Add SSD to Envy 17t-j100

[Alismurf]

 Hi, I've looked around and didn't see anything recent with this specific questions.  I currently have two 1TB HHDs (HGST HTS541010A9E680) and (from what I can tell) no SSD on this model, so total HHD space of 2 TB.   I have a moderate amount of photos & audio/video files, nothing massive in today's terms, but probably more than the average user.

Considering I use my computer mostly for photo organization and editing, what's the best/recommended course of action to reap some of the benefits that SSDs have to offer?

1.  There's going to be a 750GB Crucial SSD (CT750MX300SSD1) for $99.99 on black friday.  Is Crucial a decent/reliable brand?  Do I give up 250 GB of storage and swap one of the 1TB HHDs for the 750 GB SSD?  I'm thinking of the added stability of the SSD and hoping to have a bit more peace of mind that my files will be safer if stored there instead a traditonal HHD.  Ideally I'd like the SSD to be the primary drive for system and most file storage with the HHD as additional space if/when needed.  The 5400 RPM on the HHD can feel slow when moving things around.  Would an SSD improve the speed at which photo software processes images or is that strictly dictated by processor speed?  What kind of an undertaking am I in for if I want to change my system drive?  This may seem like a silly question, but would I need to make system recovery disks in order to reinstall windows 10 on the new drive? I upgraded to Windows 10 last year around this time.  Before that, the last total system overhaul I did was with a physical Windows XP cd so I'm feeling a little out of my element...   I also read in a post somewhere, that SSDs can't be primary?  But it's always possible that person was wrong or the info was outdated/not applicable to this model.

Or

2.  Add a smaller (ie 250 GB) mSATA SSD as a "safety net" for critical file back-ups.  (I say smaller because of the significant cost difference of SATA vs mSATA drives.)  Also, if I were to go this route, would my system support the larger mSATA drive? 

     The specs for my machine say:

          Solid-state drive Only configured with system memory up to 8 GB:

              ● 32-GB mSATA (select models only)

              ● 24-GB mSATA (select models only)

Does that mean the maximum capacity of the slot is 32 or 24 depending on the model, or simply that certain machines have that pre-installed, and leave the limits to our imagination?  If I'm patient and the prices of mSATA come down, could I upgrade to something like 1TB for a total of 3 TB?  (not that I'm greedy or anything...)

Thanks in advance!

[Huffer · Accepted solution]

Absolutely. Buy the Black Friday 750 gig Crucual SSD and replace the main system hard drive with it. Don't think in terms of the mSSD. Those are 24 and 32 gigs for a reason. They cannot be the system boot drive with another drive in place. The mSATA is designed solely to be used as an Accelerator Cache drive using Intel Rapid Storage Technology. It binds with the main mechanical hard drive to speed it up but is only operative on a mechanical drive. In fact, the best thing to do if you install an SSD is toss the 24 or 32 gig mSSD because it then serves no purpose. The mSSD it uses is not the current M.2 type but an older type that is now obsolete hardware and nobody is improving them or really trying to make any bigger ones. A 2.5 inch SATA SSD can most definitely be the system drive; what you were reading was likely about the mSSD as I said above it can't be the system drive. 

The SSD would most definitely improve boot time and overall operation of the computer to a degree that has to be experienced to be appreciated. Anyone I know who has used a computer with an SSD would not go back. For demanding photo editing and video rendering it is a necessity these days as that procedure is all about reading from and writing to the hard drive. Your processor is plenty powerful, it is the hard drive holding you back.  

There are lots of ways to move your system over to the SSD. Windows 10 is free to download for reinstallation: no Key Code needed. Windows 10 has excellent full system backup capabilities or, as I said you can clone. With your laptop having 2 hard drive bays you really do not need any special hardware. 

You can clone the existing main system drive over to the new SSD as long as there is room. Post back if you need any more help with that. 

If this is "the Answer" please click "Accept as Solution" to help others find it. 

[Alismurf]

Thank you! The drive will arrive this weekend. I'll post back to let you know how it goes and if I need help with the clone. I should have plenty of space for that.

[Alismurf]

Just wanted to check back in to let you know that everything went smoothly and I'm loving the speed so far.  I did some prep work to move my data files to the secondary HD and just went with a clean install of Windows 10 rather than cloning.  Easy peasy. 

I picked up a external case for my old HD so I won't lose any capacity and can retrieve files I may have missed f necessary later on.

Thanks again!

[Huffer]

All original drivers and apps are in your original drive in a C:\swsetup folder.