What do I need to put on the flash drive?

I just bought my mom a new Lenovo g50-80 4gb memory version and she loves it. She's gonna freak how fast it is when I put a Samsung Evo 500gb ssd in there! So my question is, what all on the hard drive do I need to put on the flash drive so the new ssd will have everything on there to make it run perfectly? What folders, drivers, etc. will I need to put everything I need on there. Gotta make sure most importantly Windows gets tranfered properly or I'll have to go out and buy another copy of Windows, which I really don't wanna do.

I just clone the hdd using a cheap external usb dock that comes with cloning software.

https://duckduckgo.com/?q=laptop+move+to+ssd << That link is to a search for laptop move to SSD. Many describe the procedure pretty accurately including using external Usb enclosure to do the Cloning operation and THEN use the Usb external enclosure to house the HDD removed from the Laptop.

One thing I do not see them actually mention is that there is a hidden partition on the HDD in laptop that has the files to REturn the laptop to same condition as when new. It can take 8 to 12 or so CD or some amount of DVDs to get all that partition made into a 'group' of bootable recovery disks.

More to the deal than just throwing an SSD in the laptop. So you need to read and understand what needs to be done to actually move windows to an SSD. No way myself I would move all those crappy PRE-installed programs to my SSD but that is me. So a good job takes a little study, understanding and some extra parts and pieces and a Usb flash drive is not actually needed to store anything from the Old HDD to the SSD but might be used to house a software application for the software cloning part of the process.

Just hitting the tops of what should really be considered when swapping HDD to SDD even in a new laptop.

RGone...

I was going to just do it this way. Seems alot easier and cheaper since I'd have to buy the cloaning software.

TickleMyElmo said:

I was going to just do it this way. Seems alot easier and cheaper since I'd have to buy the cloaning software.

Click to expand...

To do what that video refers to you would have to do what you said you don't want to do. I'll have to go out and buy another copy of Windows, which I really don't wanna do. That link is about Installing windows and fine if you want to buy a copy of windows O/S but if you want to get your HDD that has windows installed transferred onto the SSD and usable...well you are going to have to do it like is referred to by C_D or in one of the articles in the link I gave you above.

RGone...

Use system image under recovery in windows control panel, it will duplicate the current drive as an image. Also while your in there, make a repair disc. You can even have it write the HDD image to the new SSD with a dock or usb cable from Ebay for a couple of bucks. Then, remove her HDD, Install the SSD, throw in the repair Disc and point it to the image on the now installed SSD. It usually goes pretty smoothly.

**Also be sure to optimize what ever version of windows it is(7 or 8.*) for an SSD. There are guides but with win 7 its a bit more in depth, you want to make sure defrag and anything that will right to the SSD unnecessarily is turned off to extend the lifespan. win 8 has optimizations in place that you need to select.

I agree with RGone...STER. I wouldn't want to copy all the bloatware over there either...

That said, if you have a W8 disk, just reinstall fresh from there. The only drivers you need should come from the Lenovo website. Setting it up on a laptop is not much at all different than a desktop honestly. Its just the crapware you need to worry about not copying over.

The only optimization you need to do for W7 is to run Windows Experience Index. The guides that are out there are mostly outdated and extremely focused on excess writes which really hasn't been an issue for YEARS.

It really isn't rocket science, or science at all. Install windows and call it a day.

I don't have a Windows 8.1 disk. It came with the laptop. If I was to use RGone's way I'd have to buy the stuff 1st and that would prolly cost me 50-60 bucks, when I could just have Microsoft do all of it themselves for 69.99. Linus said in that video that Windows will let you tranfer the activation code onto the new ssd drive after you flash it all over to it. I already removed all the bloatware and there was even malware on the new laptop, got rid of that with malwarebytes. If you can point to me a link for all the stuff I would need to clone the drive for less than 50$ I might try cloning it but it seems kinda troublesome.. Something to power the ssd and something to transfer the HDD files onto the ssd. Would this work? Would it power the ssd up and the usb cord would go to my laptop? http://www.amazon.com/StarTech-com-Aluminum-Drive-Enclosure-Built/dp/B00IFZN4VE/ref=dp_ob_title_ce

People are telling me that no matter if I used a flash drive or cloned it from the HD I would still have to enter a different activation key since the key I have is associated with my old HD. So then they told me I could put Windows 10 on a flash drive and since it's in beta and still free I could bypass the activation fee and therefore have windows 10 on my ssd for free, no questions asked.

