I need to install a bigger SSD drive in my desktop PC

[BraiNfreeZe]

Hi friends,
Let me explain my situation. I am not too computer literate so bear with me. I have a desktop PC that is about 3 years old. I am running windows 10 professional. This laptop has two drives. The primary or C drive is a SSD. The PC boots from this drive and has windows 10 Professional installed on it. It is a 250GB drive.  Here is the drive I currently have below.

https://www.amazon.com/Samsung-2-5-Inch-Internal-MZ-75E250B-AM/dp/B00OAJ412U/ref=pd_ybh_a_1?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1&refRID=MTBF7S1XCXB2B6W3C93S

The PC also has a secondary 1TB mechanical HDD. The PC is running ok. Here is my problem. The current C drive is almost full to max storage capacity. I need to install a larger 1TB SSD and then migrate all my data from the old SSD to the new larger drive and then boot from this new drive with my PC left in the last current state from the larger capacity drive and showing I have more storage now. I have EaseUS software that I intend to use for the cloning but I am still unsure if I can do this safely myself or do I need to let a PC repair shop do it. The guy told me they could do it for about $250 and I am just trying to save myself a little money by doing it myself, but I don't want to do this and have a problem with the computer not booting from the larger 1TB drive or not showing the increased storage from the new 1TB SSD. Here is the new drive I wish to install below. It is only $147 from Amazon.

https://www.amazon.com/Samsung-Inch-Internal-MZ-76E1T0B-AM/dp/B078DPCY3T/ref=sr_1_2?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1548938773&sr=1-2&keywords=samsung+850+evo+1tb

Can someone tell me how to safely do it myself or should I have someone else do it and spend about $100 more on the labor? It seems like I should be able to easily do this myself but I do not know. Any replies appreciated. Thanks--

[DaveLembke]

If you don't mind reinstalling software that was added after you purchased the laptop, you could create a system recovery media USB stick (usually 16GB or larger in size). Backup your data to external drive or cloud storage first. Then swap out the smaller SSD for larger SSD. Then boot off the USB stick and install Windows 10 Professional Clean to it from the system recovery media that came with the laptop. Once this is completed you can copy your data back to the SSD that was copied off the smaller SSD.

Only issue you can run into with this is that if you installed programs and pointed the path to be to the HDD instead of the SSD, you can have orphaned installations on the HDD that no longer associate with the new build of Windows. But these can be backed up externally and then folders deleted of their install, and then install the software clean, then if you need data that is associated with that specific software that the data was stored in the old build, you can copy the data files over to the HDD from the external backup of that software and be back in business.

Trying to clone this laptops smaller SSD to larger SSD with a laptop is tricky. You could remove the HDD and put the larger SSD into that slot and then install Macrium Reflect and clone the smaller SSD to the larger SSD and then remove both SSDs and install the larger SSD in the slot of the smaller SSD, and put the HDD back into its slot it came out of and with fingers crossed boot it up and be back in business with the original build now running on the larger SSD. * Note: This process is tricky and a mistake could destroy data. So definitely back up any important data to an external drive before you attempt this.

A clean build onto the larger SSD is the direction I would go with this vs a cloned drive. But sharing the cloning process in case you want to go this cloned route instead. Clean builds generally perform better than a Windows installation that has aged and had programs added/removed making for some swiss cheese of the registry etc. So there is a performance gain usually in going with a clean build vs cloning drives where problems are transferred to the newer drive.

Note... Just saw a subject change when responding to this. Process is the same though in a desktop as a laptop for both procedures at least. Interesting that the subject stayed the same in my response when it was changed as the main subject. Interesting...

Subject started as: Re: I need to install a bigger SSD drive in my laptop

And was changed to: Re: I need to install a bigger SSD drive in my desktop PC

[patio]

Note... Just saw a subject change when responding to this. Process is the same though in a desktop as a laptop for both procedures at least. Interesting that the subject stayed the same in my response when it was changed as the main subject. Interesting...

Had me cornfused as well...

[Salmon Trout]

Is it a laptop or a desktop? That is not clear. When I bought my Samsung SSD for my desktop, it came with free software to automate transfer of the contents of the existing system disk. You needed to connect both the old and new disk at the same time. It took care of the different disk sizes etc, and making the new SSD bootable. Most makers either supply their own or (like Kingston) give a link to disk cloning software like Acronis.  It takes about 30 minutes to an hour and involves no work other than opening the PC and connecting the new drive. $250 is just plain crazy. Don't ever use that "PC repair shop" for ANYTHING, now you know the guy is a thief.

[patio]

 

[Ingrid 1990]

Hey, my suggestion is do it yourself first. And it won't hurt the original 250GB SSD. Here is the brief guide.
For double secure, it is suggested to do Disk Backup for your 250 GB SSD in the first place.
1. Connect the new Samsung SSD to your computer via USB-to-SATA cable or just install it to your computer. Ensure it is detected.
2. Install AOMEI Backupper Standard to the computer. Open it and click Clone > Disk Clone.
3. Follow the guide to select the source disk (250GB SSD) and the destination disk (new Samsung SSD).
4. Check the option "Align partitions to optimize for SSD" for better performance. Preview the operation and click Start Clone.
5. Wait for the process to complete. Swap the 250GB SSD with the cloned drive, or just change boot order in BIOS to boot from the new disk.
This method will do no hard to your 250GB SSD as long as you don't get it damaged during uninstalling. For more detailed information with screenshots, please refer to free Samsung SSD clone software:  https://www.backup-utility.com/clone/samsung-ssd-860-clone-software-6988.html
  If you get no luck, it is not too late to send it to the Professionals.