What is needed to install an ssd drive. Why does a laptop need a small SSD, and is it worth installing Windows on it?

One of the best upgrades for your laptop is to install an SSD hard drive, especially if your laptop is many years old. This, literally, will give it new life and tangible How to install an SSD drive in a laptop? You will find the answer in this article!

There are two ways to install: using the M.2 slot or by replacing the old SATA HDD with a new SSD.
Let's consider both options, starting with the option of adding an SSD hard drive via M.2.

How to choose M.2 SSD: SATA and PCIe

When selecting and purchasing a hard drive, keep in mind that not all M.2 SSDs are created equal. In fact, they vary so much that it is possible that the drive you buy may not work at all without making changes to the BIOS.

Even though they use the same connector, M.2 drives can support either the older SATA interface or the new PCIe interface. PCIe may be much faster and preferable, while SATA is more compatible with older machines.

For our Aspire E 15, we deliberately chose a WD Blue 1TB SATA SSD for its compatibility. The Aspire E 15's M.2 slot supports PCIe drives as well as SATA drives, but not loading to a PCIe device without changing the UEFI in the BIOS.

The difference is that UEFI is modern and has a Secure Boot feature that theoretically protects against malicious attacks by requiring signed drivers and a signed OS.

Another reason why you might choose SATA M.2 PCIe is price. SATA M.2 drives are generally much more affordable than PCIe drives.

How to install M.2 SSD in a laptop

1. Before you begin installation, you must create your old hard drive.

2. Then turn the laptop over and you will see covers that can be unscrewed and removed.

3. Now take a small magnetic screwdriver and carefully remove the screws that hold these covers in place. Be careful not to lose the screws. Remove the covers and you will see the hard drive or RAM (if you unscrewed the wrong cover, no problem, screw it back and unscrew the adjacent one)

How to find out if a new SSD hard drive is suitable for your laptop?

4. Pay attention to the cutouts on the SSD and the corresponding nub/s in the slot. Some M.2 drives have a single label on the right or left side of the module, indicating the drive B- or M-key types accordingly. Designation AB x2 PCIe or SATA; label M means it can work up to x4 PCIe or SATA. The WD Blue SATA SSD hard drive we use has both M-, so B- tags. These days, two labels usually indicate that the drive is SATA, but you should still check before purchasing. The Acer laptop we're upgrading has a single plastic case on the right, which means it can support faster x4 PCIe drives as well as SATA drives.

How to install an SSD hard drive instead of an old HDD?

1. Turn the laptop over and unscrew the lid to access the hard drive. Next, you just need to move the hard drive away from the SATA connector a little. Once it is disconnected from the connector, carefully lift the drive up. (Again, the means of access will vary depending on the laptop model, but the principle is always the same)

To remove the hard drive from the Aspire E 15, take the plastic tab that holds the drive and slide it away from the SATA connector, and then lift it up using the same tab.

2. The next step is to unscrew the four screws on the sides of the drive and remove the drive from the plastic (or metal) tray.

3. Take a new SSD disk and, by analogy with how the old disk was inserted, secure it into a plastic (or metal) tray. Insert the tray into place and snap it into place with a simple movement towards the SATA connector. All is ready!

4. Restore your OS or reinstall to SSD.

Replacing DVD with SSD | Installing SSD instead of DVD | Caddy adapter for installing an SSD hard drive instead of a DVD

1. To install a disk in a caddy-adapter, simply place it in the tray and push it up to the SATA connector. Then use the included four screws and a screwdriver to install the drive.

2. To remove the optical drive from your laptop, turn the laptop over and on the side where the optical drive is located, look for one screw near the center of the optical drive. There may be a mark there indicating that it is an unprotected ODD screw. Remove the screw.

3. Use your fingernail to remove the drive by inserting it between the laptop body and the optical drive.

4. The metal bracket on the optical drive is what it is attached to earlier. Simply remove the two small screws and then move the bracket onto the new adapter.

You need to unscrew the two screws on the metal bracket and move it to the hard drive caddy (bottom).

5. Almost every laptop optical drive meets industry specifications—a plastic frame is attached to it. To remove the bezel, take a paperclip or screwdriver and carefully pry the latch on the interior bezel. There's a second mount on the other side that doesn't require any tools—all you have to do is twist the frame slightly so it comes off.

6. Now simply drag the frame onto your caddy by gently pressing it.

Take the caddy adapter and insert it back into the compartment on the laptop where the DVD drive used to be. All is ready!

