Adding SSD to a brand new Asus laptop

Deuces

New Member
Messages
7
I've bought a new laptop , it's an Asus K95 series. (K95VB)

Since it has an open slot for a second drive i also bought an SSD for it , a Crucial M500 240Gb if that should matter.

So the laptop comes preinstalled with windows 8.
There are no discs (recovery,repair,...) with the system. (a google search learned that this is normal)

Offcourse i want my laptop to run the W8 from the SSD instead of the 1TB HDD (wich is actually a 3.5" , first time i see that in a laptop ;) ).


1) What is the best way to do this ? Clone , fresh install , recover to SSD ? (alltough it seems the last one isn't possible)

I know a clean install is always the best way but since i don't have any W8 disk to install from , i don't know how ... (read as : can you do a fresh install with a recovery disk ?)

2) How do i do it ? (a nice step by step if possible)

3) If i manage to do it , what do i do with the original HDD ?
Because it has 5 partitions now : 100MB (EFI-systempartition) - 900MB (recoverypartition) - 20,01GB (recoverypartition) - and a C and D (OS and Data).
Can/may they be deleted ? (want to use this just for data , all progams/games/apps will go to the SSD offcourse)


Haven't installed anything yet , just turned it on and did the basic installation stuff W8 asks for the first time.

Not a noob to pc/laptop installs , but new to W8 and it looks like it changed a bit since W7 and everything before that.

Lots of questions for a first post ;) , hope to find some answers here :thumb:
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 8
So , you prefer a clone over a fresh install ?

Also , this tutorial is written for W7 , does it also goes for W8 ? (since you pointed me to it , i assume it does but better safe than sorry)

And what with the recoverypartitions ?

The 100MB partition is handled by the tut , but what with the 20GB and the 900MB partitions ? (anyone knows what the 900MB one is for ?)


Also , asside from that , what with future re-installs ? (since i haven't got any disk for that)
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 8
Crucial do a laptop install kit...this makes it very easy....see below...unfortunately no link so just go to their website.
 

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My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 8 Pro
So , you prefer a clone over a fresh install ?

Also , this tutorial is written for W7 , does it also goes for W8 ? (since you pointed me to it , i assume it does but better safe than sorry)

And what with the recoverypartitions ?

The 100MB partition is handled by the tut , but what with the 20GB and the 900MB partitions ? (anyone knows what the 900MB one is for ?)


Also , asside from that , what with future re-installs ? (since i haven't got any disk for that)
Yeah right. You have to adapt the tutorial a bit to the Windows 8 situation. I always image all partitions in my 8.1. Question is whether your SSD is large enough to restore them.

The easiest would be to use the Paragon Migration tool. Then you are done in 3 clicks and don't have to worry about anything.

Paragon Migrate OS to SSD - System migration to Solid State Drives (SSD) - Overview
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Vista and Win7
    System Manufacturer/Model
    2xHP, 2xGateway, 1xDell, 1xSony
    Hard Drives
    5 SSDs and 12 HDs
Crucial do a laptop install kit...this makes it very easy....see below...unfortunately no link so just go to their website.

Thanks for that , had a look at it.

It seems it's a usb-sata cable and a cd with Acronis software on it.

But i don't need the cable , the SSD is already in the laptop , it has 1 3.5" slot wich has the original 1TB drive and an extra 2.5 " slot where i put the SSD in.

So i think i'm going to go with the Paragon software that whs recommends.

But thanks for the effort of searcing it , seems like a perfect solution for 1 slot laptops so most likely someone else will benifit from your post when they read this topic.


So , you prefer a clone over a fresh install ?

Also , this tutorial is written for W7 , does it also goes for W8 ? (since you pointed me to it , i assume it does but better safe than sorry)

And what with the recoverypartitions ?

The 100MB partition is handled by the tut , but what with the 20GB and the 900MB partitions ? (anyone knows what the 900MB one is for ?)


Also , asside from that , what with future re-installs ? (since i haven't got any disk for that)
Yeah right. You have to adapt the tutorial a bit to the Windows 8 situation. I always image all partitions in my 8.1. Question is whether your SSD is large enough to restore them.

The easiest would be to use the Paragon Migration tool. Then you are done in 3 clicks and don't have to worry about anything.

Paragon Migrate OS to SSD - System migration to Solid State Drives (SSD) - Overview

It's a 240GB SSD , so i guess that won't be a problem.

Will that Paragon software move everyting ? (OS , the 100MB partition and both recoverypartitions ?)

And when it's done , will the SSD become the C drive automatically or do i have to do that myself ?

