Invest in better performance

can prolong the useful life of your system and when considering a particular model of SSD priced for your budget, Google is the best place to find reviews, pricing and opinions from other users.

AUDIT

AN SSD upgrade should work in all modern PCs, and older systems up to about seven years old, although a computer that old might have other issues that make an upgrade uneconomical. It’s not a miracle cure for ancient systems from a decade ago, which are not worth spending money on.

Before deciding whether to upgrade your PC, do an audit of its hardware and software. This will prove invaluable if anything goes wrong and you end up having to reinstall Windows, your programs or drivers. It will also give any competent IT consultant enough information to help you. Use the free Belarc Advisor program, which you can download from www.belarc.com. Simply click “Free Download” and choose “Run” when prompted, or save the file to your PC and then double-click it. The audit results open in your web browser. From here, you should print them or save the file to a removable disk or USB flash drive for future reference. If you save the file, choose File > Save As, then choose “Save as type: Web Archive, single file (*.mht)”. This ensures the file can be opened on another PC if your PC is inaccessible. Also remember to back up your data before making any changes, and seek professional help if you’re not sure how to do this. Don’t take any risks!

INSTALL

ONCEyou’ve purchased a new SSD, you’ll need a screwdriver to install it. Usually this is a Phillips or “Star” type. Most SSDs include the screws and the data cable required (this is called a SATA or “Serial ATA” cable), and some will also include a desktop mounting kit that adapts the SSD to fit inside a desktop PC. Installing the SSD involves removing a few screws and opening your PC’s box, mounting the SSD in an appropriate spare bay and connecting its SATA and power cables. There are too many different types of PCs for me to be able to give specific instructions here, but fortunately there are some excellent video guides online that explain each step. Many of these are produced by SSD manufacturers, but the principles are the same, no matter which brand of SSD you end up buying. For a guide to the physical installation, see the video created by SSD manufacturer Kingston at www.tinyurl.com/KTSSD2015 as a start. You can also search on www.youtube.com for more. WHEN it comes to your software, you have two options – either clone your hard drive to the new SSD, retaining all your current software and data as is, or reinstall Windows and all your programs on the new SSD, which some hardcore users may prefer. In either case, a novice will need some assistance. You can follow an online guide such as the one at www.tinyurl.com/LHSSDG2015, which explains how to clone a hard drive’s contents using free software.

A guide for laptop users is at www.tinyurl.com/LTSSD2015. Also check the documentation provided with your new SSD. Many SSD manufacturers offer their own software free to assist their customers with this process – Crucial, Intel and Samsung all offer data migration software, which can be downloaded from their websites.

See you next week!