X25-M 80GB G2 replacing laptop hard-drive, need advice on how to set it up.

[idata]

I have an Intel X25-M 80GB G2 on it's way, so right now I'm planning out how I am going to go about switching the drives. Since my laptop only has room for one drive, I am completely lost as to how I am going to set it up. I'm currently running Windows 7 32bit on a 160GB hard-drive, I'm only using about 40GB. I'm planning on cloning my current hard-drive to the SSD via an external hard-drive. I changed the partitions to 48GB for C:\ (OS/programs and documents), and 24GB for D:\ (music/pictures etc.) the rest is unallocated. Will my partitions copy over or should I change them? How can I update the firmware, and how do I enable AHCI, and when should I do all this, before or after I clone the old drive to the SSD? I've already disabled the weekly disk defragmenter, is there anything else I'll need to modify in the OS for the SSD? I'm in desperate need of assistance, if someone could explain each step in detail, that would help me a lot.

[idata]

The firmware updated is done from a bootable CD from Intel site.

You normally enable AHCI in the BIOS, it might already be enabled, check in device manager.

I'd do it before you clone the drive.

[idata]

What is the brand and model of:

Your laptop?

Currently installed hard drive?

Does your laptop have a:

USB port?

eSATA port?

CD/DVD drive?

Do you have access to another laptop/desktop? If so, does that laptop/desktop have a:

USB port? If so, how many?

eSATA port? If so, how many?

CD/DVD drive?

After you have cloned your hard drive, what do you intend to do with it? Use it for:

a) Periodic backup of SSD

b) Store infrequently used files and backup of installation CDs

c) Not use it at all

　

[idata]

I checked my BIOS, and as it turns out AHCI is turned off, so I will have to reinstall Windows anyways. I figured I'll just backup all my stuff, and move it over afterwards. Does anyone know if I will have to reinstall my programs if I use Windows Easy Transfer to backup and restore my stuff? My plan is to back everything up, switch the drives, update the firmware, enable ACHI, reinstall windows, then copy over the files and programs etc.