A newer version of this article is over here: Head over here for an updated version of how to migrate your system from an HDD to an SSD.
The Great SSD Migration
As we have detailed in our Great High-end SSD Shootout, there has never been a better time to go out there and get an SSD. There’s a great variety to choose from and prices are at all time lows. Of course the likelihood of it getting cheaper is certainly possible looking at recent trends, but the point is that prices are now more reasonable for the performance gained and the storage size offered that you can seriously consider upgrading without being overly concerned of the cost. For many years now, we've preached that in terms of system upgrades, nothing offers as appreciable and as noticeable a boost in performance than upgrading your storage component - especially when it's swapping out an old mechanical hard disk for an SSD. We’ve seen this in our review of the Western Digital VelociRaptor that despite being the one of the fastest mechanical hard disks in the market, it was simply no match for a typical SSD.
Prices of SSDs have never been lower and there's a wide variety of drives to choose from.
For those who are still sitting on the fence, maybe you are daunted by the prospects of having to re-install your OS and applications on your new SSD. Well, don’t be. Because in this special feature, we’ll show you how you can migrate your entire OS and applications to your new SSD, so that you won’t have to go through the hassle of re-installing your OS and applications.
Picking a Size
Generally, SSDs come in a number of capacity points - usually 64GB, 128GB, 180GB, 256GB and 512GB. Ideally, what you want is an SSD that can accommodate both your OS installation and your apps. This will ensure the best performance boost. However, if you have too many apps, what we recommend is that you keep only your most frequently used apps on the SSDs. For users who want the most fuss-free migration process, our recommendation is to get an SSD that has a bigger capacity than your existing drive.
Windows Setup
If you have a desktop system, simply install your new SSD to any unused hard drive bay. For notebook users, who might want to invest in a hard disk enclosure to house your SSD while it clones crucial system files from your existing hard disk. For the actual cloning procedure, we recommend using the free to download EaseUS Partition Master and that's what we'll be using shortly to commence the process. But before that, there are a couple of preparatory matters to look into first:-
Preparatory Work
Before you clone your hard disk, the first thing we recommend doing is to defragment your current hard disk. Additionally, it’s also a good idea to backup all your data to another hard disk in case anything goes wrong.
After defragmentation, you will need to align your SSD. This step is necessary because traditional mechanical hard disks and SSDs store their data differently. Mechanical hard disks typically start the first partition after 63 blocks, while SSDs require 64 blocks of data for optimal performance.
To ensure they are aligned properly, we will use DISKPART. To ensure this is done properly, we need to open a command prompt with elevated privileges. To do so, hit the Windows button (assuming you're using Windows 7 or Windows XP), navigate to "Accessories" and right-click on "Command Prompt" and check the field that says "Run as Administrator".
Take extra caution when specifying the drive to align (your new SSD), else you might end up aligning the wrong drive and risk losing your data. If you've several drives in your sysyem, we suggest disconnecting all non-boot drives (apart from your new SSD) to prevent any 'accidents'.
Open command prompt and type in the following commands, in the following order. Be careful, especially when specifying which disk to align.
- Diskpart (this runs the DISKPART utility)
- List Disk (this lists the drives recognized your system)
- Select disk n (where n is your SSD’s drive number as provided for by the previous command)
- Create partition primary align = 1024 (this aligns the SSD)
- Active (this marks the drive as active)
- Exit
When you are completed, the command prompt screen should look like this.
Now your SSD is properly aligned.
Windows Setup (condt...)
Cloning Your Hard Disk (if your SSD is larger or the same capacity as your existing HDD)
Once your SSD is aligned, launch EaseUS Partition Master and select your existing hard disk. If you have more than one partition on your existing hard drive, select the partition that contains your Windows installation.
When selecting the drive to clone, be sure to click on the line that begins with "Disk" and not the letter of the drive itself unless you wish to clone only that particular partition.
Next, on left sidebar, select "Copy Disk" and EaseUS Partition Master will begin check the drive for errors. After which it will prompt you for your destination drive. Choose your SSD as the destination and begin the cloning process.
After selecting "Copy Disk", the software will check your drive for errors.
When prompted for your destination disk, select your SSD.
Depending on your system and the number of files you have, the cloning process can take anywhere from a couple of minutes to hours. When the cloning process is complete, reboot your system, enter BIOS and set your SSD as the first boot device
Cloning Your Hard Disk (if your SSD has a smaller capacity than your existing HDD)
If your new SSD has less storage space than your existing HDD, you will need to do some house-cleaning first. We recommend copying your personal files from your User directory (My Documents, My Music, My Pictures etc.) to another hard disk or a portable hard disk first. Then, delete only the contents from the original folder but leave the original folders as it is for restoration later. This is of course assuming if you have adhered to the standard saving location for user-created files.
If you still find yourself lacking enough storage space on your SSD, what we recommend doing is uninstalling applications that you hardly use and reinstalling them on your old hard drive later after the cloning process. Obviously, this is not the most ideal solution, hence we strongly advise you to carefully consider the capacity of the SSD you are buying.
