I am thinking of upgrading my work laptop's C: from HDD to SSD, since it takes like 5 minutes to bootup to a useable state in windows10. (The slow-down is likely due to having lots of various control/automation-related software installed.)

My concern is whether the SSD is more susceptible to inductive motor fields, which are everywhere where I work, and I have a nasty habit of using whatever flat surface on a machine as an improvised laptop stand.

I'm sure someone on this forum has some experience with this. My thoughts are to only upgrade to SSD if 100% safe.

 

Hello,

The SSD drive will be less sensitive to magnetic field as a classic HDD.
Also the SSD will be less sensitive to movements, like shocks.
https://www.techradar.com/news/ssd-vs-hdd-which-is-best-for-your-needs
https://tekie.com/blog/hardware/ssd-vs-hdd-speed-lifespan-and-reliability/

Bertus

 

3-4 years ago, I would turn on my laptop when I got to work and go get a cup of coffee in the break room because it was a full 5 minutes before Windows desktop appeared and the HDD LED went from solid on to occasional blinking.

The IT guy asked me if I wanted to change over to a SSD drive. I agreed and he took my laptop for a half a day and then gave it back to me. "Give her a try", said he.

I turned on the power and went to get my coffee cup which I'd left on the workbench 30 feet away. In the 15 seconds it took to get my coffee cup and return to my desk, Window's desktop had appeared and the HDD LED had already slowed to occasional blinking. I was stunned at the increase in performance with the SSD.

And . . . you should not defrag an SSD. Defrag was to minimize HDD head movement, but there's no mechanics with an SSD, so an SSD doesn't need to be defragged.

I rate the SSD as the best improvement in PC technology, ever. It's so much faster that Microsoft has to work at slowing down its products' performance to make you less productive. At least they're earning their pay now.

 

Just an update, in case it helps anyone coming across this thread:

So 4 months ago, I ended up switching to an SSD and using paid software to clone everything. It definitely has been all pros and no cons so far. The total cost was like $150 for the SSD and the software, so looking back it was totally worth it.

The software (EaseUS Todo Backup Home) copied all the partitions (including the hidden ones from Dell) and put the extra storage capacity in C-drive. As long as the new drive is in the same slot as the old drive, the OS and all programs basically don't know/care that the physical drive was changed.