Now you have a second hard drive on your laptop, and even an SSD. This is wonderful!

SSD is a solid-state drive that differs from traditional hard drives in its compactness and data transfer speed. There are several reasons why many users switch to using such storage media, namely:

1. Reliability. They, in fact, have no moving elements, which greatly reduces the likelihood of data damage during recording and eliminates physical wear and tear.
2. Access speed to data is much higher, which has a beneficial effect on work.
3. Compactness. Such drives easily fit into a pocket and are convenient to transport.
4. Low noise and temperature. SSDs do not make any noise at all, unlike their HDD counterparts.

The only downside is limit on the number of entries each sector, so many people prefer to purchase such disks to install an operating system - the disk does not wear out so much and the operating speed of the OS can increase.

Installing an SSD in a computer

Before installing the disk into your computer, it need to de-energize:

1. Pull out the power plug of the system unit from the outlet
2. Press the power button on the power supply (usually located on the back of the system unit. May not be present on some models)
3. Press the button turn on the computer for 5-10 seconds so that all circuits are de-energized

Now we remove the cover of the system unit and decide on the place where the drive will be installed. Many modern SSDs and PC cases are equipped with special pockets, which will allow you to install the disk.

Unfortunately, cheaper case models can only be equipped with shelves for 3.5-inch devices, and the SSD form factor is 2.5 inches. In this case, you will need a special pocket or adapter. This should be taken care of even before purchasing the disc.

Now we install the drive into the desired 3.5 or 2.5 inch connector and secure it with screws or latches (depending on the characteristics of the PC case)

The next step would be power connection and data loop. SSDs are equipped with L-shaped SATA connectors. The larger one is power, it comes from the power supply. The second, smaller one, transmits data and connects to the motherboard. It is quite difficult to connect them incorrectly, because... there are keys on the cables.

Now we assemble the PC, launch it and go to the BIOS.

Here we have to install modeAHCI for SSD operation. Then follows:

1. If Windows is installed on the drive, you must change download priority. The first place should be the flash drive or disk from which the installation will be performed, and the second place should be the newly installed disk.
2. If you plan to work in the old system, then the HDD with Windows should come first in boot priority.
3. Now all that remains is to make the necessary settings in the BIOS, depending on the firmware version and the purpose of using the drive.

It is worth noting that on modern motherboards, SATA ports may differ in speed. Therefore, the connection should be made in more high-speed port. Information about the speed of motherboard ports can be found in the instructions or on the manufacturer’s website. Sometimes such information is indicated on the box of the board itself.

How to connect an SSD to a laptop

Installing a drive in a laptop is somewhat simpler. To begin with, as in the case of PCs, turn off the power and pull out the battery. Press and hold the key turn on for 5-10 seconds, after which we proceed to disassemble the device.

First, turn the laptop over and look for the lid, near which you can see inscriptionHDD or a hard drive icon is drawn. Unscrew the bolt near the inscription and remove the cover. Most often, the disk is installed in a steel slide, which also bolted. Unscrew and remove the hard drive again.

Now we put the SSD in its place and do the above procedure in reverse order. Unlike a computer, you will have to reinstall the system, because... Laptops often do not provide for the installation of two or more drives.

Hello! Decide to prepare an article in which you will talk about how to properly install Windows 7 on an SSD drive, and how to configure Windows 7 on an SSD drive after installation so that it works for a long time and without problems. I recently bought a laptop, took an Asus K56CM and immediately bought an OCZ Vertex 4 128 GB SSD drive for it, I really wanted to experience all the speed that an SSD gives.

In our case, the model of laptop/computer and SSD drive does not matter; my instructions can be said to be universal. I will write what needs to be done immediately after installing an SSD drive into a computer and how to configure the operating system after installation on an SSD. If this is your first time encountering an SSD, then you are probably wondering why there is such attention to setting up an operating system for these drives compared to conventional hard drives disks. I will now explain everything in simple words.

SSD drives have a limited failure time compared to hard drives. Simply put, they have a certain number of rewrites. Now I won’t say what this number is, it varies and what is true and what is not is difficult to understand. For example, for my OCZ Vertex 4 in the characteristics it was written that the operating time between failures is 2 million hours. And the operating system writes a lot during operation, deletes and writes again various temporary files, etc. Services such as defragmentation, indexing, etc. serve to speed up the system on regular hard drives. And they only harm SSD drives and reduce their service life.

