How to Speed up your Computer Exponentially for Minimal Cost with SSD Upgrade

Oftentimes we find ourselves working with a computer or laptop that seems to be not responsive or just sluggish. Of course there are many variables, but under the right conditions you can make your computer snappier than ever with not that much effort. There are multiple ways to upgrade your computer but by far, the most noticeable change comes when swapping out a system drive that runs on a spinning Hard Disk Drive (HDD) for a Digital Solid State Drive (SSD).

Confirm your system would benefit

The first step to determine whether your computer could benefit from putting in an SSD is to confirm that your computer actually is running on a HDD. The easiest way to check on a Windows computer is to search in your search box for the term ” Defragment and Optimize Drives”. That box will provide the “Media Type” Solid state drive or Hard disk drive. In the below example we can see both types of disks in the same computer. In practice, the main benefit would be if the C: drive was a Hard disk drive whereas in this example the system is already running off of a Solid State Drive.

Clone Or Clean Install

The next step is to decide whether to clone or to clean install Windows. Cloning a disk refers to a sector by sector copy from one disk to another. This process does not copy files and has no awareness of the operating system or any data contained on the disks. Typically, the target (destination disk) needs to be the same size or larger than the source (original) disk. The benefit of this method is that it keeps all your files, programs and settings exactly where they were. There are some downsides to this method, however.

A) It’s not clean. Sometimes, it’s better to start fresh. If your system is bogged down by years of downloads, apps and bloatware, now would be the perfect time to start fresh.

B) Size. For cloning to work best, the new drive needs to have the same capacity as your existing drive. The typical Hard drive that ships with a computer is 1 TB or 500 GB. SSD prices vary depending on size, so unless you are storing years’ worth of pictures or videos you may only be using 100 GB or less and a 250 GB SSD will be more than enough for you.

C) HD Health. Cloning a drive from a disk with health issues can cause file system corruption on the target, so you need to ensure that the source drive is healthy. I will be writing another post on methods to check hard drive health.

Cloning should only be chosen for situations where it will be impossible or very difficult to find your program installation files and\or licensing information. Otherwise, it is much more preferred to do a clean install. This post will focus on this second method. I will write a separate post on cloning.

Prerequisite Tools

Before you begin, you will need to make sure that you have the following

Screwdriver – For a laptop you will need a Phillips screwdriver with a small head, but for a computer, a regular Phillips will suffice

Sata to USB – In order to transfer the information from one your HDD to your SSD, you will need either a hard rive dock, Sata to USB adapter or a Hard Drive enclosure. These are all inexpensive and can be easily found on Amazon

Windows Install Media – Windows install media can be created for free on any running Windows 10 or Windows 11 computer on a Flash drive that is 8 GB or larger. See this post on the steps to do so.

Replace Hard Drive with SSD

The first step is to determine how much storage you need to purchase. Typically, a 250 GB SSD should be enough, but if you are using more than 125 GB then you should scale up to the next level. A good rule of thumb is to leave yourself at least %50 room for scalability.

The next step is to gain access to the Hard Drive and identify it. Computers are fairly straightforward, but laptops can be a bit more difficult. Some laptops, on the other hand have a panel to provide access to the hard drive. Here is a sample laptop with the back removed. Look for a youtube guide for your model computer.

Remove the hard drive and replace it with the SSD that you purchased. It is usually held in by just a few screws. Then close up the computer.

Install Windows

Plug your Windows Media into your computer and then power on the computer. There is a special Key combination to enter the boot menu so that you can boot from the USB drive. Each manufacturer is different, but here are some common ones.

Dell Tap F12 repeatedly while you power on the computer until a blue line shows up under the Dell symbol

HP Tap F9 repeatedly while powering on the computer until you reach the boot menu.

Acer F12, but it is disabled by default. You can enable it in the BIOS by tapping F2.

Lenovo F12 or enter or escape. Typically, there is a message when powering on the computer about which button to push.

Asus Tap F2 to enter the BIOS and then choose your boot device in the temporary Boot override section in the BIOS.

Confirm your language and keyboard settings and select Next.

Select Install Now

Accept the License Agreement

Select Custom: Install Windows Only

Choose the SSD Drive and select Next

At this point Windows will install itself. Wait for it to finish until you reach the Out of Box Setup Experience.

Run through the rest of the computer setup.

Update\ Set up Computer

After a clean install Windows will need to install drivers and firmware before it is ready to be used. This used to be a notoriously drawn out and convoluted process involving manufacturer downloads, but with Windows 10 and 11 this is all handled in Windows updates itself.

Restore Your Files

Attach your old laptop to your computer using either a Dock, USB adapter or an enclosure.

Identify the drive letter of the external Windows installation. (In this case it’s D:)

Right click the start menu icon on the bottom left of the screen and select WIndows Powershell (Administrator) Note: It’s important to select the administrator option.

Type the following Xcopy d: c:\backup /s /c and then select D for Directory creation. (replace d: with your external drive letter and C: with your system drive).

Your files should now all transfer to C:\Backup.

Congratulations! Your computer is now running on Solid State Drive!