Installing new SSD to my G74S laptop...

[juv95hrn]

I have purchased a 120 GB Agility 3 SATA III (6 Gbps) Sandforce SSD harddrive. I want to add this harddrive to my G74S and then move my windows installation from the original HDD to the new SSD. I have installed the SSD into the spare HHD slot in the back of the computer and connected the tiny little tape-like cable like this:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YWoQl4RaDtk

When I restart windows7 it can't find the new SSD harddrive at all. I have changed from ACHI to IDE in the BIOS and back again but so far no luck. If I wanted to move the SSD to where the initial harddrive now sits and have the old harddrive in the secondary position with the flimsy cable (that I imagine might be slower than connecting it into the primary slot directly into the computer)would this cause any problem?

Another question I have is how do I create a bootable windows CD if I need to reinstall (of I ever find the SSD disc in the BIOS or windows) The Swedish support department referred to the AI-recovery program but that stops with a faulty burning process on the 3rd disc several times during multiple attempts to perform. Is there any other way to easily aquire a functioning bootable windows CD?

Installing a second harddrive shouldn't be that hard and even moving windows7 is apparantly not that complicated. Yet I can't get past the first step and ASUS support does not have the solution. Can anyone here help me?


EDIT:

I have checked this thread where another user has the same problem:

http://rog.asus.com/forum/showthread.php?12066-How-do-I-get-my-G74SX-to-recognize-a-2nd-HDD&country=...

I can't even see the new harddrive in the BIOS although I haven't traded places with them yet. (I wanted to transfer Windows before doing that).


EDIT 2:

I have traded places with the two HHDs and then I could find the SSD. The problem seems to be related to the connection between the tape cable and the laptop. I'm not surprised since this is a really flimsy solution. The cable doesn't snap into place but I have to stick it there with a piece of tape.

[BrodyBoy]

juv95hrn wrote:
If I wanted to move the SSD to where the initial harddrive now sits and have the old harddrive in the secondary position with the flimsy cable (that I imagine might be slower than connecting it into the primary slot directly into the computer)would this cause any problem?

There's no speed difference between the two SATA connectors.

Another question I have is how do I create a bootable windows CD if I need to reinstall (of I ever find the SSD disc in the BIOS or windows) The Swedish support department referred to the AI-recovery program but that stops with a faulty burning process on the 3rd disc several times during multiple attempts to perform. Is there any other way to easily aquire a functioning bootable windows CD?

AI Recovery can be picky about media. You may want to try another brand of DVD.

The recovery DVDs are not the same as a bootable CD.....rather, that set of DVD constitutes a back-up copy of the recovery partition on your hard drive. Those disks can only be used to do a factory restore of the OEM setup. I'm not sure what you want a bootable CD for (the way you make it can be dependent on its intended purpose), but Windows Back-up & Restore can quickly make a Windows Repair disc. That's one kind of bootable CD.

Installing a second harddrive shouldn't be that hard and even moving windows7 is apparantly not that complicated.
........
EDIT 2:

I have traded places with the two HHDs and then I could find the SSD. The problem seems to be related to the connection between the tape cable and the laptop. I'm not surprised since this is a really flimsy solution. The cable doesn't snap into place but I have to stick it there with a piece of tape.

The connection works fine if you are using the connector properly. It's not flimsy and it's not slower. I think you may not be using the FFC connectors the right way....you shouldn't need any tape.

Are you connecting and disconnecting at the motherboard? Once the cable is properly connected at the M/B and SATA board ends, you shouldn't need to disconnect them again....just swap the disks on the SATA board connector.

[BrodyBoy]

juv95hrn wrote:
"make sure to note in the end when he is attaching the cable to the MB you have to press down on the sides of the connecter to make it clench the cable. You might also have to pull them up before you put the cable in."

I don't seem to be able to do this. There is a small black plastic cover that rattles around but it seems to have no real purpose than protecting the entrance to the slot. If this indeed is used to secure the end of the cable somehow I would love to know if that is so.

I assume we're talking about the connector on the M/B end....right?

Here's a close-up photo of it:



See that brownish-colored bar? That moves up and down in the connector body. When it's in the "up" position, it's loose and the FFC (cable) slides in and out of the slot easily. When that bar is in the "down" position, it forms a snug, friction-fit that "squeezes" the cable securely within the connector body. (If you pulled hard enough, you could pull the cable out....don't do that! ;)...but if you give it a gentle tug, you can feel that the cable is pretty secure in there.)

When you put the cable into the loose slot, you can feel when it bottoms out....that's where you want it. Put it in all the way, then push the brown bar down to secure it.

[juv95hrn]

Great feedback thanks a bunch.

I'll try another brand of DVDs and will stay happy in the knowledge that both connections are as fast. (It was always the same disc that ended up failing burning properly which made me mistake other errors than the DVD brand).