In fact, installing Windows 7 on SSD almost no different from installing on a hard drive. But after installation, you will need to make some adjustments to the operation of Windows 7, but there is nothing complicated there, we will do everything using the utility SSD Mini Tweaker 2.1.

What should you do before installing Windows 7 on an SSD drive?

Well, first you need to install an SSD drive in a laptop or computer, it doesn’t matter. I will not describe this process. There is nothing complicated about this, and this is a topic for another article. Let's say that you have already installed the SSD, or it has already been installed.

If you will use a regular hard drive in your computer next to the SSD drive, then I advise you to disable it while installing Windows 7, this is so that you do not get confused when choosing a partition to install the OS, but this is not necessary.

All you need to do before installation is to check if our solid state drive is working in AHCI. To do this, go to the BIOS; if you don’t know how, read the article. Next, go to the tab "Advanced" and select the item “SATA Configuration”.

Select the item, a window will open in which we select AHCI(if you had another mode enabled). Click F10 to save settings.

Now you can begin installing Windows 7. The installation process on a solid-state drive is no different from installing on a hard drive. I just want to give you one piece of advice:

Try to install the original image of the operating system Windows 7 or Windows 8. I recommend installing only one of these operating systems, because only seven and eight can work with SSD drives. Do not use different assemblies, and if you install an assembly of Windows 7 or Windows 8 downloaded from the Internet, then try to choose an image close to the original one.

We install the operating system. You may find the following articles useful:

Once the operating system is installed, you can proceed to setting up Windows for SSD.

Setting up Windows 7 to work with an SSD drive

More precisely, Windows 7 will work anyway, our task is to make sure that our solid-state drive lasts as long as possible and without various errors.

As I already wrote at the beginning of the article, to optimize Windows for a solid-state drive, we will use the SSD Mini Tweaker utility. You can disable all unnecessary options manually, but in the SSD Mini Tweaker program this can all be done in a few clicks. You will only need to manually disable indexing of files on local drives.

First we need to download SSD Mini Tweaker. Download version 2.1 from the link below:

There is no need to install the program, just extract it from the archive and run it.

Launch the SSD Mini Tweaker utility.

You can tick all the boxes, or rather, it’s not possible, but it’s necessary. I have checked all the boxes, except that you can leave only SuperFetch; disabling this service may increase the startup time of programs. Check the boxes for the required services and press the button “Apply changes”. Almost everything, in the same utility there is a “Manual” item, this means that you need to manually disable services. There are two of them, disk defragmentation on a schedule and indexing the contents of files on the disk.

If scheduled defragmentation is disabled automatically after the changes we have made, then indexing of files on the disk must be disabled manually on each local partition.

Disable indexing of file contents on disk

Let's go to "My computer", and right-click on one of the local drives. Select “Properties”.

A window will open in which you need to uncheck the item “Allow the contents of files on this drive to be indexed in addition to file properties”. Click “Apply”.

We are waiting for the process to complete.

When you do this procedure on drive C, you will most likely receive a message stating that you do not have rights to change system files. I just clicked “Skip all”, I think that if you skip a few files, nothing bad will happen.

That's all, setting up Windows for a solid-state drive is complete. You know, many people say that these are different myths, that nothing needs to be turned off, etc. Maybe so, but if they came up with it, then it means it’s necessary and I think that in any case it won’t hurt.

It seems that I wrote everything I wanted, if you have additions, comments, or something is not clear, then write in the comments, we’ll figure it out. Good luck!

Nowadays, many users are upgrading their personal computers and laptops by installing SSD drives – solid state drives – on them. Compared to the already familiar HDDs, solid-state drives actually have a significant advantage in the speed of working in operating systems and working with data.

Many people have a completely logical question: is it necessary to make any additional adjustments to personal computers and laptops when installing a new SSD? In our article, we will try to consider in detail how to work with SSDs in the two most popular operating systems – Windows 7 and Windows 10 (the actions that we will perform in the “top ten” can also be used on Windows 8).

In the notes, we note some features of SSD manufacturers, as well as some nuances for working with SSDs in laptops. So how do we configure an SSD to get the most out of the modern hardware we buy and install?

Microsoft, when creating the Windows 7 operating system, initially intended this system to be compatible with SSD solid-state drives, and when such drives are detected, the system settings will occur automatically. However, it is best to manually check all your computer settings to get the most out of your SSD.

