Steps installing SSD as second drive or bay in P775

Question

Hi all,I have toshiba satellite P775 for couple of years and very happy with it. I am pleasantly surprise that it came with an open second drive bay drive. The SSD price has been coming down, so took this opportunity to install SSD as my primary drive and then move my old/existing drive to the second bay.  Items needed.1. Installl software that can image disk or partition to my new SSD. I choose freeware, EaseUS Todo backup.2. Get 2.5" Sata SSD drive. My old/existing drive has 2 partitions: one 100GB for OS & apps and the rest is for my data. My SSD drive needs to be bigger than my OS & apps partition so that I don't have to reinstall my software.3. I bought part K000122700 (second hhd cable adapter) from partstore.com for $40 after tax & shipping. It took 2-3 weeks to arrive because it's special order.4. I also need a very very very sharp utility knife. The cable on part K000122700 is a bit short thus I have to cut off a bit of plastics that are in the way. WARNING: may void warranty, and risky...blah blah...5. Screwdriver.6. Window OS CD. Steps:1. Install freeware EaseUS Todo backup.2. Backup my existing/old drive3. Power down PC, remove power plug & remove battery. Open both bay (primary and secondary)4. Add the new hard disk adapter, K000122700. Try to maneuver it to fit into the secondary bay. Figure out what/which plastic are in the way. Protect the cables and board around that area with thick piece of cardboard before removing the bits of plastic casing. Keep the new adapter safe while plastic trimming with sharp utility knife.5. Install the new adapter along with new SSD drive in second bay.6. Close bays, add battery and restart machine.7. Using EaseUS Todo backup, copy the OS, software/apps & settings into new SSD. I kept my data in seperate partition in my old drive. Data stayed with the old drive. More detailed info from google search: http://lifehacker.com/5837543/how-to-migrate-to-a-solid-state-drive-without-reinstalling-windows8. Shutdown machine, unplug power and battery, open both bays.9. Take out old drive and remove the aluminium covering.10. Take out SSD drive and put on the aluminium covering.11. Switch drives. Now my new SSD is in main bay and my old drive is in secondary bay.12. I've also added a bit of filler made of rolled cardboard to secure my secondary drive better. Look at picture.13. Close all covers. Add battery & power.14. When first startup, it'll ask for boot from a windows CD. Then do a repair.15. Remove CD.16. Restart. Now the startup with new SSD. Everything was a fine for me. The tougest part for me was removing the bits of plastics (step 4) because I was afraid of cutting some other cables or board nearby. Step 14 was also scarry because it took some time for the OS disk to do the repair. I also need to unactivate software license (eg: malwarebytes, norton, ....) in my old drive and reactive them in my new SSD. Results:P775-S7100 - 17.3" - Core i5 2450M - Windows 8 Pro with Windows Media Center 64-bit - 6 GB RAM. (I have updated the OS two years ago).I bought PNY Optima SSD 240GB firmware n0530a, not the fastest disk, but it's on sale for $60. Total cost of upgrade is ~$100 (SSD+2nd HD ribbon/adapter). Decent price to pay for all the performance gain with lower run temperature too. Its like getting a brand new machine with lots of horsepower (though with same cpu). Very responsive, faster boot time, faster application launch & load. Disk performance is a bottleneck that can be easily solve with cheap SSD. The toshiba dual bay makes the expansion easy. I use freeware, CrystalDiskMark to test performance. BIG IMPROVEMENT...........   Attached are my pictures.

Answer 1

Netlander, First off thank you for taking the time to pen this post about your intall, very imformative.  Figured I add my two cents for what it's worth for anybody else thinking about attempting this. I have the P775-S7148.  My computer is a couple years old and was overdue for a refresh, figured while I was at it I would do the swap to SSD hard drive. Stuff I ordered:Like you I ordered the little sata/Board/ribbon cable part: K000122700,  I also order a second hard drive caddy that comes with 4 screws off of Ebay, and a screw pack for the computer, 500GB Crucial MX200(which comes with Acronis), and a Sata/usb cable.   I chose to do the factory refresh, then clone method, easy business. 1. Make a list of all your programs, verication keys etc and gather up all the software you'll want to re-install.2. Back-up all your important files.3. On the P775 hold down 0 when you start the machine and follow the instructions.  It'll boot into the Safe Mode screen, select start normally and it will take you to the screen you'll need. follow the instructions.4. Once windows is re-installed, I installed my anti virus, and downloaded Acronis.5. Next I plugged in my new external hard drive into the usb cable and cloned the drive.  After that it's standard business of install your software updates etc. Computer Install:1. Unplug power, remove battery.2. Remove the L shaped center panel and the 2nd removalable panel next to it.(At this point I studied the computer case and the little sata board that was ordered and it was obvious this part was meant to be installed in this computer.  So instead of cutting plastic I opted to open the case up and install the card properly with two screw from the screw pack I ordered.)3.  Remove every screw you see on the bottom of the computer,  there's a silver screw underneath the primary hard drive that needs to come out to remove the keyboard. 4.  You'll need to remove the keyboard, start by using a thin knife and pri from the outside forward corners closest to the screen it will lift up and pop out.5. Disconnect the touch pad ribbon cable.6. The case just un-snaps from there, easy business.  Be gentle though.7.  Since you have case open might as well clean your fan and cooling fins, the fan is removed via one screw.8.  Once you have the top case open you'll see a small space where this little card you purchased needs to be installed.  Route the ribbon cable through the little slot it needs to live in and connect it to the motherboard.9.  Ok put your computer back togethor, don't forget to lock the keyboard ribbon cable or all your key will decide not to work very well, yup I screw that up.10.  Next install your new hard drive in the new caddy, take your old hard drive an install it into the secondary slot, it locks inplace just as Toshiba designed it,  the screw on the hard drive caddy have slots they lock into.  No need for spacers, both covers have built in spacers that also prevent the hard drives from moving away from the sata connectors. Your done!  Install your software, do the million windows updates, and your golden.  My computer runs better than it ever has, this SSD config is the way to go.  Love it. Thanks again Netlander for your inspiration!  Cheers!