Laptop SSD Upgrade (Aspire One 725) 

Thanks for the positive feedback. Yes, the process would be the same -- clone the existing drive to the SSD, switch it -- and all should work fine! :)

Last week I replaced the 320 Gb hard drive on my Acer Aspire 1830T laptop (purchased 8.5 years ago) with a 128 Gb SSD. I only saw this video while browsing today. My installation was as painless as yours, but rather than clone the entire drive which dual booted Windows 7 and Linux Mint 19, I opted to just install LM 19.1. This really has given this little machine a new lease on life. Now I don't have to worry about bouncing it around when I travel. SSDs are now so affordable that there really are few reasons to not upgrade mechanical disks. I really enjoy your videos. Keep up the great work!

I must say, EC is one of the best at doing these sort of videos. The attempt to explain some of the most common yet least explained issues in the computing world is absolutely honorable. Please keep up the good work!

At age eleven, 1957, my Dad taught me a lesson about starting screws that I've used more than six decades. When starting a RH threaded screw, turn it counter clockwise until you feel or hear a click. You will never strip the threads when using this method. I slip the Phillips head screw driver into the slots, holding it in place with my index finger, as I start those tiny screws and upon feeling the click turn clockwise and everything is great. Prior to the introduction of the Raspberry Pi I used my Netbook Acer Aspire One for portable operations to control a transceiver and to log contacts for my hobby, Amateur Radio. Longer battery life using a SSD gave me a few more hours operating times away from the AC mains. Other types of technology have given me ways to extend power on with the netbook, like USB battery packs, cigarette lighter USB adapters for recharging, and better portable solar panels, but the Raspberry Pi replacing the netbook is a better power reduction idea.

Done -- the link is now in the video description. Many SSDs (including the one I used in this video) now include cloning software.

An old video but still valid. I added an 850 EVO 500GB to my Aspire and it went from a seldom used laptop to my everyday machine. Incredible difference in performance. Most amazing is opening MS Word or Excel. They open as if they were on the Task bar and only minimized. Amazing. I think I will follow your advice on the memory upgrade you did after this. Thanks for all your great videos.

Yes, the USB adapter will work with any SATA device that is capable of being powered from a single USB port -- so it will work fine with all SSDs and most 2.5" hard drives. It really is a very handy extra to get in the box!

Thanks for your kind feedback. You can fit any 2.5 inch SSD into the Acer Aspire One 725 -- the limit is really your budget! :) However, you must clone the SSD, or you will no longer have Windows 8 on your netbook! In other words, you very much do need to save things from the origional hard drive, or in other words Windows and all related software. :)

Now that is a BRILLIANT idea! I've various old speaker magnets lying around, so will get on to this straight away! :)

The processor is no issue with an SSD upgrade -- moving to an SSD can only make your netbook faster. :)

I Just upgraded my Aspire One 725 with an SSD like in this vid, and it was a quick installation.. Now installing windows 10 for testing.. :) thanks for the help..

The 43.5GB is the amount of data on the disk being copied. Hence you could do a proportionate resize down to 43.5GB (the partitions created would be completely full!), and up to the 119GB (the total space on the SSD).

Great video, just purchased an Aspire One 725 after my original Netbook did a spectacular fail on me. Couldn't face taking it apart so bought a new machine. Very clear and real and extremely helpful. Thank you

Yes, you will be able to clone from your larger drive to the smaller SSD, providing that the used capacity on the larger drive is less that the total SSD capacity (as it clearly is here).

Oh dear. I am sorry to hear this. I had not experienced a problem like this. It could be linked to the OCZ SSD -- several people (including here) have reported problems with OCZ models.

This video is much appreciated as I used it as a reference when I finally upgraded my 9 year old Asus laptop last year. Kept my prior hard drive as a secondary drive in a caddy that replaced the broken optical drive. The upgrade really helped bring some new life to my old system.

I don't know your particular machine, but would personally first opening up its bottom panel to get to the drive. And if this fails, try the topside (keyboard) route. I have opened up several netbooks for an SSD upgrade that way. The Samsung SSD I used (830 series) does indeed include free cloning software.