• AHCI mode

To perform its functions, the system requires the SATA controller to operate in AHCI mode. To do this, you need to find the SATA configuration menu in the BIOS (Cohfigure SATA As). Typically, these configurations are located in the Main section, and switch them to AHCI mode. The system can be checked in a simple way: “Start Menu” – “Control Panel” – “System” item. Select “Device Manager” and find the item IDE ATA/ATAPI controllers there. If this item is present, then expand it and find controllers with AHCI in the names in the lists. If we find AHCI names there, then our system operates in the mode we need. If there are no such names, then the system is not switched to work in AHCI mode. Naturally, it is necessary that the BIOS itself supports operation in this mode.

• TRIM command

After we have made sure that the system is switched to AHCI mode, we need to check whether the TRIM command is enabled. TRIM improves system performance on solid-state drives by telling operating systems which blocks of previously written data are no longer needed because the data in them has been deleted or formatted. Simply put, the TRIM command “removes garbage” and significantly speeds up the operation of an SSD drive, being a replacement for defragmentation on conventional HDDs.

Notes:

* For SSD operation in the Windows 7 operating system, it is best to combine SSD and HDD on computers. This will allow us to combine improved speed performance with HDD reliability.

* It is, of course, preferable to install the operating system on an SSD, like all major programs

* It is advisable to leave about 20 percent of the total volume of the solid-state drive unallocated when installing the operating system. With natural wear and tear, the SSD will take clusters from there for its work.

Optimization in Windows 7 for working with SSD

• Disabling system protection

To limit unnecessary write operations and return available space to the SSD, disable the “System Protection” function as follows: right-click on the “My Computer” icon and select “Properties” from the drop-down menu. In the window that opens, find the “System Protection” tab and go to it. Click the “Configure” button and select “Disable system protection”.

Some experts warn that System Protection may degrade the performance of the SSD over time and negatively impact the TRIM function due to its data recording nature.

• Disable disk indexing

Due to the high performance of SSDs, the disk indexing function is not useful to us, because Disk indexing was designed specifically to speed up work on HDDs. To do this, on the “My Computer” icon, call up the drop-down menu with the right mouse button and select “Properties” again. In the “General” section, uncheck the box next to “Allow the contents of files on this drive to be indexed in addition to file properties.”

• Disabling the page file

If you have a 64-bit operating system installed and the amount of RAM exceeds 8 Gigabytes, it would be advisable to disable the Paging File function. To do this, call up the drop-down menu again by right-clicking on the “My Computer” icon and select “Properties”. In the “Properties” window, find the “Advanced Settings” tab, then the “Performance” item, then the “Options” item, select the “Advanced” item and find the “Virtual Memory” section. Check the “No paging file” option and click “Set”. When working with the page file, be aware that some applications that use a large amount of RAM resources may experience difficulties when the use of the page file is turned off.

• Disabling hibernation

Hibernation was created so that the work you were doing on your computer could be resumed almost instantly. So, when the hibernation function is enabled, the entire contents of the RAM are reset to the hard drive, and then, upon awakening, they are immediately read. When working with an SSD, this function is not necessary, since the resumption of work is already quite fast. This way we save precious space on our SSD.

We disable the function like this: in the search bar in the Start Menu, type cmd and call the command line utility. Then in the command line we type the command: powercfg –h off and press the “Enter” key.

It is worth noting that it is not always advisable to disable hibernation. For example, on laptops, disabling hibernation will result in the computer having to be restarted every time it is closed.

• Disabling Memory Management

When enabled, Superfetch caches frequently used data, while Prefetch preloads frequently used applications. In the case of working on an SSD drive, due to the high speed of data access, we will no longer need these functions and we will be able to free up memory and let our drive work only when needed. To disable, perform the following steps: in the “Start Menu” in the search bar, type the command regedit, thereby opening the window for working with the registry. We consistently search for and select registry items: HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\SessionManager\Memory Management\PrefetchParameters. Then, with the right mouse button, call up the submenu on the EnableSuperfetch and EnablePrefetcher items one by one. Select the “Change” item and change the values ​​to zero.

In the same way, we change the values ​​to zero in the ClearPageFileAtShutdown and LargeSystemCache parameters. The LargeSystemCache setting specifies the size and frequency of flushing the cached page to disk, and the ClearPageFileAtShutdown setting clears the page file when the PC is shut down, which results in additional writes that we no longer need. Path to parameters: HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\SessionManager\Memory Management. Select the ClearPageFileAtShutdown and LargeSystemCache items, go to their menu with the right mouse button and, selecting “Change” in each item, set the parameter to zero.

