SSD

SSD on win 7

backup data to USB drive

shrink HD partition down to size of SSD
goto computer\contol panel\administrative toolls\computer management\disk management
select partition C
shrink partition

obstacle
it will not shrink to less than about 1/2 of original size because some "unmovable" files are at that position
to enable relocation of these files follow http://www.brandonchecketts.com/archives/how-to-shrink-a-partition-with-unmovable-files-in-windows-7
ie 
temporarily disable system restore, and virtual memory
run disk cleanup because (unbelievably) things like thumbnails are unmovable
restart pc

re shrink C to size of SSD
restart to check all is well
re enable system restore and virtual memory
restart to take effect

set CMOS to boot from CD
insert linux live CD, DVD or USB (eg ubuntu 13.10)
power off
connect SSD wiring
boot into linux demo
open browser
goto http://compzd.blogspot.com.au/p/hdd.html

clone hard disk to SSD
launch terminal
sudo fdisk -l
then if  hard disk is /dev/sda and SSD is /dev/sdb

sudo dd if=/dev/sda of=/dev/sdb bs=32M
will clone the drive (note dd gives no feedback until completion, which could be an hour)
shutdown, power off


IMPORTANT disconnect hard disk (because windows gets irreversibly confused when two bootable disks are present)

restart with SSD on its own

system should now be much more responsive
disk defragmentation is no longer required




SSD on win 7 Laptop  eg. HP dv6

cloning will need to be done on a desktop PC
- similar to above, but with a few extra steps

to 'shrink' C volume first stop Cryptographic Services, ( then restart later )

problem - at this stage the SSD will not boot
Linux shows all files and directories are there
GParted reveals whole disk space unallocated

solution - download testdisk ( recovery tool )

scan will show partition table with 4 entries
first and second are good ( system, and C )
but 3rd and 4th ( HP recovery, and tools ) must be deleted
because they could not fit onto the much smaller ssd during cloning
which caused conflict between partition table and contents of SSD

write modified partition table

SSD now boots
old hard disk can be backup / restore

SSD on mac

format erase and partition target drive with mac disk utility if necessary
download free carbon copy cloner CCCv3.4.7 (note it will only run on Snow Leopard 10.6.8, but still copies newer os e.g. Mavericks systems)

for more detailed instructions see
bottom of OSX6, OSX9 pages on this blog