( better to be well informed before i start ;) )


And thanks to all for the help.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 8
I know it moves C and the bootmgr partition. Not sure about the other two partitions. I never used it on 8.1, only on 7. But is can do 8.1. And yes, the OS partition wil be C.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Vista and Win7
    System Manufacturer/Model
    2xHP, 2xGateway, 1xDell, 1xSony
    Hard Drives
    5 SSDs and 12 HDs
I got the Paragon Hard disk Manager 14 suite , looked handy to have for the future and the migrate OS to SSD software is part of it.

So i want to start now and after analyzing it found the correct W8 installation and it also found the SSD to migrate to.

Now it gives 2 extra options (checkboxes) :

- Use all available space for the partition with OS
- Create new EFI boot entry for destination drive

Already ticked the first since i won't make partitions on the SSD

But what is the second one for ? And should i tick it or not ?
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 8
You can go either way. Since you have a working EFI partition (that's the one which contains the bootmgr), there is no need to recreate it.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Vista and Win7
    System Manufacturer/Model
    2xHP, 2xGateway, 1xDell, 1xSony
    Hard Drives
    5 SSDs and 12 HDs
I've bought a new laptop , it's an Asus K95 series. (K95VB)

Since it has an open slot for a second drive i also bought an SSD for it , a Crucial M500 240Gb if that should matter.

So the laptop comes preinstalled with windows 8.
There are no discs (recovery,repair,...) with the system. (a google search learned that this is normal)

Offcourse i want my laptop to run the W8 from the SSD instead of the 1TB HDD (wich is actually a 3.5" , first time i see that in a laptop ;) ).


1) What is the best way to do this ? Clone , fresh install , recover to SSD ? (alltough it seems the last one isn't possible)

I know a clean install is always the best way but since i don't have any W8 disk to install from , i don't know how ... (read as : can you do a fresh install with a recovery disk ?)

2) How do i do it ? (a nice step by step if possible)

3) If i manage to do it , what do i do with the original HDD ?
Because it has 5 partitions now : 100MB (EFI-systempartition) - 900MB (recoverypartition) - 20,01GB (recoverypartition) - and a C and D (OS and Data).
Can/may they be deleted ? (want to use this just for data , all progams/games/apps will go to the SSD offcourse)


Haven't installed anything yet , just turned it on and did the basic installation stuff W8 asks for the first time.

Not a noob to pc/laptop installs , but new to W8 and it looks like it changed a bit since W7 and everything before that.

Lots of questions for a first post ;) , hope to find some answers here :thumb:

Asus has a program called Backtracker, with it you will create an recovery USB Thumb Drive media. With this media you can restore to your new SSD. I suggest you remove or disconnect your current hard drive and put your SSD in the slot 0 then restore. after your restore your notebook will be as it came from the factory only on your SSD. Once your booting to your new SSD with no issues put your old hard drive in and use Diskpart to clean, convert to GPT, format and partition any way you like. Here is the link to the Back Tracker program.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 8.1 Pro MC
    Computer type
    Laptop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Asus G75VW / Z97 Pro
    CPU
    Intel Core i7-3610QM / I7-4790K
    Motherboard
    Z97 Pro
    Memory
    16 GB Hyundai HTM315156CFR8C-PB PC3-12800
    Graphics Card(s)
    nVIDIA GeForce GTX 670M (GF114M)
    Sound Card
    VIA 6.0.10.1600
    Screen Resolution
    1080
    Hard Drives
    Samsung 850 Pro 256, Samsung 850 Pro 1TB
    Internet Speed
    30 down 3 up
    Browser
    Explorer 11
    Antivirus
    NIS and Malwarebytes
http://winsupersite.com/windows-8/windows-81-tip-download-windows-81-iso-windows-8-product-key

I managed to do the above using a generic key from the windows site and a product key purchased from Get Windows Product Keys Full Lifetime Guarantee - Oggus.com
Now I have a DVD I can use to instal or repair windows 8.1 and its copyable.
I started the 8.ISO and stopped it after about 2 minutes - my product key from oggus allowed this - I then tried 8.1.ISO and it downloaded in a long time. I used Windows7 supplied burner to burn to a DVD and Nero to backup copy it.
The generic code enables clean installation. (see posts - may not work with a Product Key supplied inside a laptop)
After installation I went in to the activation section after using the DOS commands to change the Product Key to my purchased one.
I noticed that there was a facility to change the product key in the activation section.
PS you have to read the posts to get the full information but I am not a spring chicken and I managed it.
I can now update my laptop to Windows 8.1 for $40 with a new key from oggus.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    8.1
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Generic
Everything went ok , laptop is running W8 from SSD now ;)

Thx to whs for the help.


New problem now with updating to 8.1 ...

From Store , it downloads the update , starts preparing then asks to restart and after that it gives :

Sorry we couldn't complete the update to Windows 8.1.We restored your previous version of Windows to this PC


0xC1900101 - 0x20017

Already tried several solutions found online but can't get it to work , same message after each restart.

