I'm looking forward to changing out the HDD in my Sony VGN-Z610Y laptop for an Intel X25-M 160 GB SSD. I have been running Vista, but I have a Sony DVD to upgrade from Vista Ultimate to Windows 7 Ultimate. I plan to do a "clean" upgrade (i.e., not try to keep my data and installed programs), but the Sony OS upgrade disk will no doubt install a lot of cramware that I will subsequently delete, before I reinstall my applications from DVDs and transfer my data files back onto the hard drive from a backup drive.
In order to reduce the files written to the SSD, I would want to do the Win 7 upgrade and reinstall my apps (with all the attendant upgrades and patches and temp files) on the hard drive (and then clean the hard drive up, delete the cramware, etc.), before cloning it to the SSD. But would Windows 7 function better on the SSD if I installed Windows 7 initially on the SSD (i.e., cloned my current HDD, with the Vista operating system, to the SSD, and then upgraded the operating system on the SSD from Vista to Win 7)? Also, would there be any benefit to only installing the new operating system on the HDD (the upgrade to Win 7 Ultimate) before cloning the HDD to the SSD, and then installing my applications and copying my data directly to the SSD (rather than installing everything to bring the HDD back the way I want it with Win7 before cloning it to the SSD)?
I would appreciate any insights as to which approach will be best for the future operation of my laptop. Thanks!
