I am upgrading my hard drive. Will I be able to move my current install of Windows to a new hard drive without having to purchase a new copy of Windows?

move windows 7 to new hard drive


i have an oem copy of windows 7 home premium and i was thinking about adding a velociraptor to speed up my system would i be able to move windows to a new hard drive w/o buying a new copy of windows and if so how would i do it. this would all be on the same computer i don't know if that matters.

Answer
Answer

Windows 7 includes free built in System Imaging, please refer to the following article about how to backup your Windows 7 installation using the Backup and restore feature:

http://www.notebooks.com/2009/10/24/how-to-backup-your-installation-of-windows-7/

After you have done the backup, install the new hard disk, boot from your Windows 7 DVD, and follow the restoration instructions provided in the above article.

Please note, the hard disk you are installing must be equal or greater in size to the drive you are replacing. If you encounter problems after restoration, when booting, do a repair installation and you should be back in business:

1. Insert the Windows 7 DVD
2. Restart your computer
3. When asked if you want to boot from your DVD drive, do so.
4. Choose your language, click Next.
5. Click 'Repair your computer'
6. Select operating system you want to repair.

If you prompted that the installation is not genuine (which it should not), please follow the instructions to reactivate by telephone:

Activate Windows 7 manually:
1. Click Start, and in the Search box type :  slui.exe 4

2. Press ENTER on your Keyboard

3. Select your Country.
4. Select the Phone Activation option, and hold on for a real person.


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Norton Ghost version 15 - has a 30 day trial available
http://www.symantec.com/norton/ghost
Supports: CDR/RW, DVD+-R/RW, Blu-Ray devices,USB and FireWire® (IEEE 1394) devices,Iomega® Zip® and Jaz® drives
(Trial does not allow you to create a Bootable Restore CD which you will need)
http://www.symantec.com/norton/downloads/trialsoftware/register.jsp?pvid=ghost15
User's Guide: ftp://ftp.symantec.com/public/english_us_canada/products/ghost/15/manuals/ngh_15_user_guide.pdf


Acronis True Image 2010 - has a 30 day trial version available,
(Create a Restore/Rescue Media CD before you start, trial version allows you to create the Rescue CD)
http://www.acronis.com/homecomputing/products/trueimage/
Version Comparison: http://www.acronis.com/homecomputing/products/trueimage/comparison.html
True Image User's Guide:
http://s4u.download.acronis.com/sl/oxUkMY4NOY5bRODNqa6MTQIoaAskW9VhTuYtu9h2uOM/p/pdf/TrueImage2010_UserGuide.en.pdf

Acronis True Image Western Digital (WD) Edition (May not support Windows 7)
http://support.wdc.com/product/downloaddetail.asp?swid=119&type=download&wdc_lang=en

Product Review
http://www.pcworld.com/reviews/product/384118/review/norton_ghost_15.html
Ghost 15 screen shots:
http://www.softpedia.com/get/System/Back-Up-and-Recovery/Symantec-Norton-Ghost.shtml

Product Review Acronis True Image Home 2010:
http://www.whatsabyte.com/P1/ATI_2010_Review.html

Also copying disk to disk with Norton Ghost
http://service1.symantec.com/SUPPORT/powerquest.nsf/docid/2004111701520562?OpenDocument&src=hot&prod=Norton+Ghost&ver=10.0&csm=no&seg=hho

Untested Free alternatives:
Reflect Disk Imaging:
http://www.macrium.com/reflectfree.asp

Paragon Backup & Recovery Free Edition:
http://www.paragon-software.com/home/db-express/download.html

JS
http://www.pagestart.com

 


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Never be afraid to ask. This forum has some of the best people in the world available to help.

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Last updated December 9, 2018 Views 66,096 Applies to: