Question: I am thinking about buying an SSD in the near future for my notebook.
Is it possible to copy all files from an HDD to the new SSD, without having to format everything and install all apps again?
Answer: There are cloning solutions available, but they tend to be for same size partitions. Still, assuming your new drive is at least as big as the old, you can just get Acronis Trueimage to make an exact copy.
You’ll have to connect both drives temporarily – so you might have to buy a USB enclosure for the new drive if you cannot connect it to your notebook, alternatively, plug them both into a desktop PC and run the clone from there.
The alternatives to Acronis as GParted, which is a bootable Linux CD. Once booted you can resize your partition and clone it to the SSD (again, you’ll have to have both drives plugged in at the same time)