The reason I want a bootable CD is because I'm afraid I will fail in transfering the C: boot partition from my old HDD to the new SDD (which is my intent) and need to do a clean install instead. This is of course *if* I can get both drives to work.

I follow you're detailed instructions carefully and they all make sense. I had figured as much that they way you describe it was one way it could work but I wasn't sure. I managed to squeeze the MB end stuck as you describe.

To be honest I cant be sure which end is not working if any of them is. The one end that goes into the drive seem to have no connection mechanism at all and unlike others have described that their cable was adhered somehow to the adapter to fit unto the drive in bay 2, mine lay separate in a small plastic bag.

I will fiddle around with the cable a bit more. At least these detail instructions give me an idea of exactly how it should work if it does.

ASUS manual's instructions are really terrible when it comes to explaning this!


EDIT:

Finally success!!!

I found out that the HDD part where you connect the cable has a small plastic snap shut lock that can hardly be seen. Closing this did the trick. Silly me!

Thank you so much for the instructions. It might seem stupid once you figure it out but I was really close to giving up.

The installation video in my first post is kind of useful but doesn't give enough information on how to actually secure the cable properly but this thread should be helpful for others that need the same information.



Moving the windows installation to the new SSD disk

I will now go on to pestering the forums of how to move my WIN7 partition to the SSD without reinstalling if possible. I am planning on using the Paragon program to move it hopefully in an easy way.

http://www.paragon-software.com/technologies/components/migrate-OS-to-SSD/

Does anyone know if this is a good program to use?

[BrodyBoy]

juv95hrn wrote:
I'll try another brand of DVDs and will stay happy in the knowledge that both connections are as fast. (It was always the same disc that ended up failing burning properly which made me mistake other errors than the DVD brand).

The reason I want a bootable CD is because I'm afraid I will fail in transfering the C: boot partition from my old HDD to the new SDD (which is my intent) and need to do a clean install instead. This is of course *if* I can get both drives to work.

If you keep the 25Gb recovery partition on your computer, you always have a way to restore the OEM installation. But yeah, a back-up set of DVDs is a good idea....covers you in case the HDD partition gets deleted or corrupted.

To be honest I cant be sure which end is not working if any of them is. The one end that goes into the drive seem to have no connection mechanism at all and unlike others have described that their cable was adhered somehow to the adapter to fit unto the drive in bay 2, mine lay separate in a small plastic bag.

The connector on the other end.....on the little SATA board....is different from the one on the M/B. While the M/B connector slides up and down, the one on the SATA board "swings" open and closed. It's like a little flap that you lift up, slide the cable in, then push it back down. (The little piece of tape is just to make sure it doesn't accidentally get snagged and pulled open.)

Here's a photo of that connector in the "up" or "open" position:

[BrodyBoy]

juv95hrn wrote:
Moving the windows installation to the new SSD disk

I will now go on to pestering the forums of how to move my WIN7 partition to the SSD without reinstalling if possible. I am planning on using the Paragon program to move it hopefully in an easy way.

http://www.paragon-software.com/technologies/components/migrate-OS-to-SSD/

Does anyone know if this is a good program to use?

It's actually pretty easy to do it without 3rd party software. Using WIndows' own utilities, you basically do it like this:

• Shrink the current OS partition in Disk Management (it needs to be no bigger than the disk you're transferring it to).
  
• Make a system image of the OS partition using Windows Backup & Restore.
  
• Make a Windows Recovery DIsk (as part of the Backup & Restore procedure....you'll be presented with that option). Simply save the system image to another partition on your hard drive.
  
• Boot with the Windows Recovery Disk, and follow the prompts for restoring your computer from a system image.
  
• Restore the system image to your SSD.
  
• Boot up normally, just like you did before....only faster! 🙂
  

Of course, you can also use 3rd party programs. I've used Accronis True Image and it works fine for this purpose.

[juv95hrn]

Everything worked great with the Paragon Migrate software. I haven't dared to delete the old windows and boot drive but it certainly appears like its booting from the new SSD disk without problems.

I could never have imagined that physically installing the SSD would be the hardest part but once you know how to do it appears easy with those little locking mechanisms.

It now takes about 45 secs to start, enter windows and get a program running. I'm very content.

I want to express my sincere thankfulness to the quick and accurate help I recived here in this forum!

[BrodyBoy]

Also, note the orientation of the cable....it has to be correct or it won't work. If you put it in there backwards, it's not touching any of the contacts, and it slides out pretty easily.

[dstrakele]

When Brody helps ya, you get a quality of tech support that you just can't find anywhere else.

[PILGRIM]

dstrakele wrote:
When Brody helps ya, you get a quality of tech support that you just can't find anywhere else.

Amen to that.

@Brody: Sorry for sounding pushy.. I know we all have our prioritized duties to attend to.
But any progress so far with the illustrated disassembly guide?..:)