(solutions tried : disable antivir/firewall , clear store cache and clean boot)
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 8
Not sure why that happens. Maybe because you do not yet have all the updates for 8. I suggest you run the 8 updates until there are none left and then try again.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Vista and Win7
    System Manufacturer/Model
    2xHP, 2xGateway, 1xDell, 1xSony
    Hard Drives
    5 SSDs and 12 HDs
Forgot to mention that :eek:

But already done that , was the first thing i did. (even retried several times to be sure)

Getting a bit desperate , already retried 15-20 times and every time same error on the first mandatory reboot ...

What worries me most is the lack of solutions offered by Microsoft from what i read in my google search.

( somewhere discribed as " deafening silence from Microsoft ")
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 8
Next I would check whether this product key is legit or special. Another real dumb reason could be if the clock is not set to today's date. Just offering things I have seen in the past. But I doubt that the SSD is at fault. That is a standard Sata disk.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Vista and Win7
    System Manufacturer/Model
    2xHP, 2xGateway, 1xDell, 1xSony
    Hard Drives
    5 SSDs and 12 HDs
The wrong Time Zone / Incorrect Time can mess things up. It's an embedded key so I don't think that's an issue. It may be "Single Language" but I don't think that matters as far as the Store Update goes.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 10 Education 64 Bit
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Asus
    CPU
    AMD Phenom II X4 980 Black Edition Deneb 3.7GHz
    Motherboard
    ASUS M4N68T-M V2 µATX Motherboard
    Memory
    8GB 4GBx2 Kingston PC10600 DDR3 1333 Memory
    Graphics Card(s)
    NVIDIA Geforce GT640 2 Gig DDR3 PCIe
    Sound Card
    VIA VT1708s High Definition Audio 8-channel Onboard
    Monitor(s) Displays
    22" LG E2242 1080p and 2 19" I-INC AG191D
    Screen Resolution
    1280x1024 - 1920x1080 - 1280x1024
    Hard Drives
    Crucial MX100 256 GB SSD and 500 GB WD Blue SATA
    PSU
    Thermaltake TR 620
    Case
    Power Up Black ATX Mid-Tower Case
    Cooling
    Stock heatsink fan
    Keyboard
    Logitech Wireless K350 Wave
    Mouse
    Logitech M570 Trackball and T650 TouchPad
    Internet Speed
    80 Mbps Down 30 Mbps Up
    Browser
    Internet Explorer 11
    Antivirus
    Windows Defender
    Other Info
    HP DVD1040e Lightscribe - External USB2
Everything went ok , laptop is running W8 from SSD now ;)

Thx to whs for the help.


New problem now with updating to 8.1 ...

From Store , it downloads the update , starts preparing then asks to restart and after that it gives :

Sorry we couldn't complete the update to Windows 8.1.We restored your previous version of Windows to this PC


0xC1900101 - 0x20017

Already tried several solutions found online but can't get it to work , same message after each restart.

(solutions tried : disable antivir/firewall , clear store cache and clean boot)
Disconnect HDD....Then try updating....If successful reformat HDD
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 8 Pro
It's an embedded key so I don't think that's an issue.
He got that key from that Oggus company. Who knows what they are selling.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Vista and Win7
    System Manufacturer/Model
    2xHP, 2xGateway, 1xDell, 1xSony
    Hard Drives
    5 SSDs and 12 HDs
It's an embedded key so I don't think that's an issue.
He got that key from that Oggus company. Who knows what they are selling.

I think it was Teddy326 that got his key from Oggus, not Deuces.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 10 Education 64 Bit
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Asus
    CPU
    AMD Phenom II X4 980 Black Edition Deneb 3.7GHz
    Motherboard
    ASUS M4N68T-M V2 µATX Motherboard
    Memory
    8GB 4GBx2 Kingston PC10600 DDR3 1333 Memory
    Graphics Card(s)
    NVIDIA Geforce GT640 2 Gig DDR3 PCIe
    Sound Card
    VIA VT1708s High Definition Audio 8-channel Onboard
    Monitor(s) Displays
    22" LG E2242 1080p and 2 19" I-INC AG191D
    Screen Resolution
    1280x1024 - 1920x1080 - 1280x1024
    Hard Drives
    Crucial MX100 256 GB SSD and 500 GB WD Blue SATA
    PSU
    Thermaltake TR 620
    Case
    Power Up Black ATX Mid-Tower Case
    Cooling
    Stock heatsink fan
    Keyboard
    Logitech Wireless K350 Wave
    Mouse
    Logitech M570 Trackball and T650 TouchPad
    Internet Speed
    80 Mbps Down 30 Mbps Up
    Browser
    Internet Explorer 11
    Antivirus
    Windows Defender
    Other Info
    HP DVD1040e Lightscribe - External USB2
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