Another BIGS way off topic question.... A computer nerd question at that...

[BIGSHCLUNK]

Ok a little while back I had a hard drive fail on a newer Dell laptop. Altho technically under warranty at the time, I had the local nerd fix it because he could save all the files/pic's that were in it. If I'd sent it in, they would all be gone. It had a 1TB (mechanical) hard drive. It was replaced by a 500GB solid state drive. It's not capable of running certain things I use without crashing.  Follow me so far?

Is there a 1TB (solid state??) drive out there that is pre loaded w windows?? I'm thinking maybe I could swap it myself?? I've added RAM and switched out batteries on other units, how hard can it be?? The "wrenching" aspect of things I don't think would be an issue. I have the mini screw drivers, watch makers pliers, ect.  BUT the tech aspect is another story. I know nothing of SATA or transfer rates or ??  Then I'm stuck running back to the nerd anyway. Do it myself or run it back in? Anybody?

   

[73_Cuda_4_Me]

A couple of questions first:

1 - Did you create backup CD's or DVD's of operating system before the crash???

2 - What program crashes with the new SSD? I'm assuming Windows boots up and you can get to the normal Windows desktop?

3 - Did the local nerd copy the recovery partition of the old hard drive? Most newer computers have a separate partition with all the factory setup stored.

There is not a Windows pre-loaded SSD... Sorry!

[BIGSHCLUNK]

First question answered in the post. The nerd was able to save everything,  which is why I did not send it back to DELL. Davinci Resolve crashes it, hard drive is just not big enough.  Now if it was  partitioned or capable there of I do not know. What I do know is the nerd store windows version is not what I had originally. The current is a home version, the original was 10 PRO. I don't find that to be that big a deal. But in the stores " bundle" there were a few other programs included, which I believe I can remove but will not resolve the crashing issue. Also now I get a boatload of popups... quite annoying.

[Cuda Cody]

For a long time now I've ran RAID 1's on my computers and I love them.  It basically has 2 exact same hard drives that mirror each other and act as 1 hard drive.  It cost a little more up front, but it's easy to update and the redundancy is great.  If 1 hard driver goes bad, I put a new one in and it copies everything from the other (raid 1) hard dive without me having to do anything.  But it's something you need to set up when you buy a new computer.

The thing I've seen is mechanical drivers will start "showing" you when they are beginning to fail by running slower and slower so you have time to back everything up and get a new drive before you lose everything.  But with SSD they tend to be like an on or off switch.  Either they work or they don't, no warning or chance to back everything up.  I love RAID 1's on SSD set ups.

[dodj]

It was replaced by a 500GB solid state drive. It's not capable of running certain things I use without crashing.  Follow me so far?

If there is not enough free space left to run Davinci, and those kind of programs need space and memory, you have no choice but to get a bigger drive. IMO, get a 2TB. It will cost you just shy of $300 though. As to preinstalled Windows, I'm not sure if it's available or not. But, setting up Windows initially does involve getting all the right drivers for your PC and installing them. Windows does it for you to a certain extent, but I find I usually have to manually configure driver installation/selection to get optimum performance. And that does take time. You can definitely do it, but it depends if you want to screw around with your pc for a couple hours.

Check and see if your motherboard supports a mirror arrangement. Like what Cody talked about. If it does, buy two 2TB HD's. Probably two mechanical ones as SSD would be getting rather pricey. Once you have your PC set-up the way you like it. Enable the back-up drive on the motherboard and it will mirror one drive onto the other. And keep you covered.

[BIGSHCLUNK]

Hmmm , I doubt the mother board would support 2 drives. As this is a laptop.... ?  2 TB sounds like a great idea. I will say , to me this sounds like a job for the nerd. Just from the time wise aspect of it.

[ec_co]

2TB SSD https://www.amazon.com/Samsung-Inch-Internal-MZ-76E2T0B-AM/dp/B0786QNSBD/ref=sr_1_3?crid=2SNT3PB36RXAB&keywords=2tb+ssd+internal+hard+drive&qid=1568652731&s=gateway&sprefix=2tb+SSD%2Caps%2C171&sr=8-3

Windows 10 https://www.amazon.com/OEM-Windows-Home-64-Bit-1-Pack/dp/B00ZSI7Y3U/ref=sr_1_4?crid=1KRXCR2FU5UW9&keywords=windows+10+home&qid=1568652791&s=gateway&sprefix=windows+10+%2Caps%2C171&sr=8-4

install the new SSD, insert CD. you may need to go into the BIOS setup to change the Boot Order so it boots off the CD drive. once it starts booting off the CD drive it will auto install Windows 10 - just go through the setup menus. I suggest having it hard wired to the internet at this stage so that it auto downloads updates/updated drivers and makes registering easier. Windows 10 installs SOOOOO much easier than previous generations of windows, it's almost a no brainer.

if you need the rest of your stuff transferred over, you may want to get a geek involved. I would also recommend a couple of backup options - get an external SSD drive (I keep 2 copies - 1 in the house, 1 in a safe deposit box 'just in case'); or use an online service like Gmail's Drive or Microsoft OneDrive (services that are not likely to go belly up and lose your data)

[Cuda Cody]

My computer is a Lenovo thinkpad laptop.  Bought it new in 2011 and it's kick butt fast and running good.  I started out with a RAID 1 drive with 500 gig drives.  A couple years ago I went to the 2 TB SSD's and it really sped things up for me.  Raid 1 or not, you'll like the speed of the SSD.  My laptop uses the CD drive for the 2nd RAID 1 drive so I have to use an external CD drive if I need to use a disk, but it really does not happen much at all anymore with the internet.