Want to change my HDD too SSD

JayLee
JayLee Member Posts: 5

Tinkerer

edited March 2024 in 2018 Archives
Hi all,

I own a Aspire TC-220 and mainly just use it to play World of Warcraft (at low settings) but thought of getting a few simple upgrades.

I am upgrading my PSU (no problems)
I am upgrading my GPU (no problems)
I am installing a SSD (see below)

Now my question, when i purchased this p.c it came with no windows 10 disk or recovery disk so i done a bit of research and it seems this is the norm?

  • What i want to do is completely remove the HDD and replace it with the SSD
  • I want to have just my OS and World of Warcraft and photos/documents on the SSD
  • I also want to do a complete fresh install of windows onto the SSD to make it just like it was when i bought it, completely clean, preferably with no bloatware if this is possible.
  • I have already backed up all my files, documents, photos etc etc to USB
  • I have also used the Acer Care Center Recovery Management and done "Create Factory Default Backup" on a seperate USB to the above

How easy is this? is it a simple case of removing the HDD and replacing it with the new SSD and then when booting it up use the "Create Factory Default Backup" when prompted?

Or is it not that straight forward?

Also do i need to make any changes to the BIOS before doing anything?

Looking forward to your advice.

All the best

Jay



Best Answer

  • ven98
    ven98 ACE Posts: 4,071 Pathfinder
    Answer ✓
    It is very straight forward. As you are replacing the drive, that means there is no windows boot manager, therefore the PC will boot straight from the recovery drive. If it doesn't work on boot press F12 to enter the boot menu(if it doesn't work you should enable it from BIOS(F2)) and select the recovery drive from there.

    If you want fresh windows without any bloatware(it is likely that the recovery drive contains all Acer software as well) you can create windows installtion media and the use rufus to make it bootable from the USB flash drive. Anyway, the 'bloatware' can easily be uninstalled.
    Always post the following characterisitcs of the device:
    -Model number
    -Part number(not required, but helpful)
    -CPU
    -GPU
    -Operating system

    Helios 300 and Nitro 5 users DO NOT update the BIOS to version 1.22 if you don't want the keyboard's backlight to turn off after 30 seconds even when the device is plugged in.


    Hit 'Like' if you find the answer helpful!   
    Click on 'Yes' if the comment answers your question!

Answers

  • ven98
    ven98 ACE Posts: 4,071 Pathfinder
    Answer ✓
    It is very straight forward. As you are replacing the drive, that means there is no windows boot manager, therefore the PC will boot straight from the recovery drive. If it doesn't work on boot press F12 to enter the boot menu(if it doesn't work you should enable it from BIOS(F2)) and select the recovery drive from there.

    If you want fresh windows without any bloatware(it is likely that the recovery drive contains all Acer software as well) you can create windows installtion media and the use rufus to make it bootable from the USB flash drive. Anyway, the 'bloatware' can easily be uninstalled.
    Always post the following characterisitcs of the device:
    -Model number
    -Part number(not required, but helpful)
    -CPU
    -GPU
    -Operating system

    Helios 300 and Nitro 5 users DO NOT update the BIOS to version 1.22 if you don't want the keyboard's backlight to turn off after 30 seconds even when the device is plugged in.


    Hit 'Like' if you find the answer helpful!   
    Click on 'Yes' if the comment answers your question!

  • JayLee
    JayLee Member Posts: 5

    Tinkerer

    ven98 said:
    It is very straight forward. As you are replacing the drive, that means there is no windows boot manager, therefore the PC will boot straight from the recovery drive. If it doesn't work on boot press F12 to enter the boot menu(if it doesn't work you should enable it from BIOS(F2)) and select the recovery drive from there.

    Hi, many thanks for the info, i think i will go for the above and just manually remove the bloatware.

    In the end i went for this new hardware:

    • GPU: Palit NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1050 2GB STORMX Graphics Card
    • PSU: Corsair VS450 450 Watt Fully Wired 80+ White PSU/Power Supply
    • SSD: WD Green 240GB 2.5" SATA 3D NAND SSD/Solid State Drive
    It should improve the p.c a little atleast.

    My other concern now is wether the Aspire TC-220 is fitted with a ATX PSU as SCAN UK said "For the power supply however it could be a little tricky as some companies like to use their own sized power supplies rather than a standard size. If it is a standard size ATX power supply I would say that this one would be a good upgrade for you"

    Oh the fun begins...

    Jay