Advanced Security oldschool's surfing laptop configuration

[oldschool]

Oh, and I've paused Windows Update for 4 weeks. I'll switch it off for Cumulative updates and then on again after install.

@brambedkar59 @SeriousHoax can you tell me if I'm able to upgrade my laptop HDD to SSD? My machine is

Intel(R) Core(TM) i3-8145U CPU @ 2.10GHz   2.30 GHz

I can't quite decipher whether it's possible from the full spec sheet. https://psref.lenovo.com/syspool/Sys/PDF/IdeaPad/ideapad_L340_15IWL/ideapad_L340_15IWL_Spec.pdf TIA!

 

[brambedkar59]

Oh, and I've paused Windows Update for 4 weeks. I'll switch it off for Cumulative updates and then on again after install.

@brambedkar59 @SeriousHoax can you tell me if I'm able to upgrade my laptop HDD to SSD? My machine is

Intel(R) Core(TM) i3-8145U CPU @ 2.10GHz   2.30 GHz

I can't quite decipher whether it's possible from the full spec sheet. https://psref.lenovo.com/syspool/Sys/PDF/IdeaPad/ideapad_L340_15IWL/ideapad_L340_15IWL_Spec.pdf TIA!

Datasheet says SATA 2.5 inch HDD, so that should be pretty easy. Get a SATA 2.5 inch SSD and it should take like 5 min to do.

Edit: make sure SSD thickness is 7mm when buying

 

[SeriousHoax]

Datasheet says SATA 2.5 inch HDD, so that should be pretty easy. Get a SATA 2.5 inch SSD and it should take like 5 min to do.

In the storage section it says, Up to 2 drives (one HDD, one M.2 SSD). Doesn't it mean it's possible to even add a M.2 NVMe while also keeping the HDD?

 

[brambedkar59]

In the storage section it says, Up to 2 drives (one HDD, one M.2 SSD). Doesn't it mean it's possible to even add a M.2 NVMe while also keeping the HDD?

I am guessing @oldschool is already using the M.2 slot

NVM.

Edit: Forget what I said about SATA SSD @oldschool , get a PCIe NVMe M.2 SSD, since you have an empty slot.

 

[oldschool]

Thank you @brambedkar59 and @SeriousHoax! Any tips for installation and setup, in terms of Bios settings, etc.? Clean install or clone disk?

 

[oldschool]

After reading posts about Windows 24H2 "needing" an SSD for better performance, I ordered the following for my cheapo upgrade project.

Crucial P310 500GB PCIe Gen4 NVMe 2280 M.2 SSD
Crucial 8GB DDR4-2400 SODIMM

 

[brambedkar59]

Thank you @brambedkar59 and @SeriousHoax! Any tips for installation and setup, in terms of Bios settings, etc.? Clean install or clone disk?

BIOS shouldn't need any change and for installation you can watch a ssd installation video for your laptop model on YT.
Personally I would go for clean install but cloning should be fine as well.

 

[SeriousHoax]

After reading posts about Windows 24H2 "needing" an SSD for better performance, I ordered the following for my cheapo upgrade project.

Crucial P310 500GB PCIe Gen4 NVMe 2280 M.2 SSD
Crucial 8GB DDR4-2400 SODIMM

Get ready to feel the speed

I also recommend going for a clean installation.

 

[oldschool]

I'm back to using µBO in hard mode on most of my browsers, mostly for the speed.

 

[toto_10]

Which filters are you using and how is your settings?

 

[lokamoka820]

Which filters are you using and how is your settings?

Here is the hard mode mentioned in the previous post:

Blocking mode: hard mode

uBlock Origin - An efficient blocker for Chromium and Firefox. Fast and lean. - gorhill/uBlock

github.com

 

[oldschool]

Which filters are you using and how is your settings?

I'm a minimalist.

 

[oldschool]

After a couple of hiccups that led to a clean install, my laptop now boots from an SSD instead of my HDD. Cloning with Aomei Backupper Pro was extremely easy, once I figured it out, and it even changed the boot order automatically. My laptop, OTOH, does not have 2 memory slots, so I'll have to exchange the 8GB one I bought for a 16GB.

 

[oldschool]

Edited configuration to reflect my move to SSD for my C Drive mentioned in above post.

• OS - Window 11 23H2
• MS Defender set to default
• Exploit Protection set to default
• Edge & Chrome browsers only
• Aomei Backupper Pro and Windows Backup & Restore for imaging

Current setup reflects my desire to quit with the "privacy" and security nonsense.

 

[blackice]

Edited configuration to reflect my move to SSD for my C Drive mentioned in above post.

• OS - Window 11 23H2
• MS Defender set to default
• Exploit Protection set to default
• Edge & Chrome browsers only
• Aomei Backupper Pro and Windows Backup & Restore for imaging

Current setup reflects my desire to quit with the "privacy" and security nonsense.

Mine is very similar. Just works. My days are lighter and happier.

 

[simmerskool]

Current setup reflects my desire to quit with the "privacy" and security nonsense.

well I sometimes think the same, but then a certain amount of privacy & security is needed. in the end I suppose you can always be compromised.

 

[oldschool]

Edited configurationn to show flags used in browsers. Browser security is foremost in my mind, since this is the most vulnerable web application.

 

[enaph]

You have ditched Brave Browser?

 

[oldschool]

You have ditched Brave Browser?

For now. I may switch to it later, like when MV2 ends (for me) in 2025.

 

[oldschool]

@enaph I forgot earlier, but the other reason I didn't install it when I set up Windows is that one of the last updates deleted my passwords and changed some settings. I was pissed!