I totally agree! :) I am using the netbook from the video right now, and it is a fantastic machine. Even with the SSD, under half the price of an ultrabook -- and very robust (and silent) as you say due to no hard disk.

There are two versions -- one on the ExplainingComputers channel, and one on the ExplainingTheFuture one. Same "tune", different instruments and mix. :)

One of the [many] comments may have already said this, but you can now clone drives a lot easier, without relying on a CD-ROM, by using either the Samsung Magician software they provide, or MiniTool Partition Magic free which has a "migrate to SSD" feature and can clone the internal HDD just by rebooting the system and not having to boot to separate media (like USB or CD-ROM).

Good video. For my laptop upgrade I decided to replace the DVD player with a caddy for HDD/SSD and installed a Kingston HyperX SSD while keeping the original 1TB HDD. I'm very pleased with the results as I can use dual boot - SSD for Win 10 and gaming and a huge HDD for work on Linux.

The proportional resize function only changes partition sizes; it does not compress the data. If copying from a smaller disk to a larger one, this ensures that no space is unallocated on the target disk after cloning. When copying from a larger disk to a smaller one (as here), Pargon would simply not complete the copy without the function selected. But if my files would not fit on the new 120GB disk, it also would not work.

The figures after the upgrade are: Processor: 3.3 Memory 5.1 Desktop for Aero: 4.1 Gaming graphics: 5.5 "Hard disk": 5.8 I can't remember the figures before the upgrade -- though the machine was far less responsive to use. The "hard disk" score was obviously lower. :)

There will be new videos here very soon (pre end November 2012). I do indeed take breaks (to write book) -- and also have my ExplainingTheFuture channel to keep "fed" with videos too! :) A video on memory is a excellent idea. I will add it to my slate! :)

No problem! I have a UK 725 (I am typing on it right now!), which comes with 4GB of RAM. This is the maximum RAM that a 725 can handle, so I did not upgrade it. However, elsewhere in the world some 725s come with 2GB of RAM, and if this is the case you can increase it to 4GB via replacement with a 204-pin DDR3 PC3-10600 SODIMM (the memory module can be see top-right in the video at about 5 mins in). If you do replace/upgrade the RAM, be careful to ground yourself to avoid static damage. :)

Right! But is also makes it far more robust (no risk of a disk head crash when using the device walking around or more generally on the move). Also, computers with SSDs are generally a lot more responsive to use than those based on a hard drive. The user experience of using this machine with an SSD is totally different. :)

I take your points here -- but without a Windows installation disk I could not do this. Also, there is a nice little utility with the Samsung 830 drives (Samsung SSD Magician) that sorts the disk settings out in Windows and also optimises the OS more generally for SSD use. The video was getting rather long, so I did not show this! :-)

Just another partition on my disk -- I always set up a d:/ drive and a c:/ drive on my system disk to make data management easier, etc.

Hey man! Thanks for the demo. All I wanted to see was how to remove the battery, but now I have a nifty way to clone the hard drive over too. I was just gonna re-install Windows.

Thanks for this. I've been busy on a book, but am about to start work on several new videos. The first here will probably be a build of a gaming PC, as AMD are kindly sending me a motherboard and CPU. So this will probably go up here early October. :)

Oh dear. Your Intel 330 SSD is a standard-sized drive with standard SATA connectors. So it should fit as a direct replacement for a 2.5" HD. The only thing I am wondering is if your notebook has an older IDE interface, rather than SATA. If you look at the HD, does it have the same connectors as the SSD? Also, what is the model number of the notebook? I will try to assist if you can provide more info.

I have removed the annotations now -- probably an over-reaction; I cannot read the number, even in the 720p setting. Fingers crossed! :-)

Yes, the same technique applies to desktops -- so you can do what I am doing here to upgrade the disk on a desktop

Yes, you could fit an SSD in place of the HD in the D257 -- it would just be a bit more difficult that with the 725, as it is a smaller machine, so more difficult to get to the disk. I have put SSDs into 10.1 netbooks though -- it just takes a bit of patience! :) In the D257, the RAM probably cannot go beyond 2GB.

