Setting up Windows (need assistance)
Setting up Windows (need assistance)
I'm working on fixing your dad's laptop with an i3 processor, 4GB RAM, and a 320GB hard drive. The hard drive is really slow, so you considered replacing it with an SSD. After installing the SSD, you tried booting from a USB running Windows 7, but it didn't work. You also tried using the original DVD, which failed too. Now you're thinking about connecting the SSD directly to the PC, installing the OS, and then putting the SSD back in the laptop to start. Will that approach succeed?
Purchase a SATA to USB dock (approximately $9.99 on eBay) and install software for hard drive cloning. I performed the same process, copying the drive by taking a picture of it on an external device, replacing the original drive, and then updating it with the new image (still keeping the old one). A tutorial is available, though it applies mainly to MacBook Pro models. For reference, watch the video at the bottom; similar idea: http://www.cnet.com/uk/how-to/upgrade-yo...ard-drive/ Chris
Use the available recovery files. The issue is that the HDD has a recovery partition that the laptop's BIOS searches for during startup.