After this, reboot the computer.

• Disable Windows write caching

Since SSDs are much faster than traditional HDDs, the enabled write caching function does not give us any special speed advantages, so you can deactivate it. But, in turn, SSD manufacturer Intel warns that the refusal of this function will negatively affect the operation of the solid-state drives they produce. We can disable the Windows write caching function as follows: in the root folder of Explorer “My Computer”, right-click through the “Properties” item and select “Device Manager”. Select the “Disk devices” item and right-click on our SSD, thereby calling up a submenu. In the submenu, select the “Properties” section and in the properties window on the “Policies” tab, uncheck the “Allow caching of records for this device” checkbox. Then press the OK button.

• Disable Windows Search

Windows Search creates indexes of individual files, documents, and folders on your hard drive. The index is stored in a separate Search folder on drive C and takes up to 10% of the volume of indexed documents, so that when searching, part of the index is loaded into memory and significantly speeds it up. In the case of an SSD, again, this function will not give us a noticeable increase in speed. But indexes take up space on the solid-state drive, and enabling this function can really negatively affect the operation of the SSD. Therefore, we disable the Windows Search function as follows: in the search bar in the Start Menu, type the command services.msc and press Enter to bring up a menu with a list of local services. Find Superfetch in the list and right-click on it to bring up the service menu. In the Startup Type drop-down menu, select Disabled and click OK. Then find the Windows Search service and right-click on it again, select “Properties” and click on the “Stop” button, and then in the “Startup Type” menu also select the “Disabled” option and click OK.

• Transferring TEMP folders

To free up additional space on the SSD and avoid unnecessary overwriting, we move folders with temporary files to another drive. To do this, go to the “Control Panel”, select the “My Computer” icon, then the “Advanced system settings” section and in the “Advanced” tab go to the “Environment Variables” menu, where we click the change button, and change the final addresses of the folders with temporary storage data for new ones.

• Transferring user folders

To perform the same task as in the previous paragraph, transfer all user folders to another drive (including the “Video”, “Audio”, “Downloads”, “Favorites” and others) folders. We create a separate user folder on another drive and in “Folder Options”, which we call by right-clicking on the selected folder, on the “Location” tab, click the move button and set a new location for the folders to be moved.

• Disable NTFS journaling

You can also disable NTFS system journaling. To do this, in the Start menu, in the search bar, type cmd and open the command line. In the command line, type the command: fsutil usn deletejournal /D C: and press “Enter”.

• Disable regular defragmentation

As mentioned above, the defragmentation function is intended to work with HDDs and we do not need it when working with SSDs. Therefore, we disable it as follows: in the “Start” menu, in the search bar, type the word “defragmentation”, select the found disk defragmentation program, find the “Schedule” tab and uncheck the “Run on a schedule” checkbox.

• Setting Energy Consumption

To get the best performance from your SSD, you need to manually configure its power design. To do this, call the “Control Panel”, find “Power Options” there and set the following parameters: in “Setting up a power plan” in the parameters, select “High performance” and click “Apply”. Go to “Setting the power plan” and in the “Change additional power settings” item, select the “Hard disk” item, the “Turn off the hard drive after” sub-item and set the “Never” option, that is, “00 minutes”.

Optimization in Windows 10 (8) for working with SSD

When working with the Windows 10 (8) operating system, it is best to complete all the points related to Windows 7. The fact is that “Ten” independently makes some changes when it detects a solid-state drive. Here is a list of standard automatic system optimizations:

• Disable defragmentation;
• Connecting the TRIM function;
• Disable ReadyBoost feature;
• SSD power optimization;
• Enable the Superfetch option.

All other optimization items will have to be performed manually. You can proceed according to the scheme with the Windows 7 operating system that we proposed above.

There is another option. You can download the free SSD Mini Tweaker utility, run it, check the boxes required to complete it, and apply the changes. It is recommended to check all the optimization menu options offered by the SSD Mini Tweaker program.

Notes:

*For maximum performance when using an SSD, it is recommended to connect it to SATA 3 ports operating at 6 Gigabits per second.

* Don't forget to periodically check your SSD manufacturer's website for firmware updates and install them.

As we can see from the article, optimizing the system for working with a solid-state drive requires some settings. And if Windows 7 will have to be carefully configured manually, then in the Windows 10 and 8 operating systems some settings are applied automatically when the system detects a solid-state drive during installation, and adjustment for working with an SSD drive in the system can be done using a free utility specially designed for this SSD Mini Tweaker.