PS: Automatic defrag should be turned off if you are running an SSD. Also some unallocated space should ideally be left on the drive. Once again the Samsung utility mentioned above will sort this. Also, early SSDs were far more prone to performance degrades that modern drives, so the issue here is now less important than it used to be.

Excellent, cheers! The notebook set is about £8 cheaper than the desktop one and you only get a sata cable and a bracket and I've got enough of those things already. Helpful again, excellent stuff, old bean!

Probably, if Windows backup is creating a complete image and it is possible for you to boot from your external drive to then recover from. I've never tried this kind of thing using Windows backup.

A great video even though it's a few years old, I'm not too old to learn, LOL. Thanks for posting.

Thanks for this. I am pretty sure that you are right on the volume license -- and I don't think it is readable anyway. Fingers crossed! :-)

Yes, exactly the same. Except that if you are replacing a 3.5" disk in a desktop PC with a 2.5" form-factor SSD, you will probably neeed a 2.5 to 3.5" mounting bracket to fit it in. Some SSDs now come with this bracket.

Sorry, I don't have 257, I just looked up the spec to answer your question. :) I've put SSDs into Asus and Samsung 10.1" netbooks. The key thing is getting inside them and accessing the HD to replace it. Look out for screws in the battery compartment, or under stick-on feet. Good luck! :)

Yes, following a similar suggestion, I have done that now! :)

Great video and expert advice as always. Thanks for this. I have the same netbook and I added 8GB of RAM and am going to add a SSD drive now after watching this.

I agree -- the SSD upgrade is worth it for the longer battery life alone. Plus the machine is much more responsive, and more robust. All first generation netbooks had an SSD, and it is a shame that this is now not even offered as an option.

There is no issue with the data itself, but it is correct that the optimal configuration of an operating system for using an SSD is different for one running from an HD, hence just copying Windows over could cause issues. However, Windows 7 (& 8) now automatically detect a modern SSD, and will turn on TRIM to preserve SSD life. If you add an SSD to an older OS it does not support TRIM, so the config is OK. The Samsung SSD here comes with a utlity that automates optmal config, & a free clone app.

Many thanks! Several people have reminded me of this, and I have done it now! :)

You need to purchase and download the software from Paragon, and then write a disk using a computer with a DVD writer. Note, however, that the Samsung SSD I used did come with its own free software for drive cloning -- as so many SSDs these days. I just prefer to use the Paragon software. :)

The clearest guide I've seen yet.

Yes, as you will need to copy across Windows! :) The computer I worked on above was about 24 hours old.

Thank you for the great video. I have an Acer 725 as well and upgraded the memory to 8GB because it was on sale ($45). Now changing the HD for a 240Gb SSD Sandisk Extreme.

You could do a little light standard definition video editing (or online video editing), but nothing more. There is no way to upgrade the processor.

Yes, you can run the clone software from a USB stick. Thanks for the sub! :)

hmm now I have an aspire D260 version of this, earlier version it seems, but no way can I seem to get the back off though as easily as yours with just the one screw or all screws as I tried...anyone know if the D260's back is glued on ?

Remember that being old is far better than the alternative . . .

Beautiful. I was actually thinking about doing an upgrade for my OS carrying HDD, and sure enough you posted a video about it shortly after haha, keep up the good work man.

I also have a little prog installed to provide a classic start menu! :-) Why? I like to waste as few resources on the OS as possible. So I always turn off stuff like Aero. Lots of companies set up thier PCs using the classic skin for this very reason, so I am not alone. :-)

No, there are no SATA cables supplied with the drive -- but you do get the USB adapter.

What do you mean "extremely recommended?" In what circumstances? Yes if the installation is old. But this was a clone of a brand new disk (the PC was 48 hours old) after manufacturer bloatware had been removed. This machine did not come with any form of Windows or recovery disk, other than a partition to return it to factory state (inc bloatware) which is where it was already. Within organizations (where most PCs are!) the vast majority of installs are from images clones), not installations.

