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Retired · ‎10-25-2011

I am getting a g74sx-dh73-3d-rt within the next two days.
I am also getting a CORSAIR SSD 480GB sata3:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820233222&Tpk=20-233-222

Simply put, is it easy to replace the primary 750gb hard drive with this one?
Also, if it is ok, how do I reinstall w7, as the laptop comes without a dvd for installation.

Thanks for any advice.

JRd1st · ‎10-25-2011

Make your own DVD - http://techdows.com/2011/07/download-windows-7-integrated-with-sp1-iso-official-direct-download-link...

Read the User's Manual for more info. 😄

G74SX-A1 BIOS 203
Intel 6230 WiFi/BT
LG E2350 LED LCD Monitor
Intel Series 510 120 GB SSD

Drivers, Apps and How To's
Latest nVidia Drivers

JRd1st on DeviantArt.com

BrodyBoy · ‎10-25-2011

There are two options, both of which are pretty easy:

You can transfer the existing installation over to the new drive. You do that by creating an image of the original OS drive, then physically installing the new SSD, then finally copying the image onto the new drive.
You can do a fresh Windows installation on the new drive. You would need to download a Windows installer and burn the disc. You re-use your Asus OEM product key to activate, and you manually install all the necessary drivers and software you want.

Retired · ‎10-25-2011

Thank you both for the advice, will download w7 and install when the laptop arrives in two days and I install the ssd.

WhirledNews · ‎10-28-2011

Hey waleed, any update on this, I am trying to do the same thing. How difficult was the process, did you have any problems?

G74SX
-Intel X25-M 80 GB Mainstream SATA II SSD
-Intel Centrino Ultimate-N 6300

BrodyBoy · ‎10-28-2011

WhirledNews wrote:
Hey waleed, any update on this, I am trying to do the same thing. How difficult was the process, did you have any problems?

Good morning, WhirledNews (love the moniker!). I just saw your posts about this today. I've performed this procedure (installing a new SSD as the Windows OS drive) several times now, including three times in the past month! (In fact, I'm doing another one this afternoon.) I'd be happy to help you out if any specific questions arise.

Some key points:

Perform any available firmware updates on your SSD before you install any software.
Decide whether you want to transfer your existing Asus installation to the new drive, or install a fresh copy of Windows on it. The procedures are both pretty easy, but they are different so you should be clear on that before you start.
As a convenience if you're doing a clean installation, I've found it goes a lot smoother if you download all the drivers and software you're going to install before you start.

It's actually pretty easy and painless. Just give a holler if you have questions or run into problems.

dstrakele · ‎10-28-2011

Here's some more SSD installation threads, WhirledNews:

http://www.asusrog.com/forums/showthread.php?4922-Questions-About-SSD-for-G53SX

http://www.asusrog.com/forums/showthread.php?4550-How-to-install-clean-windows-7-on-new-SSD-disk

G74SX-A1 - stock hardware - BIOS 202 - 2nd Monitor VISIO VF551XVT

WhirledNews · ‎10-28-2011

Thank you for the responses, I'm glad you like my moniker BrodyBoy!

When I installed the SSD (Intel X25 M G2 80GB) in my desktop about two years ago I did a clean install with Windows 7HP 64 and it went well so I have a fair amount of confidence that I can do it again. This time will be a bit different though because I don't have a brand new Windows product ID to use, can I use ID for the laptop (located in system properties or on the bottom of the laptop, I hope they are not different)?

Since the SSD is only 80GB I will probably be installing only the minimum amount of drivers and software, do you have any suggestions on which drivers to use? I went here
http://support.asus.com/Download.aspx?SLanguage=en&m=G74Sx
And there are lots of different drivers for the same things, should I just get the most recent or are some better than others, I also have the CD that came with the computer but I doubt it has the most recent. Also, I know this is probably in another thread but I guess I should go ahead and flash the BIOS too before I install the SSD, which version do you recommend and what should I use to do it, "Windows BIOS Flash Utility" or "Aflash2 Utility"? I wish they had descriptions on all of those... oh well.

G74SX
-Intel X25-M 80 GB Mainstream SATA II SSD
-Intel Centrino Ultimate-N 6300

BrodyBoy · ‎10-28-2011

Flashing the BIOS: Absolutely do not use the WinFlash thing! Just download the latest BIOS, unzip it to the root directory of a thumbrive formatted in FAT32, and plug it into a USB drive. Then start the computer and go straight to the BIOS and use its built-in EasyFlash utility. Just follow the directions and it'll go smoothly.

A full Windows installation, plus a bunch of the basic programs a lot of people use (browser, music player, security software.....etc.) takes far less than 80Gb, so space won't be an issue. Just be sure to set all your programs to save their data files over on the other drive.

You can use the drivers Asus posts on the G74 support site. There are often other or newer drivers available, but it's typically not critical that you find only the very latest one. Here's what you need to install right away:

Intel Chipset Driver
ATK Package (use version 100014)
Intel IRST driver (not always necessary, but I always install it)
nVidia VGA driver
Realtek audio driver
Touchpad driver
WLAN driver
Fresco USB 3.0 driver

EDIT: You beat me to it on the BIOS flash, dstrakele! 🙂

dstrakele · ‎10-28-2011

Use the EasyFlash utility in your BIOS and copy the BIOS file to a flash drive you've formatted as FAT32. For all your BIOS Flashing needs, see this thread: http://forum.notebookreview.com/asus/174395-bios-update-guide-asus-notebooks.html

G74SX-A1 - stock hardware - BIOS 202 - 2nd Monitor VISIO VF551XVT

Installing SSD on new g74sx