planning to replace my 1TB "spinning" hard disk drive

Try3 · Aug 27, 2022

FrankW said:
"should I Initialize" YES, but how? in a USB case?

Frank,

I just got hold of a brand new uninitialised disk.

I deliberately left it uninitialised so I could test system image recovery on it.
1 Acronis True image could not restore a disk image to it. It could not see it as an available target disk; it could not see it at all.
2 Macrium reflect could see the uninitialised disk and did successfully restore a system image to it.
I don't have any Windows backup & restore system images so I could not test that.

I now believe that those tiny red down-arrows you illustrated all that time ago are indicators of a need to right-click & carry out some obligatory action. In my case it was right-click & initialise.

Now I've got to clear the disk out so I can do what I actually wanted with it.
Fortunately, I have MiniTool Partition Wizard & EaseUS Partition Master because Disk mgmt cannot delete its EFI & recovery partitions.

All the best,
Denis

FrankW · Aug 28, 2022

Try3 said:
Frank,

I just got hold of a brand new uninitialised disk.

I deliberately left it uninitialised so I could test system image recovery on it.
1 Acronis True image could not restore a disk image to it. It could not see it as an available target disk; it could not see it at all.
2 Macrium reflect could see the uninitialised disk and did successfully restore a system image to it.
I don't have any Windows backup & restore system images so I could not test that.

I now believe that those tiny red down-arrows you illustrated all that time ago are indicators of a need to right-click & carry out some obligatory action. In my case it was right-click & initialise.
View attachment 37586

Now I've got to clear the disk out so I can do what I actually wanted with it.
Fortunately, I have MiniTool Partition Wizard & EaseUS Partition Master because Disk mgmt cannot delete its EFI & recovery partitions.

All the best,
Denis

Hi Denis,
Got the new spinning HDD and it was not yet initialized, so I did that with Disk Manager but did not format the new drive yet, Simple Volume, NTFS, D: (I will change that to C: after installing). Note the 50% faster write speed on the winsat test of the Toshiba and HWINFO detected a temperature sensor (I like that). The "Uncorrectable Errors" is still on 14 on my old Seagate so I wait replacing the drive till that gets higher or other SMART errors appear. The Toshiba is brand new and in top condition but too slow for you guys. I believe that Windows RE will detect the drive?
Frank

FrankW · Aug 28, 2022

Bree said:
I have yet to receive my new Samsung 870 EVO 1TB SSD, so I don't know yet how hot it may get in my Aspire A315-23. As this is a 2.5" SATA drive and fits in the space where an HDD had been I would expect there to be enough air space around it to keep it cool enough.

What I can say that I've had an 860 EVO 500GB running in a Dell Latitude E7440 for some three years now.

View attachment 37514

In that time it has stayed well within its operating specs.

View attachment 37515

https://semiconductor.samsung.com/resources/data-sheet/Samsung_SSD_860_EVO_Data_Sheet_Rev1.pdf

Nice, my new spinning drive has a maximum temp. of only 60°C but I have not seen my present HDD even getting warm (no temp. sensor on my old drive). I don't know about your A315 but my a515 has a very thin, flimsy, plastic bottom attached with 11 screws (not kidding) I just replaced the bottom cover (screws busted and cover did not snap anymore) and the plastic was peeling (burned) inside above the heat sink, I don't think I want a 2.5" SATA SSD (even with thermal pads) that may run hot in the tropics (I work outside, no aircon during the day). the small NV SSDs get also hot and require heat sinks. Those are my 2 biggest complaints about my Acer 515, plastic body and fragile (metal) hinge footings that detach after 2 years daily use. My lid (screen) is metal. I also could not get an IPS panel in the Philippines mine is TN and very dim outside. My next laptop will be a DELL XPS 15, OLED or 500 nits FHD.

Try3 · Aug 28, 2022

FrankW said:
I will change that to C: after installing

Windows will do that for you.
After you restore the system image to it then fit it & Windows boots from it, it will call it the C:\ drive.

I also have screws galore. 19 screws to remove & replace to fit my new disk [same number as swapping over my main battery].

Best of luck,
Denis

Bree · Aug 28, 2022

Try3 said:
I just got hold of a brand new uninitialised disk.

I deliberately left it uninitialised so I could test system image recovery on it.....
1 Acronis True image could not restore a disk image to it. It could not see it as an available target disk; it could not see it at all.
2 Macrium reflect could see the uninitialised disk and did successfully restore a system image to it.

....Now I've got to clear the disk out so I can do what I actually wanted with it.

I have just received the new 1TB SSD to replace the perfectly sound but slow HDD in my System One. I too restored a Macrium image to the uninitialised SSD without a problem.

