Any Way To Migrate Windows 7 OS Files To SSD Without Clean Install?
Dec 7, 2011
I am running windows 7 professional on a 1tb HDD. I recently got a new 120gb ssd, and it is very fast! However, I am trying to figure out how I would migrate just my critical OS files over to the SSD without doing a clean install of Windows 7. Any working programs or workarounds to do this? (Without Data Loss).
I have my current Windows 7 setup on a regular 2TB drive (about 1.4TB of which is used). I would like to move my installation onto my new SSD (only 256GB), and obviously I can't simply clone it. I do NOT want to just install from scratch (I have a bazillion programs installed, it would take forever to do that over)
What I was thinking, was that I could migrate the base system files onto the SSD, and then use symbolic links to point to my bulkier folders (Program Files & Downloads are taking up most of the space, and I don't particularly care if these are at SSD speed) which would be located on the 2TB HDD. Does anyone know of a way to migrate a Windows 7 while excluding certain folders? If I could do that, then after the migration I could just set up symbolic links to point to my main storage drive without having to start from scratch.
I've just done a clean install on a blank hard drive of windows 7 ultimate x64. I had this exact version of windows on another hard drive but I did something and now I can't boot into it any more. So I want to transfer all my files and stuff - I can link up and view everything on my old hard drive, it just won't boot - is there any software or any easy way to transfer my program files so that I don't have to reinstall them all? Also, I'm not sure how to transfer all my windows settings - is it just a file somewhere that I copy across? I've had a look at 'windows easy transfer' but it looks like it only works if you can boot into both operating systems - which I can't.
YOU MUST DO A CLEAN INSTALL. There is no upgrade path. There are user migration tools you can use, but you will need to backup your files and do a clean install. I have seen several threads about this and just want to clarify. The upgrade from Windows Vista is a valid upgrade path, but Windows XP to Windows 7 is not.
I'm considering going from vista to windows 7 (32 bit to 64 bit which I have checked is possible on my laptop).However, I have a couple of programmes on my current laptop which I have lost the disks for (e.g Microsoft Money) or I bought and downloaded from the site e.g recovery software.Given I need to do a clean install, is there anyway of me being able to backup these programmes and then reinstall with windows 7?
When I try to do a clean install of Windows 7 I get the loading files white progress bar you normally get during an installation, it then goes directly to the scrolling progress bar that would normally appear before a Windows startup, and then goes to a blank Windows 7 desktop with only a cursor (that I can move).I have a computer with the following specs:[CODE]I have tried to install with every version I can get my hands on, both 32 and 64 bit. None of them are upgrade versions. I've tried installing on a fresh WD Raptor and an Intel G25 SSD. All other drives have been disconnected. I've moved my memory around and tried with one stick. My mainboard has the latest official BIOS, although there is a new beta.
I ran the Windows 7 compatibility test and didn't see anything that would cause this problem.I have searched the internet and have not been able to find a solution sonstalling Windows XP has never been a problem, just Windows 7, always with the same problem.This is one of the few times when I have not been able to look around a find an existing answer to a problem and I am stumped.
I upgraded from Vista. I chose the 2nd option that I thought was a clean install. However after the install I still had all my files and folders on the C: drive. Did I not get a clean install?
what I want to do: a clean install of Win 7 64 bit on the primary hard drive
the second hard drive is free to be used as a backup location during the clean install process
question: how do I backup all critical data to the secondary hard drive before doing a clean install on the primary drive? and then how do I reinstall the data from the secondary drive back to the primary hard drive with the new Win 7 64 bit system on it?
I'm trying to do a clean install of Windows 7 Ultimate x64. I boot from my CD drive, Windows loads the files and then the blue background comes up but there is nothing to click on.Basically I get to step 3 here but have nothing to click on to continue. Clean Install Windows 7
I'm currently doing a clean install of windows 7 64 bit on my 32 bit XP computer, I used the upgrade advisor beforehand and it said a lot of my programs where 64 bit compatable, and a large chunk of them are on my other hard drive (the one im not installing windows 7 on). After the install is finished will they be useable or will I have to reinstall them?
