Originally Posted by
LAXlocal
would you use the same software when you are putting in a SSD into a laptop that had a regular drive before ?
Yes. Drive to drive copying doesn't care whether a drive is an SSD or a spin-y disk. Definitely helps if the new disk is larger than the old (or equal size) -- you'll typically have to shrink the main partition if not, which is not an operation for the faint of heart.
do you need to add any drivers for the SSD ?
In almost all cases, on a modern (e.g. not XP) version of Windows, no.
Laptops from say, 2007-2010 with XP may have their storage controller set to the wrong mode ("ATA" or "Legacy" rather than "AHCI".) This will work with SSDs, but will not be optimal for the performance or longevity of the drive.
(Laptops older than 2007, while they will work with SSDs if they have a SATA port, will not be able to even older SSDs for optimal performance -- although frankly, in a machine that old, the drive will be so much faster than that machine that the difference won't be noticeable.)
Converting it requires adding a driver, playing with some Windows settings, then shutting down, changing it in the BIOS, and then rebooting. It is a really annoying technical process, and on machines that age, I wouldn't bother to switch it unless you're reinstalling with Windows 7 or 8