FabSwingers.com forum: swapping a HDD for SSD

By *ophieslut OP TV/TS
over a year ago

Central

My laptop, which has a support contract, has had its HDD fail twice. I asked the repairers if it could have a SSD instead, that Id pay for.

Was informed it's not reliable to do so. I am no techie, but is there any sense in their statement? I understand you don't have the full spec of it, but it's a fairly standard i5 Windows 7 Toshiba laptop.

I don't need much storage space, so a smaller capacity drive is fine.

I think I'd have to clone an image of the current drive, so that Windows would work on the replacement SSD.

I'm hoping to get a much quieter laptop as a result, as the fans are really noisy.

Thanks for your thoughts.

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By *atinbootsTV/TS
over a year ago

Market Rasen

I cloned my HDD to a hi capacity SSD and then installed it into my laptop, over two years ago. Coupled with a RAM upgrade, and it's never missed a beat, bearing in mind I do a lot of audio work (it's a DAW with multiple high load VSTs running and multiple channel realtime recording etc).

To say it's unreliable is false information. SSDs are supposedly not ideal for multiple read/write operations as the memory "blocks" can fail. However in my experience there is no problem and it's a great way of boosting performance quite dramatically...

Just keep a backup of your important stuff, same as most people with any sense do for a standard HDD anyway.

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By *ophieslut OP TV/TS
over a year ago

Central

Thanks Kat - I'm not sure reliability could be worse than 2 standard hard drives in 12 months anyway. I think he fobbed me off.

I'm so hacked off with fan noise that I've even thought about buying a new laptop - which goes against my antidisposable culture.

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By *alandNitaCouple
over a year ago

Scunthorpe

Hi guys,

It is true that the SSD drives are reputed to have a much shorter lifespan than a traditional version. Many real world tests though are disagreeing with this though. Certainly there were issues with some of the earlier drives but as with most things, the technology is improving all the time and the problems are diminishing.

You could obviously buy an SSD and stick it in your laptop. There are many upgrade kits available now which include a cable and software to allow you to clone the drive. Then just put the old drive in a box and keep it for emergency use.

Cal

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By *alandNitaCouple
over a year ago

Scunthorpe

I'm so hacked off with fan noise that I've even thought about buying a new laptop - which goes against my antidisposable culture.

It's also worth saying, the most common cause of laptop problem is people working in a way that cuts off the airflow through their laptop. Usually by sitting them on their knee or a cushion and blocking the vents on the bottom.

It is highly likely that the fan noise will not go away through changing the drive, especially as the fan is mainly cooling for the processor.

Cal

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By *CoastFunMan
over a year ago

Southampron

I'm so hacked off with fan noise that I've even thought about buying a new laptop - which goes against my antidisposable culture.

It is highly likely that the fan noise will not go away through changing the drive, especially as the fan is mainly cooling for the processor.

Cal"

That and the plethora of dust and hair and any other crap that has got inside the laptop. I've had to strip a few down to clean them out. One girl's laptop had hair all wrapped around her cooling fan which was preventing it spinning properly so it was overheating. Luckily for her bios was set to shut the laptop down if the cpu went over a certain temperature.

As for the ssd go for it. They've become more stable over the years as said. Just keep your important files backed up to a portable drive, which you should be doing anyway really.

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By (user no longer on site)
over a year ago

Apart from read/write failure which is a lot harder to reproduce through real life usage as opposed to a specific test designed to do so, there have been issues in the past with certain models from brands failing (mainly Crucial) which was rectified with firmware updates quite some time ago.

If you store your data in one place it isn't safe - doesn't matter if it's am SSD or mech drive.

I actually have a Crucial (was a steal) but Samsung Evos are probably considered the most reliable if that concerns you.

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By *oodmessMan
over a year ago

yumsville

I swapped mine out for the samsung evo .. boot times are under 10 seconds with 8gb ram. The benefit of the SSD's are they have a feature that once everything is loaded they don't constantly have to search for the data. They don't get hot, the battery last longer.. if you can ghost your operating system then it is well worth the money - just buy an ssd when you see one on offer.