I'm working on a re-install of all components following a complete corruption of the boot sector on my drive which could not be fixed with repairs. The last time I installed everything fresh, I had no issues. Between then and now, there have been no hardware changes on my system, but now I am having issues installing the IDT Codecs. I keep getting an error along the following lines: Quote: ExitError: Error=Device Object not present, restart the system and run setup again. Running under compatibility mode, and running drivers from both the motherboard CD and the manufacturer website both have the same effect. The CD, when booted, says "This OS not support!" and only contains 32-bit vista codecs. ECS' website download indicates the IDT drivers as being compatible with Windows 7. Both do not work. It is almost as if the hardware "disappeared," despite the fact that I was using the drivers quite successfully till just 2 days ago, when the boot sector went kaput.
Windows has installed its own default set, which do nothing to power the 8mm jacks which I use with my speakers, but instead put sound through the HDMI, which is useless because I use a dedicated graphics card. I have tried uninstalling this codec and re-installing IDT, to no effect. Windows replaces with its own default codec.I have referenced this thread here, but offered solutions do not seem to work for me: Intel IDT Audio Driver will not install
Does anyone know whether there is a difference in performance between doing a clean install of Windows 7 vs upgrading Vista? Any better stability? I'm just wondering whether it's worth the trouble of the clean install.
I have seen a lot on clean installs but all guides are from like 2009. Is clean install still a way to install windows 7 with upgrade disc on a new hdd? since i have a hdd with vista on it and i have the licence how do i install 7 with the licence and a black hdd?
I'm an IT student who got a free Win 7 x64 disk from my school, and I am unable to do a clean install. My system specs are as follows:
Intel Core 2 Duo 3.12 Ghz nVidia GeForce 9800 GTX 512 MB PCI-e 320 GB Western Digital HD SATA 1 Gb DDR2 1066 MHz and 2x2Gb DDR2 1066 MHz SDRAM
I set my boot sequence to boot from DVD-ROM drive first, and HD second. It goes to the "Windows is loading files" screen and gets hung up. I started the process and went to watch TV for an hour, and it is still on the "Windows is loading files" screen. I haven't gotten any error messages. I've unplugged all USB devices from my computer as I have seen on this forum that it has worked for some people.
edited to add: I originally had only 2 Gb of RAM, and it got hung up at the "Windows is loading files" screen. I thought it was getting hung up because I didn't have enough RAM, so I bought brand new 2 sticks of 2 Gb RAM. I took out one of the 1 Gb sticks and placed both of the 2 Gb of RAM...for a total of 5 Gigs. And, it is still doing the same thing.
Is there an automatic temp files clean-out process in Windows 7? Every once in a while I noticed that my hard drive is somehow automatically purged of about 30 gigs of data, so all of a sudden I have roughly 30 gigabytes more hard drive space available that the last time. I checked, but I haven't trashed any files.
I'm wondering if there is some kind of automatic temp files clean-out process that Windows 7 goes through at certain times. Or could this be related to an automatic disk defragmentation? My defragmentation is set to run once a week, but I've only seen the 30 gigs or so open up about three or four times in the last year.
And if there is a process by which Windows 7 automatically "cleans house" to open up this much hard drive space, is there a way to do it manually without throwing away any of my normal files?
i've had enough of 7, I use my PC for music and after months of installing/uninstalling/re installing/researching/driver checking etc. i've decided i'm just not going to get things working with 7.
I have my XP disc and i'm ready to do a clean install, but i'm struggling to get it going... what do I do!? Inserting the XP disc brings up the autopay but the option to install is greyed out, which I understand as it's a step down. However, when I press f12 on booting to try to boot my pc from disc it just locks on the boot menu. What can I do to get a clean install of XP going?
I have been having numerous problems over the past wk. The firewall won't stay on, can't do windows updates etc. I have run Vipre as my anti virus and also mbam and superantispyware and everything is coming back clean. Today I decided to just backup my documents etc and then do a clean install. Now the problem is that the DVD burner doesn't show up in the BIOS. It shows up in my computer and it's running fine. If I format it out of the computer can I get windows to install from that DVD drive?
