To speed up my PC, I want to replace my 2TB hard drive with a 2TB SATA SSD. I've replaced my hard drives before, cloning the old one to the new one with a hard drive docking station.
Now, I'm wondering if I can expect to be able to clone an HDD to an SDD and substitute it in my PC just as I could with an HDD (given it's the same SATA interface, although a different physical size).
This is a fairly normal way to commence using an SSD as a system drive. Many SSDs come with a free utility that you can download (for example Samsung supply "Data Migration Software", and Seagate have "Disk Wizard") or you can, as I have done, back up your system HDD to an image with something like Macrium Reflect, and just restore the image to the SSD. Macrium Reflect in fact has a direct disk clone option, and if the SSD is larger than the source HDD can expand the partition to fill the drive.
Some SSD manufacturers supply little trays that hold a 2.5 inch SSD and have mounting holes to fit a 3.5" drive bay, and maybe even some screws, or you can buy these things separately.
The SSD can be mounted in the PC or laptop and connected via SATA or in a docking station or USB enclosure.