Accordin to Acer, 4GB. But some here have successfully upgraded to 8GB. It does not have a DVD drive.

Yes, you using the resize option, you can clone a 1TB drive to a 500GB drive, **providing** that you have less than 500GB of data on the 1TB drive! :)

Very nice video, you make it look so easy doing these upgrades. I enjoy all your video and keep them coming cheers !!

I think all Samsung SSDs come with their "SSD Magician". If a disk is not included, it is a free download from the Samsung website. Google "Samsung Magician Software Download" -- it is the second program listed on the page.

Good spot n the Windows key -- not readable, but I ought to have blurred it in the video. So I have now added a few annotations! Thanks :-)

Thank you! I've been getting trolled all night by my new v5-123 while trying to replace its 500gb HD with an SSD. I could not figure out how to get the drive bracket backwards and didn't notice those are 2 screws (my eyesight is bad). Suddenly all makes sense! You wouldn't believe how many videos I've watched on here to try and figure it out, but they all have a different drive bay assembly.

Thank you very much sir, thanks to you I will change the memory ram to my laptop which is the same as yours but more basic (just with 2gb in ram). Before buying an ultrabook and throwing this equipment, I prefer to stay with this and buy a 7inch tablet pc with android system ... nothing more portable than that !!! As we say in Venezuela: Thank you for existing, LUCK !!!!

No, as in most laptops or netbooks, you cannot change or improve the graphics. They are pretty good though (the weaker bit here is the processor).

If the netbook is running Windows 7 (which it probably is) then I would go for the RAM upgrade first. Windows 7 will struggle a bit in 1GB (and it probably has less, as I imagine some of that will be used for video memory).

If you buy a Samsung or Kingston drive (and some others) you will get free cloning software with it -- so check carefully what you buy. I had already purchased Paragon so used that, but other software is fine.

I ended up using "Samsung Data Migration Software" that I also found on their site. I've purchased a laptop upgrade kit like in this video and cloning windows fron the HDD to the SSD via the USB cable worked flawlessly. Just swapped the disks and it's a huge increase in speed! Though I already knew that would happen, I've also got an SSD in my desktop. I would never go back to regular HDD's (except for storage, of course). Anyways cheers for this vid, and keep up the good work you're doing.

In short, you will not have any problems fitting an SSD into an Aspire One 725 with Win 8. I have been looking into this and do not actually think there is a significant problem. Running Win 7 on my 725, in my device manager I only see "AMD SATA Controller" (ie no evidence of an AHCI controller). But the BIOS shows AHCI being used for the SATA ports, and an "fsutil behavior query DisableDeleteNotify" command prompt check confirms that TRIM is running. And I'm sure this will be the case in Win 8.

It does breathe new life into an old laptop too. My Dell Vostro 2520 which I upgraded with a SSD would get about 5:50 hour runtime with the standard 48wh battery but if I install the spare 6 cell 78wh battery it is hard to kill in 9 hours. My benchmark is streaming video on wifi from youtube. The SSD uses that much less power than a spinning disc. I used Acronis free software to clone the drive.

Possibly: I'm not sure that this would work on an OEM volume license key.

Just surfing here. I installed an SSD drive yesterday. Downgraded from a Samsung 1 TB drive to a 256 Gig SSD pro drive. That's more than plenty for my uses anyway. Used the Samsung software to complete the process. This computer is now CRAZY fast. It took about 50 min to clone my old HD. Best upgrade to a computer I've ever experienced. Results= old start up time about 50 seconds. New start up time 10 seconds cold start at worst. Mind blowing.

Unfortunately this netbook is not supplied like that -- there are no Windows or recovery disks, and the restore partition just contains files to image back to factory state using an Acer utility. So as I could not "restore" a new disk to a clean version of Windows, I cleared out Windows of bloatware first (the machine was 48 hours old!) and then cloned the disk.