I didn't notice until I tried 2 burns. Then I resorted to downloading elsewhere and after 3 more downloads I got the right file(verified by hash) for 64 bit Windows Pro English. Burned the iso to my thumb drive fine, seemed to install fine and fast on this system: [code] Have 2 500GB spinpoint F3s in raid 0 and 1(setup in bios correctly and in raid menu bios fine)190GB raid 0, 375GB raid 1 using Intel raid after mostly done with install it said it had to restart so it did, but since I used a USB thumb drive it tried booting from that again instead of finishing install. I redid the install after fixing partitions and it seemed to go fine this time I removed the drive when it restarted. I was actually finally in windows 7!After installing a couple drivers I needed I restarted then things went bad.Could no longer enter windows normally because once it loaded the screen went blank.It automatically installed gfx drivers but the monitor drivers aren't installed and I was incapable of installing them after 1-2 hours trying to figure out a way. Monitor didn't show up in device manager.Monitor is an Acer2051w.I could get into safemode and try to mess with stuff.I was able to uninstall video drivers then boot into windows normally but it would automatically install the same driver and I wouldn't be able to get back in again. Automatic driver installation was off by the way.
So I couldn't fix this so I decided to reinstall Windows 7. The install went through fine, said it had to restart to finish up and after restarting the screen would stay blank forever. Doesn't seem to be installing properly now.So I can't get it installed again, and when it was it wasn't working properly. I have the monitor drivers even but no way of installing them so Windows is screwing up setting a bad resolution/ settings for the display that I can't fix hence the blank screen issue.
I have a retail Upgrade DVD for Windows 7 Home Premium which I purchased. I did a clean install by wiping my hard drive using the format partition option on the Windows 7 DVD. I had Vista installed on the HDD before the upgrade so the installation program could "SEE" that I had a qualifying version of Windows to validate the upgrade key.Activation was successful.Now, I want to start a clean slate. However, I don't have Vista installed anymore, just Windows 7.Can I reinstall with an upgrade key on a blank, reformatted hard drive? Will activation pass?Or do I need to reformat with the installation program on the DVD?Finally, I made an image of my Vista operating system before I upgraded, do I need to restore the image so my Win 7 DVD can once again "SEE" the qualifying Windows version?There are forums out there that say different things, yes you can, no you can't, well it depends.
I have a new, 120gb solid state drive I want to install windows 7 pro, 64-bit on. Does windows 7 take care of whatever formatting is needed automatically? Does it let me pick allocation size and type of formatting (e.g. NTSF versus another type)?
I recently had my system crash after a bad update for my graphics card and I've tried to re-install windows a number of times and have had no luck.I have tried a few of the tutorials here and formatted my HDD to try for a new clean install. I get through the first part of the install, but once my PC reboots it keeps trying to load from the disk and then I get into windows boot manager. I try to select the start windows normally option and then I get an error message saying 'Windows failed to load because the system registry file is missing or corrupt'.I have the original windows X64 product disk.
I am about to migrate over to Windows 7 Pro this week, just waiting for a new video card. I have XP Pro (Sp3) now. I will be using a Win 7 Pro upgrade disk. I want to start with a fresh formatted HD, I will being using a second hd (D) with XP PRO installed, will I be able to use C, or must it be installed on the same HD partition(D)? I seem to recall something about having to be on the same partition.
I am preparing to do a clean install on my HP laptop, as the HP Windows 7 (that came from the factory) is bloated and messed up...So, I have backed up everything and am ready to insert the retail disk and install Windows 7. I am going to use the COA key on the bottom of the laptop. Using this key, during the installation menu, will it work fine and accept it? Will I have to call Microsoft
I just did a clean install of Win 7. I have the intel network driver so I'm online but that's it. I have no drivers or programmes at all. What to do next.Yes I forgot to do a backup. It did create an oldwindows folder.I have genuinely activated my Win HP.I have a HP Dv7t 64-bit.
i have tried to install windows 7 on a brand new HD and it comes up with:"windows setup could not configure windows to run on this computers hardware" i have tried 3 times and still get the same error message. i have put the HD into another machine and installed windows 7 successfully so it can't be the new HD- the recovery disks appear to have no surface damage.i have previously installed windows 7 on new HD's on this machine before using the same recovery disks with success-what has gone wrong this time? is my computer damaged somehow? before i put in the new HD my computer was infected with a virus but this could only damage the old HD?