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By (user no longer on site)
over a year ago

I work in IT and would definitely recommend SSD's, been swapping all mine out and not had a problem yet... I'd recommend the Samsung Evo's too...

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By *alandNitaCouple
over a year ago

Scunthorpe

"I work in IT and would definitely recommend SSD's, been swapping all mine out and not had a problem yet... I'd recommend the Samsung Evo's too... "

I have had issues in the past but not for about 18 months and to be honest, the load created by a laptop doesn't really compare to a storage array servicing 16 servers 24/7

Cal

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By *rbusyhandsMan
over a year ago

Glasgow

+1 go for the ssd. I was advised to keep extra space free on it though as filling it full isn't good for it apparently.

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By *ig1gaz1Man
over a year ago

bradford

I have a mdf thin board for using with my laptop whilst on my knee

with the ssd you can copy it by ghost or many others including acronis true image that ive done many a time

5 mins from an image to be fully installed, all programs and able to go straight onto net from a clean boot

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By (user no longer on site)
over a year ago

You may also need to change the drove in the BIOS from IDE to ACHI after you're all up and running.

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By *CoastFunMan
over a year ago

Southampron

"+1 go for the ssd. I was advised to keep extra space free on it though as filling it full isn't good for it apparently."

It's not good practice to ever fill any drive up! Also when you swap to an ssd never defrag it, they don't need it. You also stand less chance of corruption files moving your laptop around with an ssd fitted. Not that you should move your laptop around once it's on but so many people do.

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By *CoastFunMan
over a year ago

Southampron

Also I'm another Samsung evo user

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By *ophieslut OP TV/TS
over a year ago

Central

Thanks guys! I had the definite sense the support guy wasn't telling the full truth, when the first drive failed a year ago. It may be because they don't want me tinkering, voiding insurance, but I always prefer to have the truth.

2 HDD fails in 12 months suggests clumsiness etc. My uni life is a bit hectic.

Guy said they leave little bits of paper etc in the machines, to identify if they've been adjusted etc.

Amazon have had some good SSD deals recently, so had my interest piqued, though higher home temperatures have probably pushed it to heat even more.

Their main criticism was of frequent crashes and instabilities. Probably horse output.

Could a device like the combined tablets with keyboards, such as Microsoft have, be quieter and as easy to use?

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By *ig1gaz1Man
over a year ago

bradford

2 hard drive failures in 12 months not likely

i expect a brand new hard drive to last a full year at heavy 24hr usage downloading and most have gone past that with western digital the other good one is seagate

i have the ssd kingston 120gb as all i need for transfering of data to a back up hard drive

i went through ccl computers at tong bradford

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By (user no longer on site)
over a year ago

I know it's expensive, but go 500GB or 1TB if you go SSD because lower capacities are limited by write information, so you can only really get away with having the OS on them, however, that has been remedied in the larger sizes (due to newer technologies and research)

I've got a 250GB SSD and a 3TB external HDD for my laptop and works fine. also, make sure they're on surge protected sockets, because some stupid number of HDD failures are due to surges. It's not sure fire though, as I've had several HDD's fail in a row despite being in surge protected lines, so if they have been, maybe invest in an RCD switch off in case there's a short in one of the cables causing problems

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By (user no longer on site)
over a year ago

"I know it's expensive, but go 500GB or 1TB if you go SSD because lower capacities are limited by write information, so you can only really get away with having the OS on them, however, that has been remedied in the larger sizes (due to newer technologies and research)

get on scan, they regularly have offers and do next day delivery on some for under £5

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By *oodmessMan
over a year ago

yumsville

[Removed by poster at 19/08/15 14:19:06]

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By *oodmessMan
over a year ago

yumsville

Was just thinking thing the same, buy the SSD and get a 500gb external HD. Scan, or Overclockers they are usually very average in their pricing maybe a £ more but they only deal in computers so you know your dealing with a company that respects their products. HGST turo (hitachi) do very good HD's

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By *ophieslut OP TV/TS
over a year ago

Central

I'm currently using Windows 7, with 372 GB free of 440GB, according to a right click on my computer. So I figure I'm using approximately 70GB, for operating system, programme software and other files. I do regular backups of my documents, and also have online storage space at uni that I use, and keep important backups on too - so at least they're in a different physical location to me.

