[vasudeva]

Originally Posted by JMaruru

Storage, I was thinking of future needs. AFAIK, there are no laptops which allow dual HDD like one SSD for OS and another for storage.
I would look for extending the warranty as much as possible.
I did NOT know, that there are SSD external drives.

Thanks Again!

17 inch laptops usually have 2 slots for SSD and hard disk.
On my 2011 15 inch XPS 15, I had only 1 hard disk slot. So I removed the DVD slot, bought a Silverstone SATA caddy and converted DVD slot to a SATA slot. That allowed me to put SSD in internal slot and HDD in DVD-converted slot.

[JMaruru]

Originally Posted by vasudeva

17 inch laptops usually have 2 slots for SSD and hard disk.
On my 2011 15 inch XPS 15, I had only 1 hard disk slot. So I removed the DVD slot, bought a Silverstone SATA caddy and converted DVD slot to a SATA slot. That allowed me to put SSD in internal slot and HDD in DVD-converted slot.

Wow! That looks neat!

Also, wanted to know how do we manage to copy the entire HDD image to a new SSD without dismounting the HDD. Is it possible to copy the HDD image(entire contents of the laptop) to a external HDD and then replace the HDD with SSD and copy the image, back from the external HDD?

Please advise!

[binand]

Originally Posted by JMaruru

Is it possible to copy the HDD image(entire contents of the laptop) to a external HDD and then replace the HDD with SSD and copy the image, back from the external HDD?

Can be done, but it might be better if you did this using tools specifically designed for this purpose (called disk imaging tools). Clonezilla is an open source one.

Doing it manually requires you to get into the details of partitioning etc. which unless you know what you are dealing with, is best avoided. Still if you want to try just pick any Linux live CD and explore the process using the dd command.

Clonezilla itself comes as a live CD.

[Aroy]

Originally Posted by JMaruru

Wow! That looks neat!

Also, wanted to know how do we manage to copy the entire HDD image to a new SSD without dismounting the HDD. Is it possible to copy the HDD image(entire contents of the laptop) to a external HDD and then replace the HDD with SSD and copy the image, back from the external HDD?

Please advise!

Most of the disk imaging software just copy the RAW HDD data, so the logical characteristics have to match - platters, sectors and bytes/sector etc. If they do not match image copy may not work. Note that all the bad sectors are also copied without any check. It is mainly used in corporate world to create clones of the master HDD with all corporation specific software loaded. This also makes it very fast to bring a new machine up and working.

In my opinion it is best to reinstall the OS on to the SSD, as there may be SSD specific components involved. Any way reinstalling OS will also get rid of all the flab collected over time and actually make the computer snappier.

[NetfreakBombay]

Originally Posted by JMaruru

Storage, I was thinking of future needs. AFAIK, there are no laptops which allow dual HDD like one SSD for OS and another for storage.

Few recent Dell models allow up to three hard disks (two SATA and 1 NVME).



For example, this one : http://www.dell.com/in/p/inspiron-15...15-7570-laptop


It comes with two storage attached (1 SSD and 1 Disk drive). You can add a third one on NVME.


I added 16 GB RAM to this one and have whole stack setup as 4 VMs (DB , Virtual Storage , App Server , Dist cache).

Originally Posted by JMaruru

Is it possible to copy the HDD image(entire contents of the laptop) to a external HDD and then replace the HDD with SSD

That is the normal procedure. SSDs usually bundle "migration tools". These tools take care of all migration activities like OS Copy, boot management etc.



Example :

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1FxzMphwO18

[typlo]

I'm looking for a work laptop in the range of 50k. Basically, I need it to be fast and as compact as possible. The plethora of options in the Indian market overwhelm me. Obsolete and old laptops are sold side by side in the Indian markets besides the new ones, so that makes it an arcane task to seek out the review and the specs of each one. Any suggestions as to where should I start looking? Nehru place? Amazon? AliExpress?

Or should I ask some relative from the USA to get it for me?

The thing to note is my Vaio with Core i5 (3337u), 8 gigs of RAM, GeForce 740M has served me well for last 7 years. It is indeed bogged down now. I bought it for 48k and barring the CPU, I'm getting worse specs for the same price today. Should I just swap my drive with an SSD? Although my laptop performs OK in everyday tasks, the CPU is really really bad for today's standards, especially for demanding tasks like video encoding and multitasking (or maybe it is just the ridiculous 5400 rpm hard drive).

Any suggestions are appreciated.

[NetfreakBombay]

Originally Posted by typlo

I'm looking for a work laptop in the range of 50k. Basically, I need it to be fast and as compact as possible.

Very difficult to get both.



What do you think about Macbook Air ? It would cost ~50k and is very compact.



What kind of work do you do ? Macbook should be good enough for Email/Excel/Chrome kind of usage.

[Aroy]

Originally Posted by typlo

I'm looking for a work laptop in the range of 50k. Basically, I need it to be fast and as compact as possible. The plethora of options in the Indian market overwhelm me. Obsolete and old laptops are sold side by side in the Indian markets besides the new ones, so that makes it an arcane task to seek out the review and the specs of each one. Any suggestions as to where should I start looking? Nehru place? Amazon? AliExpress?

Or should I ask some relative from the USA to get it for me?

The thing to note is my Vaio with Core i5 (3337u), 8 gigs of RAM, GeForce 740M has served me well for last 7 years. It is indeed bogged down now. I bought it for 48k and barring the CPU, I'm getting worse specs for the same price today. Should I just swap my drive with an SSD? Although my laptop performs OK in everyday tasks, the CPU is really really bad for today's standards, especially for demanding tasks like video encoding and multitasking (or maybe it is just the ridiculous 5400 rpm hard drive).

Any suggestions are appreciated.

First of all the Rupee has depreciated a lot, so prices will increase. What you are asking for in terms of speed and form factor is there in the Lenovo (Thinkpad) X series, but price is double of what you are ready to pay.

As far as the speed is concerned you have to analyse and find why id it slow for your current tasks

. If a lot of disk intensive jobs, then YES an SSD will definitely speed up the system.

. If you are doing a lot of number crunching - CAD, Video editing and other CPU intensive jobs then you will benefit with a faster CPU, preferably I7.

. If a lot of applications are open at a time and you switch constantly between them, then increasing RAM will help.

On the whole getting a new system with a lot of RAM and SSD will be a much better option than trying to live with and upgrade a seven year old system

[typlo]

Originally Posted by NetfreakBombay

What do you think about Macbook Air ? It would cost ~50k and is very compact.

I was indeed considering the Mac. Although the specs aren't that great, but the experience is. And I think it fits my workload too. I mostly use common softwares for everyday. Sometimes I might encode a video, this is where a Mac falls apart. A MacBook air isn't built for heavy-duty tasks at all. At this price point I think, I will have to compromise the specs.

Originally Posted by Aroy

On the whole getting a new system with a lot of RAM and SSD will be a much better option than trying to live with and upgrade a seven year old system

Thanks! I concur with what you mentioned. An old machine is still old, regardless of how well it performs today. My workload isn't CPU intensive at all. Very occasionally, I might encode videos, but that's it. So, I'll have to search for a machine that sits in between performance and compactness.

[Rehaan]

Originally Posted by JMaruru

Is it possible to copy the HDD image(entire contents of the laptop) to a external HDD and then replace the HDD with SSD and copy the image, back from the external HDD?

While possible, this isn't the best thing to do when moving from a HDD to a SSD due to the alignment of sectors etc etc (basically will cause additional wear & tear on the SSD, as well as a slight speed decrease).

That said -- I've done exactly this on my laptop (since I didn't have the OS installer disk), and it's been working fine. A SSD will still make a night & day difference to the speed of your computer, even if set up like this.


Windows 7 onwards has a great disc imaging tool built in.

It's there in Win 8 & 10 too - though it's apparently more hidden.

The only prerequisite is that the new disc should be the same size or larger than the original disc that was imaged.

https://www.howtogeek.com/howto/4241...-in-windows-7/

[R2D2]

Originally Posted by JMaruru

Also, wanted to know how do we manage to copy the entire HDD image to a new SSD without dismounting the HDD. Is it possible to copy the HDD image(entire contents of the laptop) to a external HDD and then replace the HDD with SSD and copy the image, back from the external HDD?

Please advise!

Use Macrium Reflect 7 Free edition. Macrium Reflect is the best imaging software I've ever used..and believe me I've used several reputed ones. I've been using the paid version on all my home PCs and laptop for the past 6 years now.

MR Free

[francis_vaz]

Originally Posted by typlo

Should I just swap my drive with an SSD? Although my laptop performs OK in everyday tasks, the CPU is really really bad for today's standards, especially for demanding tasks like video encoding and multitasking (or maybe it is just the ridiculous 5400 rpm hard drive)

If you are planning on adding an SSD make sure your laptop supports SATA3 connections to ensure you can use the SSD to its full potential. If you have a SATA2 connection it is better to swap for a 7200 rpm HDD you will save a lot of money and have a slight improvement in performance.

[samaspire]

Originally Posted by typlo

Thanks! I concur with what you mentioned. An old machine is still old, regardless of how well it performs today. My workload isn't CPU intensive at all. Very occasionally, I might encode videos, but that's it. So, I'll have to search for a machine that sits in between performance and compactness.

Before you do anything, try formatting the HDD and doing a clean install. Works almost everytime with Windows. Increase the RAM if possible.

Or add a 120 GB SSD and install just Windows + your applications on that. Keep your data on the existing HDD.

[indian21r]

Originally Posted by typlo

I'm looking for a work laptop in the range of 50k. Basically, I need it to be fast and as compact as possible.

I was in the same dilemma 6 months back. I wanted a reaplcement for 2012 Macbook air. Considered the Air 2017 for SSD and keyboard but the older processor was a deterrent along with the low storage in 50k Range.

I wanted only the 13.3" form factor and in the 1.5 kg range with backlit keyboard.

Around February is when a lot of Windows laptops (Asus /HP/ Dell) were launched with SSD in the 60k range in compact dimensions. I finally ordered Asus because it has 14" screen in 13.3" body. Laptop is pretty snappy and has decent battery backup around 8 hours. Further there is a 2 year warranty on it as well.

https://www.flipkart.com/asus-vivobo...mf3s3fmzsmz2kq

Got it for Rs 54,000/-

Installed Revit and few other software. Not bad speed at all.

If you can get one from US, go ahead for 50k you get really good combinations. Except Macbook air everything else is cheap there. I wanted to get the Pro and almost finalized it for 1800 USD but dropped due to the painful keyboard. Not sure who approved the design for it over the existing brilliant keyboard in Air or the older pro

[typlo]

Thanks, everyone for your valuable inputs. I have checked and fortunately, my laptop does have a SATA 3 HDD connector. I guess I will have to choose between upgrading to an SSD (which is a much more economical option) and getting a new machine. I'll probably read about some benchmarks and run them to find my machine's bottleneck (I just hope it ain't the processor).

@samaspire I did format my computer a while ago (almost a year) and have kept it clean of bloat since then, it is performing as good as it was when just the OS was installed. There's no way getting around an old machine.

P.S: Can anyone advise me on this: Click Here!