Hi, I picked up a brand new sealed Samsung 840 EVO 250GB mSATA drive (card?) to add to an HP ENVY TouchSmart 17 4700MQ. I'd like to clone the original drive and maybe use the original as a data drive, but without reformatting if possible--it has a 3-year warranty (the laptop) and would like to keep the original drive as close to factory in case I have to send the laptop in under warranty.
Has anybody done this on a Envy TS 17-j000 (2013?) What's involved to get to the mSATA connector on the 17"? I read the 15" was pretty easy. Is it being used for anything?
Is this possible without formatting the original drive? If not, I'll get another drive for data.
The Samsung software says it won't clone factory-style hidden partitions. Is there a freeware or inexpensive software that will?
My laptop came with Win8, and the hidden recovery partition (a refurb.) I updated everything to get to download and upgrade to Win8.1 from the MS Store. Can I get an 8.1 ISO image from MS for free? an 8.0? What do I need to do?
Is it easier to get a cable to connect the mSATA card as a 2nd HDD instead? I thought it would be better to leave the spot for future use, just in case, and went with the mSATA.
I've rarely seen Recoveries go smoothly--should I make a set of recovery discs? Would they be 8.0 or 8.1? Is there a way to copy everything to a USB 2.0 32GB flash drive?
Any other tips? Your help is greatly appreciated.
Has anybody done this on a Envy TS 17-j000 (2013?) What's involved to get to the mSATA connector on the 17"? I read the 15" was pretty easy. Is it being used for anything?
Is this possible without formatting the original drive? If not, I'll get another drive for data.
The Samsung software says it won't clone factory-style hidden partitions. Is there a freeware or inexpensive software that will?
My laptop came with Win8, and the hidden recovery partition (a refurb.) I updated everything to get to download and upgrade to Win8.1 from the MS Store. Can I get an 8.1 ISO image from MS for free? an 8.0? What do I need to do?
Is it easier to get a cable to connect the mSATA card as a 2nd HDD instead? I thought it would be better to leave the spot for future use, just in case, and went with the mSATA.
I've rarely seen Recoveries go smoothly--should I make a set of recovery discs? Would they be 8.0 or 8.1? Is there a way to copy everything to a USB 2.0 32GB flash drive?
Any other tips? Your help is greatly appreciated.