can tell I am not computer savvy, like they say I know enough to get myself in trouble. I am a fast learner and can follow any instructions. I just need some guidance here. Any help or suggestions are welcome. Im willing to try just about anything at this point. LOL
Thanks for your time
Jeremy
/www.easeus.com/backup-software/tb-free.html?ref=dc_channel
No, you cannot create a Win 7 disk until you download that image, perhaps you have a library or friend with a faster connection to get the image to make the install DVD.
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