FrankW said:
Nice, my new spinning drive has a maximum temp. of only 60°C but I have not seen my present HDD even getting warm (no temp. sensor on my old drive). I don't know about your A315 but my a515 has a very thin, flimsy, plastic bottom attached with 11 screws (not kidding) I just replaced the bottom cover (screws busted and cover did not snap anymore) and the plastic was peeling (burned) inside above the heat sink, I don't think I want a 2.5" SATA SSD (even with thermal pads) that may run hot in the tropics....

Well, I've transfer the image of my HDD and swapped in the SSD now. Only 10 screws for my cover, another 4 to remove the drive mount assembly, and 4 more holding the drive in its mount frame. This is the 3rd time I've opened the cover and it's still intact.

Been running with the SSD for and hour an a half now. Temperatures seem pretty stable....

FrankW · Aug 28, 2022

Bree said:
I have just received the new 1TB SSD to replace the perfectly sound but slow HDD in my System One. I too restored a Macrium image to the uninitialised SSD without a problem.

Well, I've transfer the image of my HDD and swapped in the SSD now. Only 10 screws for my cover, another 4 to remove the drive mount assembly, and 4 more holding the drive in its mount frame. This is the 3rd time I've opened the cover and it's still intact.

Been running with the SSD for and hour an a half now. Temperatures seem pretty stable....

View attachment 37617

Very appealing, I may give that a try if this mechanical drive is too slow, I noticed that all posters restore to your new drives externally, what are the cons and pros restoring a blank drive internally with a USB recovery drive like I plan to do, or has no one tried that?

FrankW · Aug 28, 2022

Try3 said:
Windows will do that for you.
After you restore the system image to it then fit it & Windows boots from it, it will call it the C:\ drive.

I also have screws galore. 19 screws to remove & replace to fit my new disk [same number as swapping over my main battery].

Best of luck,
Denis

You mean fit the blank initialized drive first, boot with the recovery USB thumb drive and restore from the external drive with the backup?

SIW2 · Aug 28, 2022

Try3 said:
Windows will do that for you.
After you restore the system image to it then fit it & Windows boots from it, it will call it the C:\ drive.

I also have screws galore. 19 screws to remove & replace to fit my new disk [same number as swapping over my main battery].

Best of luck,
Denis

It should have the same os letter that it had when you made the image. Not every windows installation has os letter C.
Though it sounds like Frank's was and therefore will still be after restore.

If you want to have a play:

run setup.exe from within your current os ( which is probably C:) select Custom instead of Upgrade and point it at a different partition. Then boot into that new installation and see what os letter it has.

Bree · Aug 28, 2022

FrankW said:
I noticed that all posters restore to your new drives externally, what are the cons and pros restoring a blank drive internally with a USB recovery drive like I plan to do, or has no one tried that?

After I had made the system image of my HDD using the Windows and Macrium Reflect that was installed on it I had a choice:

put the new SDD in an external case, restore to it within Windows using the installed Reflect while still running from the HDD, then swap the drives.
swap the drives first then boot from a Reflect recovery USB and do the restore last.

I choose to do the restore to the uninitialised SSD in an external usb case purely because it was more convenient. The end result should be exactly the same either way.

Also, attaching it as an external drive gave me the opportunity to check it out before anything had been written to it. It had only been powered up once before I got it.

I've put 10 hours and 295GB of Host Writes on it since then :wink:

SIW2 · Aug 28, 2022

I ran the samsung speed test or whatever it is called on a 870 evo 1tb before doing anything else, 0gb written. Afterwards it said there was 32gb written. That is more than I had expected to write for the test. I haven't used it since. It is my spare.

FrankW · Aug 28, 2022

@Bree
"I choose to do the restore to the uninitialised SSD in an external usb case purely because it was more convenient. The end result should be exactly the same either way."

IMO your method is slower with an older (internal) mechanical HDD as it involves:

Running Windows 11 OS with Macrium, or other program on the internal HDD, that requires experience/correct settings vs. mini WinPE that runs on a USB thumb drive.
Extra transfer of 100s GB of data from your internal HDD and cache through a 2nd USB interface/cables to the target drive.
Possible ambiguity with the C: or D: naming when installing and booting the new internal drive?

FrankW · Aug 29, 2022

SIW2 said:
I think they are talking about nvme ssd getting hot. Sata ssd should be fine. I have no idea if Frank's model supports nvme.

This is what a somewhat outdated manual states about a NV SSD and Crucial claims to have a whole serie up to 1TB tested for my model:
Crucial NV SSD for Acer a515
The picture of my laptop shows the empty space above the right (bottom) speaker and the connector.
I am now in favor of a 2.5" SATA SSD like Bree just installed, if it stays cool.....