If you are the owner of a laptop and you are not entirely satisfied with the speed of its operation, especially the loading speed, and you are increasingly thinking about upgrading or even replacing the entire laptop, then do not rush. We offer an upgrade option for almost any full-size laptop for reasonable money.

The fact is that the processor is not the first freshness, a small amount of RAM and a built-in video card are not the main culprits of the system’s “brakes”. The main reason is a slow hard drive. We propose replacing it with a more modern analogue - SSD. But you probably thought about such a purchase yourself, but to fully use a PC you need a lot of free space on the information storage device - at least 500-750 gigabytes. And the prices for SSDs of such capacity are very, very high.

And when buying a 60-120 gigabyte SSD, there will only be enough space for the system and applications, there can be no talk of any media content. Therefore, you need to look for another solution, one in which you can increase the speed of the system and not lose disk capacity, and without spending too much money. We understand you perfectly and offer just such a method.

Why do you need a DVD drive?

No, seriously, what do you need it for? Any films or music can be downloaded on the Internet, which almost everyone has, information that does not require constant access can be stored either in the cloud, of which there are now countless, or on an external hard drive, the prices of which are completely “ridiculous” today. I wouldn’t trust optical disks with important information - they get scratched quite easily and become unusable.

So, if you really don't need a DVD drive on your laptop, then we suggest installing an SSD instead. And again, don’t be alarmed - you won’t have to break anything, and you won’t have to “tinker” either - we promise to leave the beautiful appearance of your beech intact.

What do we need?

First, we need an SSD and connectors to connect it. In principle, a 60 GB disk for the system will be enough for us, but it’s still better to buy 128 - in this case, you won’t worry about running out of space and you can always put some large program on the SSD, or one that is demanding on input operations\ output the game (after all, this is exactly why we buy an SSD). In addition, the prices for this gadget of such volumes are quite low and the purchase of such a part will not hit your wallet.

In addition to the SSD, we will need a seat for it, or rather an adapter that will replace the DVD drive. At various foreign auctions and in online stores this is called “HDD-Caddy” (in our country it is most often referred to as “Adapter for connecting HDD 2.5 to the laptop drive bay”). Buy this device only for your laptop model.

Actually, this is all we need to purchase. The tools we need are a screwdriver and... nothing else.

What is the best place to put it?

It's up to you to decide. You will have unhindered access to the device installed instead of the DVD drive, that is, it is better to install a media device there - a hard drive (movies, music, photos, etc. will be stored on it). In this case, you can always quickly take out the HDD and, using a special device (pocket), connect it to a DVD to watch movies or connect it to another PC as a bulk flash drive.

On the other hand, the heat dissipation of the drive is worse, and there will be more vibrations here, and it is also difficult to say about the protection from mechanical damage of this place. And an SSD is much smaller than a hard drive and is afraid of vibrations, high temperatures, etc. That is, as far as performance properties are concerned, it will be better here than a hard drive.

In any case, it’s up to you, depending on how you plan to use these devices and depending on the configuration of your laptop model.

Let's get started

In principle, the procedure is quite trivial. First you need to remove the DVD drive - in many laptop models you don’t even need to remove the case - they are held on by one bolt, after unscrewing which they are simply pulled out of the laptop.

When you have the DVD drive in your hands, you will need to remove the cover on which the compartment opening button is located and move it to the purchased HDD-Caddy. Now we perform the reverse procedure - install the adapter in place of the DVD drive. Don't forget to secure it with a bolt. Well, that's all - all that remains is to install the SSD here (or a hard drive, and the SSD in place of the hard drive).

Installing or migrating an operating system

Next, you need to install the operating system on the SSD, having first removed the system partition from the HDD and attached it to the partition on which the media information is stored. Installing the operating system will be no different from the process you are used to.

But, if for some reason you want to keep your old system, then before deleting the partition from the HDD you need to “clone” it to the SSD. This can be done by any program for working with hard drives in boot mode. For example, Acronis Partition Director or Mini Tool Partition Wizard will do - in general, the choice is yours.

Instead of conclusions

After the replacement, you will be surprised how much more responsive and fast your operating system has become. In addition, if you previously did not have enough space on your hard drive, now you will free up space previously occupied by the operating system.

If, however, the only thing stopping you from such an upgrade is that to use the DVD drive you will now need to twist the adapters every time, then we will reassure you - you can buy a special “pocket” for the DVD drive and connect it to any PC via USB interface.