You can trim your hard drive down by going to your User directory and copying contents of the folders to another hard disk or a portable hard disk.
Once you have done so, follow the steps described in the first part above to clone your hard drive. After the cloning process is done, you will need to restore your user files. To restore your user files, simply go to your old hard drive and copy the files from your old User folders to the new one. Alternatively, you can also remap them to your old hard drive.
Right-click on the folders in your new User directory that you want to remap, click on Properties and then the location tab. You will be greeted with this screen where you can remap the folder to the one in your old hard drive.
To do this, right-click on each of them and click on "Properties" and then the "Location" tab. Then click on "Find Target..." at the bottom right and find the corresponding folder in your old hard drive. Remap of them and you’re done.
Take note that the remapping process is only applicable if you intend to keep your old drive along with your newly installed SSD. One downside is that if the old drive decides to 'retire', your precious data created will be at risk - unless of course you've an external back drive which is set to archive your files periodically.
Mac OS X Setup
Apple is usually very strict on user upgrades. For example, the iMac and MacBook Air both have hard disks that are not intended for users to upgrade on their own. Things are more relaxed with the MacBook Pro as they allow users to upgrade both the memory and hard disk.
Migrating your system installation is considerably easier on a Mac as there’s less preparatory work and it’s also easier to get everything reconfigured and sorted out once the SSD is successfully cloned.
Preparatory Work
Apart from your SSD, you should ideally also have an external hard drive enclosure. This enclosure will house the SSD as you prepare to clone your existing hard drive. The next thing you need is a hard disk cloning utility and we recommend using the very excellent (and free) SuperDuper! cloning utility. Before you begin the cloning process, it's a good idea to use Time Machine to create a backup in case anything goes wrong.
SuperDuper! is a free to download basic cloning utility that will be good enough for our needs.
Cloning Your Hard Disk (if your SSD is larger or the same capacity as your existing HDD)
SuperDuper! is a cloning utility that will make a carbon copy of your source drive. Right at the top of the app, next to the "Copy" drop-down list, select your existing hard drive; and next to the "To" drop-down list, select the SSD you want to clone your hard drive to. If your new SSD is of the same capacity or larger than your existing hard drive, simply choose "Backup - all files". This will create a carbon copy of your hard drive on your new SSD which you can boot from later.
If your new SSD is larger or of the same capacity as your existing hard drive, select Backup - all files and let the app do its thing.
Depending on the number of apps you have and the speed of your drive, it can take anywhere from around 30 minutes to hours.
Cloning Your Hard Disk (if your SSD has less capacity than your existing HDD)
However, if your SSD is of a smaller capacity than your existing hard drive, then you’ll want to leave out your Home folder from your source drive. By default, the Home folder stores all your files such as documents and music that are not essential to making your SSD bootable.
To leave out your Home folder, follow these steps:
1. Create a new "Copy Script" under the "using" drop-down list. You will be prompted for a Description - call it anything you like. Next click on the "Script Commands" tab above.
Give it a description and then click on the "Script Commands" tab.
2. Now, in the bottom left hand corner is a menu of your folders. Scroll until you find "Users".
Scroll until you find the folder "Users". Inside you will find your user files, such as documents and music, which are not required to make your SSD bootable.
3. Click on it, and in the column to the right you will see its contents. Double-click on your Home folder. In this case, mine’s labeled "Kenny". You will now see an entry in the list above. Under "Command" select "Ignore". Click on "Close" in the bottom right hand corner. You will be prompted to save this script. Click "Save" and give the script a name.
Doing this will leave out your Home folder from the cloning process.
4. You will now be directed back to the main menu. You should now see the script that you’ve just created in the "using" drop-down list. It will appear under "Custom Scripts". Select that and begin the cloning process.
You should now see the new Copy Script that you have created in the drop-down list.
Alternatively, if you don’t mind not having your documents and music copied over to your new SDD. You can navigate to the specific folders where you keep them and omit them using the steps shown above.
Depending on the number of applications you have, the process can take anywhere from 30 minutes to hours. Once the cloning is done, you may physically remove your old hard disk from your Macbook Pro and install the new SSD.
Mac OS X Setup (cont...)
Finishing Touches
After doing so, your Macbook Pro should now boot using the new SSD. If you have earlier chose to back up everything, then your entire system should be cloned on to your SSD and everything should run fine. However, if you have left your Home folder out of the cloning process, you might find that a lot of your app settings are missing.
To rectify this, head into "System Preferences" and click on the "Users and Groups" pane. Click on the lock in the bottom left corner to unlock your account to make changes. Right click on your account and select "Advanced Options...".
Right-click on your account and access "Advanced Options..." to reconfigure your Home folders.
Under the "Home Directory" field, select "Choose..." and navigate to the Home folder that's on your old drive. Log out and log back in. This should restore your app settings. It will also direct the OS to use your old hard drive for your User files such as documents, music and videos. Of course, this is assuming you will be using your old hard disk alongside your new SSD - since your SSD doesn’t have enough capacity to accommodate all your files in your old hard disk.
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