Ghot · Aug 29, 2022

FrankW said:
This is what a somewhat outdated manual states about a NV SSD and Crucial claims to have a whole serie up to 1TB tested for my model:
Crucial NV SSD for Acer a515
The picture of my laptop shows the empty space above the right (bottom) speaker and the connector.
I am now in favor of a 2.5" SATA SSD like Bree just installed, if it stays cool.....

The 2.5" SSDs don't even think about getting hot.
They run cooler than hard drives.

Granted, this is a desktop, but look at these temps...
This is one of two Samsung 860 EVO 2.5" SSDs

FrankW · Aug 29, 2022

Bree said:
I have just received the new 1TB SSD to replace the perfectly sound but slow HDD in my System One. I too restored a Macrium image to the uninitialised SSD without a problem.

Well, I've transfer the image of my HDD and swapped in the SSD now. Only 10 screws for my cover, another 4 to remove the drive mount assembly, and 4 more holding the drive in its mount frame. This is the 3rd time I've opened the cover and it's still intact.

Been running with the SSD for and hour an a half now. Temperatures seem pretty stable....

View attachment 37617

Well you got me hooked if that EVO temp stays down like that. The cheapest here in the Philippines is US$ 110 and half of that for the 550GB model. I will watch your temp. and if it does not get above 38°C I will order one and keep my Toshiba mechanical drive as backup, weird that Acer Support (Philippines) never mentioned this 2.5" SSD SATA as an option, maybe they are still testing it....

FrankW · Aug 29, 2022

Ghot said:
The 2.5" SSDs don't even think about getting hot.
They run cooler than hard drives.

Granted, this is a desktop, but look at these temps...
This is a Samsung 860 EVO 2.5" SSD

View attachment 37675

....and inside in a cool room. What about in a cramped ultra slim laptop that only has 1 fan and outside in the tropics?. But I am inclined to buy one now, Bree convinced me.

Ghot · Aug 29, 2022

FrankW said:
....and inside in a cool room. What about in a cramped ultra slim laptop that only has 1 fan and outside in the tropics?. But I am inclined to buy one now, Bree convinced me.

I "didn't" buy M.2 SSDs, even for a desktop, because of the heat they generate.
I'm a big fan of 2.5" SSDs, as I mentioned back in post #10.

And this was the cheapest I decent one could find (in the Philippines)...

Region Not Available - PCPartPicker

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ph.pcpartpicker.com

There are cheaper ones, but I tend to stick with Crucial or Samsung.
They both have a really good track record.

Region Not Available - PCPartPicker

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ph.pcpartpicker.com

Same list sorted for 1TB or bigger...

Region Not Available - PCPartPicker

Region Not Available

ph.pcpartpicker.com

M.2 SSDs are a lot faster than 2.5" SSDs...
but outside of a few applications, you really won't notice the speed difference.
On a 2.5" SSD, my computer can restart in 40 seconds (via stop watch).

That's from the time I click on Restart, until I can start using programs on my desktop again.

I just timed it again... 36 seconds to desktop, and open browser.

NavyLCDR · Aug 29, 2022

And yet there are hundreds of thousands NVMe SSDs installed without regards to heat problems, including the two 512GB NVMe SSDs in the laptop I am posting this from. Just sayin' it doesn't seem to be a common concern.

But, I know, like my mama used to say, "If a thousand people jumped off a cliff and died, would you too just because the other thousand did?"

Ghot · Aug 29, 2022

NavyLCDR said:
And yet there are hundreds of thousands NVMe SSDs installed without regards to heat problems, including the two 512GB NVMe SSDs in the laptop I am posting this from. Just sayin' it doesn't seem to be a common concern.

But, I know, like my mama used to say, "If a thousand people jumped off a cliff and died, would you too just because the other thousand did?"

I'm old fashioned. I always choose whatever components run coolest.
I don't think "pushing the envelope" is a worthwhile pastime... unless it's "needed" for some reason.
Personally... I haven't seen a need.

But that's just me. Others may see a need?

NavyLCDR · Aug 29, 2022

Ghot said:
I'm old fashioned. I always choose whatever components run coolest.
I don't think "pushing the envelope" is a worthwhile pastime... unless it's "needed" for some reason.
Personally... I haven't seen a need.

But that's just me. Others may see a need?

Does the fact that my laptop only has two m.2 slots and no SATA port count as a need?

Ghot · Aug 29, 2022

NavyLCDR said:
Does the fact that my laptop only has two m.2 slots and no SATA port count as a need?

It surely does.

planning to replace my 1TB "spinning" hard disk drive

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