No, your CoA is mated with your motherboard.

I see a 2600K build in your sig, is that build and the laptop accessible to you at the same time? If so, here is what I would do, and actually have with great success:

1) Download a copy of System Rescue CD from here. Install it on a flash drive, or make a CD.
2) Unhook and remove all system drives from your desktop, then go into bios and set everything to default (you always want to set to default when messing with critical files, in my opinion).
3) Remove the old drive from the laptop, and install both the laptop's old drive and the new SSD into the desktop (temporarily).
4) Boot into System Rescue CD using the default options in the boot loader, and when you get a "command prompt" (access to the terminal), type in "startx" without the quotes and press enter.
5) Click on "GPartEd" in the toolbar next to where "Start" would be. This will let you see which drives are labled what.
6) Open a Terminal window, and type in "dd if=/dev/sdX of=/dev/sdY bs=512 conv=noerror,sync" without quotes, where X is the old laptop drive, and Y is the new SSD. This will take a while, you probably won't be able to see what it's doing. When it's done, the prompt in the Terminal window will return.
7) Make sure the new SSD boots in the laptop. If so, your done! If not, post back, and we'll try again.

Another try...

...This is what TuKr was referring to in his Post #6. It will work but I do not use it since I use Freeware Imaging software to Clone my drives.


What is a system image?

It almost seems we cannot get there from here.
1. Yes Win 8.1 is on the computer. Pre-installed where manufactured.

2. You have an image of the original installation stored on the current hard drive in a normally hidden partition. A location NOT a part of the windows operating system in other words.

3. If you do not Save the information in the hidden partition, then you have lost access to your Win 8.1 installation media because you do NOT have a windows installation DVD or similar.

4. I change from HDD to SSD by making images of my current Laptop "partitions' onto a Usb removable HDD. No Usb stick since the saved images are normally TOO large for a Usb stick. I suppose I could get larger Usb sticks but I have 6 or 7 External Usb drives that hold 250 or more Gigs for each one.

5. After I have 'every' partition from my laptop HDD saved to external Usb HDD, then I remove the laptop HDD and insert the SSD and put the image of the operating system from its' saved location onto the SSD.

6. There has been mentioned already that you often have an issue booting after putting an image of HDD onto the SSD and then not booting because winders has lost its' way around. This is where the repair disc that TuKr spoke of making comes into use. To repair booting issue and let winders find its' way again.

7. From the outset it seems apparent you need a location to store your images that is not dependent on the HDD that came in the laptop to begin with. At least most of us do things that way. However the method that TuKr has desribed may in fact work in a manner that I am not accustomed to using. In his method description I would still prefer a location not associated with any Laptop drive for saving even a system image to.

8. However let me make one thing pefectly clear again. If you misplace or over-write or lose that image hidden in a partition on your current Laptop HDD, then you lose your ability to RE-install the current copy of Win 8.1 that came with the laptop.

9. Did some more looking for what TuKr spoke about. How to clone HDD to SSD with Windows 7′s own software If you read that link closely he describes how to do what TuKr wrote about in his Post. That will work without other software if you tell System Image exactly how to back up and save your hidden image so you do not lose the ability to RE-install windows from image provided by the Laptop manufacturer.

Is their a maybe shorter easier method to do this HDD to SSD? Maybe but it is not cheap in my mind. Yes there maybe easier methods to move from HDD to SSD with Docks that have cloning software WITH the dock. But since things have moved to Usb 3.0 most of such tools have gone WAY UP in price. What used to be about $30.00 Usd is now selling for $70.00 Usd or MORE.

