Ask a new question

Cloning a Windows 7 Install

I recently have wanted to transfer my Windows 7 install from one hard drive to a new one that I have. (The old drive has seen better days and just makes me nervous.) So what I have done already is tried using Norton Ghost 14 - when I booted on the new drive that I cloned to, the windows genuine police came up and wouldn't let me boot to this drive. So the next thing I tried was using the Backup and Restore feature in Windows 7. I "created a system image" using this tool on a storage hard drive. (Not either of the hard drives in question) I shut down the computer, unplugged the current drive with Win7 and plugged in the new drive that I want to replace it and booted up with the Win7 install dvd. That's about where I get lost I suppose. 

There was an option to restore the image that was recently created, so I did that and went on to the next few steps. I believe I had the correct drive selected to use to restore it onto, but when it started the process there were two different errors on two separate occasions. The one error said that the drive was setup as an active drive in the bios or something like that and the other error said that it couldn't find a drive to use.

Basically, I was just wondering if someone has done this and can help me through the process. I thought I was somewhat tech savvy, but apparently just not enough. :(

 

Thanks for the help everyone!
Answer
Answer

So now when I uninstall the C: drive and try booting from the D: drive, it starts up as usual, then tells me that the copy of windows is not genuine.

If it boots and runs then the process worked. Switching hardware will sometimes require reactivation - just reactivate and it will be genuine.

 

Call Microsoft Using Manual Phone Activation

If you have trouble activating Windows 7 you can call Microsoft to activate by doing the following:
1. With Windows running click Start, then in the Search box type:  slui.exe 4
2. Press Enter on your Keyboard
3. Select your Country.
4. Select the Phone Activation option, then call the number given and hold for a real person.

For more details: http://www.sevenforums.com/tutorials/18715-activate-windows-7-phone.html

Have Questions About Installing Windows 7?
FAQ - Common Windows 7 Installation Questions & Answers
MCC 2011

TrekDozer

Sharing bits of knowledge.

Was this reply helpful?

Sorry this didn't help.

Great! Thanks for your feedback.

How satisfied are you with this reply?

Thanks for your feedback, it helps us improve the site.

How satisfied are you with this reply?

Thanks for your feedback.

 
 

Question Info

Last updated March 26, 2025 Views 5,077 Applies to: