Transferring Windows 7 Installation From One Drive To Another
Apr 28, 2011
My Uncle bought a new HDD and wanted to migrate his Windows 7 Installation from its original HDD to the new one (Maxtor to Hitachi). A tech friend of mine recommended CloneZilla, a freeware imaging program which would allow me to make an image of the HDD and transfer it to another drive. My only experience with imaging programs previously was with Symantec Ghost.
Even then, I never made the images, only applied them via a server. The version of CloneZilla I have is meant to work on singular machines and has the ability to make an image and write it to an HDD and then read an image and apply it to an HDD. OR you can do a device to device image transfer. I tried the device to device transfer to transfer the OS, but was told, when booting the computer, that the HDD didn't have an OS to boot.
When I tried doing a repair with the Windows 7 CD to see what was up, it couldn't locate an OS to repair. I then tried making an HDD image backup to a Storage drive. However, after that finished, I loaded CloneZilla again and tried to use the image to apply it to the new drive and, when I clicked on the folder housing the image, was told there was no image to apply.
I had an old HP laptop running Vista and the the video died but, the hard disk was still good. The computer itself was not worth repairing. I replaced it with a new Dell XPS running Windows 7. I took the old hard disk and installed it into an external USB enclosure. I can plug it into the new computer and transfer the data easily.But what about the applications, application data, user settings, etc.
I bought a PC which comes with Windows 7 pre-installed. It probably has a partition with Windows 7 installation for restoring purposes.Since I'm going to run linux on this new box, I thought I could use its Windows 7 installation on the my windows box which currently runs vista.
so i did a little research, and from my knowledge you can't simply transfer over a copy of an OS to a new (parimary) to an SSD due to partition alignment being off and screwing stuff uphowever, i found this:Use Windows 7's built in System Image tool and create a backup of your Windows 7 install to an external hard disk. Install new new hard drive (69 GB), boot from your Windows 7 DVD and choose to restore a system image and point to the location where the System Image is backed up. To do this procedure successfully, you will need an external backup drive to back up the installation.
I've ordered new parts for a new computer and I read that I could transfer the license being used on this (current) computer to the new one because I have the full version of Windows not the OEM. I plan on (if possible) transfering my windows 7 license to the new computer/SSD and use this old hard drive for storage/backup. But I'm a little confused/unsure about a few things: 1. Do I install Windows 7 and activate it on the new computer/SSD first and then remove Windows 7 from the old hard drive? Or do I have to remove it from the old computer before attempting to install on the new one, 2. How do I remove Windows from the old drive? I haven't reformatted before but from what I've read from guides, I use the windows CD to reformat, but it reinstalls a clean version of Windows. How would I clean the old drive without reinstalling Windows?
Currently I am using 80 GB SATA Seagate HDD as my system drive and would like to purchase a bigger drive. In this Seagate HDD I have 2 partitions, C 40 GB and D 40 GB.Suppose I purchase a new drive and make a 200 GB C partition, is there a way to successfully transfer everything including the settings and Windows from the old 40 GB on Seagate to the new 200 GB partition?I'm thinking about Norton Ghost but have never had any experience of using it for this kind of scenario.
I just bought a new computer with Windows 7 and would like to transfer all programs and files from my old computer to my new one, hopefully without having to reinstall it all.
I have a newer computer (HP Pavilion Slimline) with Windows 7 and 64bit system. My old hard drive is out of a dead (won't power up) HP Pavilion Slimline Vista 32bit. I pulled the old drive and connected it through a harness and the USB on the new computer. When I open the devices and printers program the old drive is there but when I open the icon all I get is the properties etc. but no way to access any data on the old drive. Do I need a program or is the drive dead? It powers and runs and when it is connected and I open the properties I'm told the old drive is working properly.
I have had to do a fresh installation due to the hd failing. I now have a larger hd partitioned into 2, one (C for the OS and programs and the other (D for the data). Is is possible and advisable to transfer all the directories such as "My Docs" and "My Music" from drive C; to drive D:? If it is OK then how can I do it.
I have laptop with one of the windows OS on it and want to transferr OS and all the file to it,problem is i do not have the cd or product key, so i may be able to transfer all the file but how can i transfer the OS and have never paritioned a hard drive either. i have seen the r alot of gatgets out their and on ebay thay sys all u have to do is plug it in to the laptops usb , and plug the new hard drive to the cloner and just transfer all files,, but it says nothing about transferring the OS or MS office 2010 or any thing with product codes so is the any product on the market to transfer everything to new hard drive same speed just from 89GB to 350GB,
Recently I noticed that my 500GB hard drive was beginning to get full. It has everything on it. I installed a second hard drive, 1TB, and my intention was to keep all of the programs and OS on the primary 500GB hard drive and transfer all of my documents (pics, vids, docs & music) to the 1TB drive.
When I go to C:UsersMyName and I go to "cut" a folder like MyMusic and then "paste" it in my new E: drive, it says that the folder is shared and if I move it others will not be able to use it.
Now, before I do this, with MyMusic, MyPictures, etc. I have a question: By moving these over to the E: drive (the new 1TB) drive, am I going to do something I regret, like losing access to these files, the OS not being able to find them, or something like that?
all i want is if c drive(having xp) formated then how can i recover win 7 on d drive?i am trying to resolve this problem from alot of time but i cant find this on internet as well.let me tell u the scenario i am installing xp on c drive and win 7 on d drive but if xp drive is formated and again xp installed on c what should we do to bring back windows 7 .i tried alot of things like easy bcd vista downloader windows 7 startup recovery tool with commands like bootrec /fixmbrbootsect.exe/nt60allbut it dosent work,,i thought i should ask u guysi noted that 7 install 3 files on c drive that are bootmgr,etcif i keep these files back up nd replace it after installation should it workits really messed up man.
I have had windows 7 installed on my PC for over a year now with multiple fresh installations and no problems.Lately I have been experiencing difficulties with my windows. In the past 5 months though,I've had to re-install windows as for the third time now, my PC starts hanging soon after start up. It's not due to any process; also, it doesn't happen in safe mode.This time, the problem reoccurred within 3-4 days of a fresh installation.It hangs a couple of times and eventually starts showing a repair due to winload.exe fail error..windows restarts after the login screen automatically. Now safe mode or repair panel also doesn't work, it restarts in between.
As I tried to install it this time, i booted from the installation pen drive which I've used before, with a setup I've run before. Upon booting from pen drive, it shows windows loading files bar....but right after that,after the windows 7 logo appears for a couple of seconds, it ends up displaying the cursor only and rest of the screen is gray/black. This happens every time i try to run windows installation.
* I have no HDMI cables connecting my monitor, nor any other display devices.
* I've tried resetting the BIOS to no avail.
* I've used an Nvidia 8600gt card for about 5 years without such black screen problems, then again it is 5 years old.
* Right before windows stopped working, I uninstalled my nvidia drivers manually to see if wrong drivers were the issue, pc still hung up.
I currently install windows 7 from a usb 2.0 stick. And the installs go reasonably fast. But, I would like to begin to use a usb 3.0 stick to do the same job.
Would I have to load usb 3.0 drivers during the initial stage in windows setup where you would normally load raid or sata drivers? Or would I need to alter the installation media somehow?
i have this problem that while downgrading from windows 7 ultimate to windows xp sp2 i encountered this problem. I used a usb bootable since my dvd drive is broken.Here's what i did:
1. Reformatted drive C so as to delete windows 7 ultimate.
2. Re partitioned drive C into 2 where i have a previous drive which is drive D as my file drive.
3. Installed windows xp on 1st partitioned as a part of drive C.
as the installation goes my laptop has turned off so i have to repeat the same thing and so i tried it on the 2nd partitioned part of drive c. but i noticed that my drive D turned out to be the drive C now.After this situation i found it wrong to downgrade my OS so i'm planning to install windows 7 professional. But what should i do now when i have two repartitioned drive with windowx xp (not fully installed since it got error because of downgrade) turns out to be that my laptop doesn't have a running OS.
1. What will happen to my drive D that became drive C? will i able to recover my files?What will happen if i deleted both xp on repartitioned drives? will it became drive C again?
2. Though my drive is not the C anymore, should i continue reformatting? will it not affect my files? (as drive D became the drive c)
3. Will my bootable usb with windows 7 prof. proceed on installing on the other drive? ( i want to prevent it from installing on my drive D that became drive C because i have to recover my files)
4. Is there any other way that i could return the drive d as drive d again as it become the drive c?
5. Is there any configuration for bootable usb that will help?
i have an hp pavilion slimline. (model: s5213w) i am upgrading my hard drive but my power supply is limited to having just one hard drive installed at a time. when i put the new one in i ran the disks given to me by HP. the first half of the installation works fine (the part where im putting all the diff cd's in) then it says to remove all cd's and windows will automatically start installing the software. (it may take up to 3 hours). then a black screen comes on. kinda like comand prompt and the cursor line just flashes. three hours later. same deal. any help on this issue? its SATA btw.. idk if that makes a difference.What im trying to install is windows 7 on a Brand New WD5000AAKX (western digital) hard drive. ive used these cds before on my previous hard drive (which came with widows 7 on them from HP) and they worked fine to re install windows 7. The paper that came with the cds from HP say to use them when you want to "upgrade to a new hard disk drive"do i have to create a partition inside it or something? i jsut put the blank hard drive in because i dont have the power supply hookup for 2...
My dvd drive was working till the installation dvd was booted. After that once Windows 7 started, I tried putting many dvd's in but they all say "Please insert a disk in Drive d:" and tray opens up.
I have a laptop which has a ATA HDD and I tried to install Windows 7 on it, but when you come to the window for choosing a partition, nothing shows up. I have tried to upload new drivers for the chipset on the motherboard from intel (Intel 865 Chipset) but no luck still it doesn't do anything. I am able to find the drivers and I guess it installs them but in the end nothing. So my second attempt was to try and bypass this. I took another laptop and pluged in the hdd there and tried the installation, everything went smooth, when the first restart was prompted I took out the HDD and plugged it in my comp. Now windows starts up but only up to the logo and than restarts, over and over. I tried to install all over again but it still doesn't recognize the HDD on my laptop.
WHAT IS THE BEST WAY TO CREATE Windows 7 INSTALLATION DRIVE?? i know there are many softwares and techniques out there in creating usb installation drives ,i have tried many but none seem to work
1. Is it possible to install Windows 7 ONTO external USB drives (160GB passport / 2TB ext. drive)? I guess not but I just want get it confirmed by experts here.
2. Is it possible to install Windows 7 (ONTO internal hard drive) FROM external USB drives (not USB sticks) like 160GB passport/ 2TB ext USB HDD? If yes, know the procedure to prepare one?
3. Is it possible to setup Windows 7 LIVE disk on USB stick?
4. Is it possible to setup Windows 7 LIVE disk on ext USB drive?
Okay so i clicked custom install and it shows all my drivers. I did a partition on my C drive before doing the installation and when i try to install windows 8 and i want to choose the empty partition unallocated it's not on the screen options?
It only shows C, my Recover, System G, and HP Tools F How do i make my unallocated show in my windows 8 installation so that i can choose it
I get to the part of the installation where you select a partition/drive, and there is nothing there. I have tried using different two different HDD both spin up but the installation doesn't see them. I have also switched out SATA Cables, used different power connectors, even tried loading drivers, and have reset the BIOS by removing the CMOS Battery.
Specs:
GIGABYTE GA-Z68AP-D3 Intel Z68 Motherboard Intel Core i5-2500 Processor 4x 1GB DDR3 Radeon 4870 Graphics Card 530 watt Power Supply Seagate 320GB 7200 RPM SATA HDD ( tried to install first, no luck moved to the other HDD. Only one at a time connected. ) Maxtor 500GB 7200 RPM SATA HDD
I had 2 partitions C: and D: on my hardisk.I had isntalled Windows 7 on C drive and other personal data on D drive.Since there was some file corruption and also the C drive was almost full(just 1 GB free space) I had decided to format the C drive.I did that and resinstalled Win7 via usb.However now I am unable to access my D drive and says Access is denied.
I'm trying to install a Windows 7 Profession 64 bit version over a Windows 7 Home Edition 32 bit version.
I know this isn't possible without a clean install, but my problem is, the installation won't boot whatsoever.
Two days ago I installed a fresh copy of W7 32 bit over a vista 32 bit with a flash drive on a laptop with no problem, so I know how you make a bootable USB.
This time however, using the Windows 7 USB DVD Download Tool didn't cut it for me as, even though it was prioritzed in BIOS, nothing would happen and W7 32 bit would just boot like normal.
So I tried to manually set up the bootable flash drive, which also didn't work.
After a lot of searching on google, I learned the problem might have something to do with the bootsector not able to be run on a 32 bit OS. [URL] I used the W7 32 bit version I used on the laptop 2 days ago, and put the bootsector of that version on the flash drive.
Again, this didn't work as the computer would just boot windows 7 32 bit like usual (and again, I adjusted the priority in BIOS) Now I got enough of trying the flash drive to work, I tried burning the ISO file on a DVD using Imgburn.
Burning the DVD went smoothly and I quickly had a DVD with the W7 64 bit installation files. This however, didn't solve anything as (again, prioritzing the DVD) W7 would boot up as usual.
OS Version: Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium, Service Pack 1, 32 bit Processor: Intel(R) Core(TM) i7 CPU 870 @ 2.93GHz, x64 Family 6 Model 30 Stepping 5 Processor Count: 8 RAM: 3063 Mb Graphics Card: NVIDIA GeForce GTX 560, 1023 Mb Hard Drives: C: Total - 476837 MB, Free - 132797 MB; E: Total - 234627 MB, Free - 205990 MB; F: Total - 234316 MB, Free - 233246 MB; Motherboard: ASUSTeK Computer INC., P7P55D PRO Antivirus: AVG Anti-Virus Free, Updated and Enabled