By far the change that transforms an older machine most. A two-minute start-up drops to fifteen seconds.
No other job has a comparable effect on a machine that drags. Adding memory helps, cleaning up the system helps, but replacing a mechanical disk with an SSD shows immediately - to the point where many of our customers think they have a new computer.
A conventional hard drive is a mechanical device: platters spin, a head moves to read. Every access requires physical movement. An SSD has no moving parts and responds a thousand times faster.
That difference in access time counts for more than raw throughput, because Windows does not read one large file in a block: it opens thousands of small scattered files. That is exactly the scenario where a mechanical disk collapses.
The contents of the existing disk are transferred in full to the SSD: Windows, programs, documents, settings, bookmarks, email. You get your machine back exactly as it was, only much faster, with nothing to reinstall and no passwords to hunt down. A full reinstall is only called for if the system was already unstable or infected - in which case it is a chance to start cleanly, and we will suggest it.
We first check compatibility and the health of the current disk. That is not a formality: a disk already failing complicates the transfer, and it is better to know beforehand than to find out halfway through.
Then comes the full copy, which takes a few hours depending on the volume - that is the long part, and it does not need you there. Then fitting the SSD, the checks, and handing the machine back.
We keep the old disk for a few days before returning it to you: a safety net, in case something was missed.
The question often comes with it, and the two are done in a single visit. Four gigabytes is no longer enough for Windows 11 as soon as you open a browser with several tabs: the machine compensates by writing to the disk, which is far slower.
We check how much is fitted, how many slots are free and which type of memory is compatible. Adding some is often possible on a desktop and on many laptops, at modest cost. On recent laptops, though, the memory is sometimes soldered in: nothing can be added, and it is better to know before getting your hopes up.
The sum is simple. If the rest holds up - a decent processor, chassis and screen in good condition, expandable memory - moving to an SSD extends the machine's life by several years at a cost bearing no relation to a replacement.
If on the other hand the screen, the battery and the keyboard are at the end of their lives, or the processor is not compatible with Windows 11, the balance changes. We will tell you straight, including when it costs us the job. See repair or replace and moving to Windows 11.
A point where people often spend for nothing. On an older machine, the difference between a SATA SSD and a faster NVMe model is barely noticeable in everyday use: the decisive jump is between mechanical and SSD, not between two kinds of SSD. We choose according to what the machine actually accepts, not according to the most flattering spec sheet.
Two limits to know about before hoping for an upgrade. On many thin laptops, the memory is soldered in: nothing can be added, however willing you are. And on some models, the SSD itself is soldered to the motherboard - it can then be neither replaced nor enlarged.
We check both points before proposing anything, from the machine's exact reference. It is the kind of check that takes five minutes and saves a pointless order.
On a desktop it can stay in place as storage for large files - often a good idea. On a laptop that needs a free slot, which does not always exist; it can then become an external drive with a suitable enclosure. See our article on SSD or hard drive.
No. The contents are transferred in full, programs and settings included. The old disk is kept for a few days as a precaution before being returned to you.
Not necessarily. The copy keeps the system as it is. A reinstall is only justified if the system was already unstable or infected.
Generally half a day to a day, copying the data being the longest part. We agree the slot around your constraints.
Yes, and it is recommended: the two jobs go well together and are done in a single visit. We check beforehand what the machine will accept.
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