The 2 hard drive fails occurred just short of a year apart. I'm thinking it could be my physical mishandling, but have picked up from posts above that it may be power surges - an suggestions how to protect it.

My main objective is to reduce the noise levels - I'm a sensitive soul, when it comes to noise, and dislike the high pitched fan noise, which also aggravates tinnitus that I have.

Projected cost - £100? I've seen some cheaper SSD deals recently, but haven't been looking at super large ones - maybe they weren't large enough.

Otherwise, I'd wondered if a new, though potentially much more expensive, option of a Surface Pro laptop would be quiet, and not too much faffing about to use?

Thanks everyone.

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By *dam_TinaCouple
over a year ago

Hampshire

Cal"

I wish I'd known this before my 18 month old Samsung died. This was exactly how I'd been using it

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By *oodmessMan
over a year ago

yumsville

I got the surface ... fucking waste of time money effort and general all round pleasure in life. It is a great piece of kit - light and all, but just doesn't give you anything near what a laptop does, that is if you can get win 8.1 to work. Dont get one, tablets are for surfing the web, not intensive doc manipulation.

ssd install and ghosting, 120gg cost £70 and a comp guy I come ghosted it for £30, some charge £50 - it is very simple if you know what you are doing buy you can fuck the drive if you dont remove the ghosting software apparently.

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By *ophieslut OP TV/TS
over a year ago

Central

Cal

I wish I'd known this before my 18 month old Samsung died. This was exactly how I'd been using it

Cal's been great here - thanks for your support!!

I have to admit that I've sometimes had mine on my lap, without a cooler underneath, but the heating/fan noise occurs fairly readily anywhere.

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By *oodmessMan
over a year ago

yumsville

the lavolta laptop stand is very good ... mine is a 14" lappy and sits in perfect, dont know if they do a 15" model. Have a look, takes all the weight off you.

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By (user no longer on site)
over a year ago

You can get 250gb drives (or around that amount depending on it's controller it uses) for around £70, Some even used to come with Acronis TrueImage but I forget which brand does. You can copy it across yourself easy enough so you are looking at less than £100.

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By *ich54Man
over a year ago

Near Tewkesbury

SSD's have a mechanism in their software to perform wear levelling, which improves their reliability. That said I have been using them for quite a while and in several machines without a single failure, and they are not the most expensive ones either. I would stick to the smaller ones which have been around for a while.

Go for it, transforms the user experience.

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By (user no longer on site)
over a year ago

From what i've heard, SSD is the way forward!

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By *oddamnCouple
over a year ago

leicestershire

I've just swapped my HDD for a 500GB SSD and start up times are much improved, although I still have the fan running because a cool computer is a happy computer. I paid £250 to have it done. along with a small RAM upgrade and a system cleanse. Money well spent

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By *ophieslut OP TV/TS
over a year ago

Central

Such positive feedback about SSDs, it's motivating me

Having fished around on the internet, I've found quite a few people upset at the fan noise level - I use a Satellite R830. It's a fairly basic small system. It's refreshing that I'm not alone with suffering the noise, but suggestions that people put forward would void my insurance cover, as it involves adding stuff into the machine.

One guy points to two things - 1. Lessening the fan vibration and 2. Improving the CPU “natural” heat dissipation.

These kind of things may be helpful with or without an SSD, if the SSD doesn't reduce the noise level much. Oh, if tech life were simple for us non-techies.

