Helpful SSD Accessories

The Crucial® SSD Install Kit contains every additional part needed for a typical install of a 2.5 inch solid state drive (SSD) into most laptops or desktops. With this kit and the appropriate tools (often just a Phillips screwdriver, but refer to your system or install documentation for anything extra needed for your assembly), your SSD can be securely attached in your system, your operating system migrated from the original drive, and your computer upgraded with high performance storage quickly and easily. Below is a breakdown of what the kit includes, as well as the most common substitutions or additional parts needed for more specialized install, or cheaper alternatives in cases where our full kit is not necessarily needed.

The kit includes a 2.5-to-3.5 inch SSD bracket with appropriate screws, a SATA cable, a SATA-to-USB adapter, and a product key for Acronis® True Image HD 2014, which is typically used to clone your Windows® operating system (OS) to the SSD prior to replacement, though some customers prefer other software for cloning, or a clean installation of their OS from scratch.

A standard desktop install will utilize the bracket and SATA cable, with the bracket resizing the SSD to fit into a standard 3.5" desktop hard drive bay, and the SATA cable connecting between the SSD and a system's open motherboard SATA connection, replacing the original drive if desired or if additional SATA ports are not available. Additionally, a SATA power connector will need to be attached to the SSD. This will be available on the wires coming off your system's internal power supply, or have to be taken from an existing drive if unused terminals aren't available.

If no cloning software or the USB adapter are required, the SATA cable alone is available, as is the 3.5" Adapter Bracket . Some systems, such as workstations and servers, have special OEM bracketing or install rails requiring a thicker profile to installed drives more closely matching the 3.5" drive standard. The 2.5" to 3.5" SATA SSD/HDD Converter will be a substitute for the 3.5" drive bracket in these scenarios.

The SATA-to-USB adapter is often used for laptop installs requiring cloning, or desktops where a lack of free SATA ports prevents the SSD and original drive being connected on SATA ports simultaneously for cloning, in which case the SSD can be connected via USB for the duration of the cloning operation. This is also used in most Apple® systems, as Disk Utility's Restore function fills the same role as 3rd party cloning software for most users. If, for any reason, the additional software is not needed, the SATA-to-USB adapter alone is available separately, though some customers prefer a full-sized USB hard drive enclosure, which provides housing and an interface for both cloning, as well as using a "decommissioned" hard drive externally via USB long-term. 

A standard laptop installation requires no additional hardware. It consists of simply moving over any mounting hardware attached to the original 2.5" hard drive to the replacement SSD. After that it's all a matter of installing an OS via either cloning or a clean installation.

Lastly, the Acronis product key will provide you with a cloning program to migrate your original hard drive’s contents to the SSD. A setup overview is available here, and links to a video showing the process of cloning itself.

If you require more tools than just a standard Phillips, we offer a precision tool kit that covers a wide variety of makes and models for upgrading and repairing both Mac® and PC systems.