I really need help, I have aspire acer notebook... I can't insert my ssd... but the hdd can be inserted.... I can't understand why my ssd intel 330 series doesnt fit... Do I need some adaptor ?

It already has 4GB of RAM! :-) The boot speed is down to the processor (dual core Fusion at 1GHz)

It's okay unless your laptop has a 1tb or more hard drive already installed. Although bigger SSD drives are available, the price for the larger storage space is on the steep side. So you have to weigh up - do I need all that storage space? Is a quicker boot and load time worth the money, if I buy a large SSD to match what I have at the moment?

The cloning took about 90 minutes. I cleared out all of the bloatware that came on the netbook before I did it. I sadly could not do a clean install as this machine does not come with Windows or recovery disks, and I didn't want to buy another copy of Windows! :-)

I have an Atom-based (D525) PC with 4GB of RAM in it! :) Works fine.

No, everything works fine. Though there is no windows installation going on here. Rather, the image from the previous HD is being cloned. :)

Like your new introduction ! Go ahead and be safe !

Love this video! Extremely professional with a little added humor over screws not cooperating. Would this process be the same if I tried to clone my 1TB HDD to my 512 GB SSD running windows 8? Looking forward to more videos. Well done.

If you can handle a screwdriver you can do this! :) Just take it steady. Not sure what you are referring to about the "left over" bit -- but there were no problems. Good luck! :)

I don't think it is readable -- is it? (I cannot read it) . . .

In an ideal world, maybe. But cloning and then running the Samsung SSD Magician software here obtains the same result. You can also only do a clean install if you have Windows disks, and these are not supplied with the Aspire One 725. Nor are recovery disks supplied. Finally, here I was cloning a disk from a brand new computer.

I ave watched a number of PC related stuff on RU-vid and the guys are incoherent Yanks 'hey wht's up guys' however your presenttion style is spot on. You presnt your vids in a professional way and I trust what you're sayig to me. Many thanks York UK

It is a SATA to USB 2.0 adapter -- so it works in a USB 3.0 port, but only at USB 2.0 speeds. Still a handy little bit of kit though! :)

A fantastic video as always, I'm surprised how easy it was to get at the hard drive in that laptop; my laptop was a nightmare to get to the HDD.

Yes, you are right. With a desktop you can just plug in the SSD into a SATA socket as you say. And it will be much faster than using this USB 2.0 adapter. :)

Had a lot of problems with a SSD from OCZ but i have trade it in for a Intell now. Works great, very fast and no sound !

Yes, everything is copied -- Window, data, the lot. But the copy of Windows is licensed to the machine, not a disk.So there is no piracy going on provided that the SSD is put back into the machine it came from (and the old disk would only work in identical hardware anyway).

I fitted an anti-reflective sheet to the screen to turn it from gloss to matte, and so avoid reflections in it. I hate gloss screens! :) But I also know that many people like them.

Hello! Thanks a ton for this, I recently got this exact model and added an SSD. Great video, great advice, great work. Keep it up, my good man. :)

Thanks! :-) I will add that topic to my growing list . . .

First , thanks for the great video etc.. So , I have an Acer One 725 running a Windows 8. It's new PC. My questions are , I can install the SSD , skipping the cloning? I don't need to save the things from the original hard drive. All my personal things are in the clouds. And you may please , could tell me, more SSD , options, with More capacity I can buy above the one installed? Thanks again for you video. It was great to learning from you.

Problems with OCZ drives are not uncommon . . . :(

Realistically, I am getting just over five hours of use with constant WiFi (eg writing in Google Docs). This compared to just under four hours real-use with the hard disk.

You can put the SSD in the second slot and clone to it as you say. :)

Thanks for the clarification! I have also just found that there is a program calledEaseus Todo Free, which has a special function that does properly align your SSD when you clone from a HDD. I bought a Samsung 830 though so I'll see if that comes with useful software as well. Thanks again!

Excellent video. Just decided to buy a 725 to replace my full-size laptop.