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By *ig1gaz1Man
over a year ago

bradford

at prices for ssd

40 for 120gb ssd

65 for 240gb ssd kingston

82 for 250gb samsung evo

133 for 480gb ssd kingston

136 for 500gb ssd samsung evo

304 for 1tb with samsung evo

I got the free version of acronis and it does work no problem with windows 7

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By (user no longer on site)
over a year ago

The "real life" me has been installing terminals with ssd drives for at least two years. These are for business use and I don't see any reason not to use them

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By (user no longer on site)
over a year ago

I know this is off the subject but I have a hp g60 laptop that ran windows 7 I have wiped the thing clean by accident and it needs reinstalling does anybody have a reinstall disc?

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By *ig1gaz1Man
over a year ago

bradford

unless you have the right install disk that matches your code for windows 7

theres not a chance of a reinstall disk

have you tried to install anything on that hard drive if you havent you might be able to pull all info off the hard drive and reinstall it back on

but it may not work therefore a windows 7 install disk is needed either you buy one of them or you use series 7 or winborg 7

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By (user no longer on site)
over a year ago

"unless you have the right install disk that matches your code for windows 7

theres not a chance of a reinstall disk

have you tried to install anything on that hard drive if you havent you might be able to pull all info off the hard drive and reinstall it back on

but it may not work therefore a windows 7 install disk is needed either you buy one of them or you use series 7 or winborg 7"
everything I tried seems to have made it worse I really should of left it alone lol this may sound dumb but what is series 7 and winborg 7?

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By *ig1gaz1Man
over a year ago

bradford

free windows operating system

I have both installed the winborg 7 is the latest one ultimate version of windows 7

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By (user no longer on site)
over a year ago

"free windows operating system

I have both installed the winborg 7 is the latest one ultimate version of windows 7

"
sounds good where is best place to get it from?

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By (user no longer on site)
over a year ago

Apologies haven't read the whole thread. Not looked back since switching to ssd. Had 2 magnetic drives fail in the same machine in the time I've had them. As has been said some form of backup is a must whichever you used. Guy who told you to stick with hdd probs as some old stock he wants rid if.

Also take note of laptop positioning. Overheating is a very big issue. Props to person earlier saying that. Appreciate I've not added anything here. Just Wanted to reiterate some good advice already given.

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By *ophieslut OP TV/TS
over a year ago

Central

Toshiba had a diagnostic tool with the laptop - I ran it on the CPU and fan, and they both checked out as healthy. Watching the temp, I could see the CPU get hot.

I think Toshiba have badly designed how the fans are, and so they don't cool too well, but also emit a terrible noise. A lot of tech threads abound on the noise from them.

I'm sold on putting in a SSD, but for it voiding my insurance cover, which pays for parts and labor for another couple of years. If I install an SSD, it may be a bit quieter, though it appears to be a fan cooling the CPU causing the noise (which could remain the same after). So I could be chasing fools gold, hoping for quieter but not really getting anything but a better hard drive. Possibly minus the warranty cover I have, if they discover I put a SSD in.

Aargh, it would be nice if things were simple.

Thanks for all of your thoughts.

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By *ig1gaz1Man
over a year ago

bradford

you do realise that you can get a laptop cooler stand as it has in built fans on it

have a look at the reviews of them the more cfm the cooler your system will be its the same with base units and water cooled the best one is A phase change unit can be thought of as a refrigerator for your CPU. It utilizes many of the same technologies to cool or even freeze a CPU.

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By (user no longer on site)
over a year ago

From my pov it's been negative tbh

I bought a very expensive laptop to run CAD and FEA..... Went SSD for silence and speed

Speed is great but it sounds like a bleeding jet taking off lol

It's the NVIDEA card getting hot due to the amount of polys being rendered...

Obviously not the fault of the SSD but negated one of the main reasons for spending the extra Dollar.....

Gone back to HDD on my latest lappy

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By *oodmessMan
over a year ago

yumsville

maybe get a laptop cooler if you are that worried OP. but backup and backup. have a look on some auction sites for a second hand laptop should it fail you have a cheap back up to use

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