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Upgrading to an SSD with Windows Image Backup
Greetings, I am new here, so my apologies if this has been answered, but I haven't been able to find an answer by searching.
I have a computer that has a 2TB C: drive with Windows, Applications and all my data on it. I would like to upgrade to an SSD and move my Windows and Applications there, and then use my 2TB drive for data only.
I have plenty of external USB drives that I can use to store data temporarily. So, I would like to use Windows Image Backup to move Windows and my Applications to the new SSD. However, based on what I have read, it is only possible to restore an image to a larger disk, not a smaller one. So, my question here is really whether this means the physical disk has to be larger, or if it should work as long as the source partition is smaller than the SSD.
So, here is what I am thinking about trying.
1) Backup my data (not Windows and not Applications) to an external drive
2) Delete my data from 2TB C: drive (leave only Windows and Applications)
3) Shrink my 2TB C: drive to something less than the SSD size using the Windows Disk Management interface
4) Make sure the rest of the space on the 2TB drive is unallocated (no other partitions)
5) Create a Windows Image Backup on the external drive
6) Shutdown, disconnect 2TB drive, and connect SSD
7) Boot from Windows 7 CD, and restore image to SSD
8) Remove Windows 7 CD and boot Windows off the SSD
9) Shutdown, reconnect 2TB drive, and boot
10) Delete all partitions from the 2TB drive using Windows Disk Management, create a new 2TB partition and format it
11) Restore my data (not Windows and not Applications) to the 2TB drive
If anyone knows if this is flawed, please let me know and save me a ton of time.
Thanks for your help. :)