Here is one tool that says it sells for about $40.00 Usd at Amazon at one time. I prefer an external HDD enclosure myself for use of the HDD as back up drive later on but this will or should do what is necessary to Clone HDD to SDD. Kingwin EZ-Clone USB 3.0 HDD/SSD Clone Adapter Review

So one more time so it is as clear as I can type. Your laptop has a partition on it that contains an image of your laptop operating system that is PRE-installed to your laptop hard drive. It is this image on your laptop in a hidden area that allows you to boot into laptop bios and say REstore my Laptop. It will REstore every thing to just like it was on the day you opened up your laptop and started to use it. This hidden image has ALL the bloatware saved into it.

All you need is a way to save an image of O/S partition to some place besides the installed HDD (preferred) and also to save that hidden partition image for later use if it is needed. I use one of my many external HDDs to use as a save location.You may do well to purchase and use something like the Kingwin EZ-Clone for a one time deal.

RGone...

My way is free, so long as he has access to both systems, as I mentioned. And if it fails (which it shouldn't, as I said, I've used this method a few times with great success), no big deal, just try again with some settings tweaks. The biggest thing is to make sure that you have the drives strait. You don't want to clone the SSD onto the HDD (obviously).

As far as the little hidden partition, and not being able to reinstall Windows without it, that's not entirely true. You can always download the USB installer, just make sure you get the right version (*if the system came with 8, and not 8.1, make sure you get the installer for 8 to make sure that the installer will pull the key from your UEFI, and visa-versa). The pros and cons for that method would be no bloatware, but you need to install the drivers manually.

I think I'll try it your way 1st Dlaw, if that doesn't work I'll use RGone 's method. I do have a 465 gb external HDD that I could use instead of having to buy a flash drive. I could just put everything on the HDD onto my external HDD and then tranfer that to my SSD. Would that work?

Ok guys. I have my old ssd with Windows 10 on it. I want to put it on my new ssd. I've read the ways to do it above but I'm confused so if anyone is still awake and can help me I'd appreciate it.

If it is a new laptop I would not clone it. There is more that you want to leave behind rather than migrate to the SSD. I bought a Lenovo recently and it was equipped with Superfish which turned out to be a terrible security compromise. Rather than use there 'cleanup' tool I chose to install from scratch and leave all of the Lenovo crapware behind. I went with the Win10 technical preview available at the time. It has worked out well. (NB I usually run Linux but for the times when I needed to use Windows - Visual Studio/C# - Win10 was fine.)

If you need any specific driver you can install them manually. I don't recall needing any though I think I got a touchpad driver from Synaptics and video driver from nVidia.

I would upgrade on the existing drive to Win10 and then install the SSD and do a clean install of Win10. I haven't (yet) tried this personally but understand that Win10 will activate a clean install after the upgrade has been activated.

HankB said:

If you need any specific driver you can install them manually. I don't recall needing any though I think I got a touchpad driver from Synaptics and video driver from nVidia.

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And if your really adventurous you cold even make a disk with all the drivers you needed to download on it, and then if you ever need to reinstall they would be right there on the disk instead of floating out there in the great wide beyond

knoober said:

And if your really adventurous you cold even make a disk with all the drivers you needed to download on it, and then if you ever need to reinstall they would be right there on the disk instead of floating out there in the great wide beyond

Click to expand...

I keep drivers sorted by product on my network drive for this reason. I know exactly where they are and have the legacy versions if needed.
Not to mention the chance of someone going out of business or something of the sort making drivers unavailable for download.

and you sir operate at a level that I would hope to reach someday! I keep mine on CD's, kinda like the disk you get with a new piece of hardware but without the autorun

knoober said:

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and you sir operate at a level that I would hope to reach someday! I keep mine on CD's, kinda like the disk you get with a new piece of hardware but without the autorun

Click to expand...

Well, you know, that happens when you have a few extra TB