Obviously, in order to upgrade to an SSD, you'll need to, well, buy an SSD. We have some recommendations, but if you're on a budget, we have a separate list of cheap SSDs as well. Make sure to buy the right form factor for your computer (some laptops will use 2.5-inch drives, while others might use M.2 or mSATA drives), and get one big enough to fit all your data. If you have a 500GB hard drive now, you should probably spring for a similarly sized SSD (or larger, to accommodate future data). The only exception is if you're on a desktop computer and have room for multiple hard drives. In that case, you could store Windows and your programs on the SSD while putting your music, movies, and other media on a second, larger hard disk-though this can be a bit more complicated, as we'll discuss below. Orico Hard Drive Docking Stationĭuring this process, you'll need both your SSD and your old hard drive connected to your computer at the same time. (Again, desktop users may not need this if they have room for two drives inside their PC-you can just install it internally alongside your old hard drive.) If you're using a laptop with only one hard drive slot, that means you'll need an external adapter, dock, or enclosure that can connect your bare SSD to your computer over USB. There are many different drive-cloning tools on the market, and unfortunately there's no free, one-size-fits-all option. If your drive manufacturer offers a migration program, that might be your best bet. For example, if you bought a Samsung SSD, we recommend downloading Samsung Data Migration and following the instructions in the user guide. Western Digital and SanDisk users can use WD's version of Acronis True Image to copy their data using these instructions.įor this guide, we'll be using Macrium Reflect-it's a free drive-cloning tool that works with any brand of hard drive and SSD. Just download the installer for the free home version and run through the wizard to get it up and running on your PC. It's available to anyone, no matter what brand drive you have, so if your drive manufacturer doesn't offer a migration tool, Macrium Reflect is your next best bet. Once you've gathered your necessities, it's time to get started.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |