SSD or hard drive: will an SSD upgrade save your old computer

The computer takes minutes to start, and every program opens as if it is thinking about it? Before buying a new computer, it is worth checking which disk is inside. This guide will show you how to check, which SSD fits your computer, and when an upgrade is not worth the money.

What is the difference between an SSD and a hard drive?

A hard drive (HDD) stores data on spinning platters with a read head that moves above them, and an SSD stores data on memory chips with no moving part at all. That is why an SSD reaches the data much faster.

The difference is felt most in everyday things. Starting Windows, opening a program, searching for a file: all of these require reading many small files from different places on the disk. On a hard drive, the head has to physically move to each place. On an SSD there is nothing to move.

How do you know which disk the computer has?

The fastest way is Task Manager, which shows the disk type explicitly.

1. Press Ctrl+Shift+Esc to open Task Manager.
2. Go to the Performance tab.
3. Select the disk on the side, for example Disk 0.
4. At the bottom of the screen, on the Type line, it will say SSD or HDD. In newer versions of Windows 11 the connection type sometimes appears too, for example SSD (NVMe).

A second way: press Windows+R, type dfrgui and press Enter. The Optimize Drives tool opens, and the Media type column says whether it is a Solid state drive or a Hard disk drive.

A third way, for those comfortable with commands: in PowerShell type Get-PhysicalDisk, and the MediaType column will show SSD or HDD. If the computer has more than one disk, check the one Windows is installed on, usually C.

If it says HDD and everything else is fine, you are probably looking at the most worthwhile upgrade this computer can get.

SATA, NVMe or mSATA: which SSD fits my computer?

It depends on the connection the computer has, not on the fastest SSD in the store. Every computer has a specific connection, and an SSD that does not match simply will not fit or will not be recognized.

• 2.5-inch SSD (SATA): goes in place of a laptop hard drive, and in a desktop connects to the same SATA cable. In laptops it is worth checking the thickness, because some bays are 7 mm and some are 9.5 mm.
• M.2: a small, flat card. Here is the big trap: some M.2 drives work over SATA and some work over NVMe, and they look almost the same. Some slots support only one of them.
• mSATA: an older type, found in some laptops from more than a decade ago. It is not M.2 and does not fit an M.2 slot.

In a desktop the situation is simpler. A 2.5-inch SSD goes into a large drive bay with a simple adapter bracket, and connects to the SATA cable and power cable that usually already exist. Before ordering NVMe for a desktop, check the motherboard manual for whether there is an M.2 slot and what it supports.

The safe way is to look up the service manual or the specifications of the exact model on the manufacturer’s website. The number is usually on a sticker on the bottom of the computer.

What is the speed difference between the types?

The table shows the theoretical ceiling of each interface according to its standard. A specific drive can be slower than the ceiling, but not faster than it.

In an old computer with a hard drive, even a SATA SSD is a big leap. The difference between SATA and NVMe is felt less in regular office work than the difference between a hard drive and any kind of SSD.

How much space do you need on the SSD?

At least as much as is used today on the old disk, plus headroom. If you clone the disk, everything on it has to fit on the new one.

1. Open File Explorer and select This PC.
2. Under drive C there is a bar showing how much space is used and how much is free.
3. Add headroom for updates and new files. Windows needs free space to update itself, and an SSD filled to the brim works less well.

If the old disk is large and most of it is movies and photos, you can choose a smaller SSD for the system and programs, and move the large files to an external drive.

Cloning or a clean install?

Cloning moves everything on the old disk as is, and a clean install starts Windows from scratch. Both ways are good, and the choice depends on the state of the computer.

• Cloning: all programs, settings and files carry over. Suitable when the computer works well and is only slow.
• Clean install: suitable when the computer is also full of faults that have piled up. Afterwards you need to reinstall programs and bring back files, and that is what we do in a Windows reinstall.

Before either of them: a backup. And if BitLocker encryption or device encryption is active on the computer, make sure you have the recovery key. On computers linked to a Microsoft account you can find it at aka.ms/myrecoverykey. On proper backups there is a guide, backing up before the disk fails.

Should you upgrade the memory too?

If the memory fills up all the time, yes. An SSD speeds up access to files, and memory (RAM) lets you open more things at once without the computer freezing.

1. In Task Manager, in the Performance tab, select Memory.
2. Look at how much memory there is, and how much of it is in use when you work normally.
3. On the same screen is the line Slots used, how many memory slots are occupied out of how many. If there is a free slot, you can add.

Microsoft sets 4GB as the minimum for Windows 11, according to the official requirements page. That is the minimum the system boots with, not a comfortable amount for working with a browser full of tabs.

When is an upgrade not worth it?

When the problem is not the disk, or when the computer cannot take the upgrade. In these cases it is better to know in advance.

• Soldered memory: in many thin laptops the memory is soldered to the board and there is no free slot. In MacBooks with an Apple Silicon chip both the memory and the storage are part of the board, and cannot be replaced.
• A very old processor: if the computer does not meet the Windows 11 requirements, it will stay on Windows 10 even after the upgrade. First read the guide about Windows 11 on an old computer and the guide about the end of Windows 10 support.
• The problem is heat: an SSD will not help a computer that slows itself down because it is too hot. There is a guide on that, the laptop overheats and is loud.
• The computer is already on an SSD: if Task Manager shows SSD, this upgrade has already been done, and the slowness comes from somewhere else. Start with the guide why the computer is slow.

What not to do?

• Do not buy an SSD before you have checked which connection the computer has.
• Do not throw away or wipe the old disk before you have checked that all the files are on the new one.
• Do not clone a disk that makes clicking noises without backing up first. A failing disk can stop working in the middle of the copy.
• Do not manually defragment an SSD. Windows takes care of it on its own.

When to bring the computer to the lab

If you checked and the computer has a hard drive, but you are not sure which SSD fits, or you do not want to open the computer and move the system yourself, this is the stage. The same if the old disk makes clicking noises or Windows reports disk errors. Then the first goal is to save the files, and only after that to upgrade.

We are a computer lab in Haifa, and we also serve Nesher and the Krayot. First we check what is slowing the computer down, then you get a price, and we upgrade only after you have approved. If the upgrade is not worthwhile, we will tell you.

Did it not work out?

The goal of this guide is for you to know exactly what is in your computer and what is worth doing, even if you upgrade on your own. If you would rather we do it, we will replace the disk and add memory in a computer upgrade, and move the system and files in a data transfer.