Windows 7: Image Restore with changed HDD system

Lightning hit the PC (Intel i7 with Win 7 64-bit) and killed 2 x HDD (D, 1 x SSD (half of C, RAID card and other stuff. Replaced drives but the same RAID card in not in stock anywhere so connected new drives to motherboard RAID to get going ASAP.

Problem:

Restored system image from networked RAID server no problem but image has drivers for RAID card which has curled up its toes and no longer in the machine. Safe Mode wont even start.

Reckon it should be possible to replace RAID drivers with standard ones using CMD (or other method) from Recovery Disk.

Anyone got any ideas, or should I give up now, do a clean install and start the long re-install everything process?

Thanks in advance.

Bury the dated RAID technology and set up a single HD config with mobo SATA drivers.

Start the old Windows 7 to ssee if it will start up in new hardware. If so, It will change out all of the drivers from system32/driverstore, requesting several restarts.

If it won't start, then boot the Windows 7 DVD Repair console, click through to Recov Tools list to run Startup Repair up to 3 separate times with reboots as the image may need MBR repair or rewrite.

Greg,

Thanks for the response. Tried that still no luck. Eventually worked out the following method that's unbelievably simple (after 2 days working out how to do it...):

1: Do clean install of Windows 7 64-bit to new (changed) PC.
2. Load all latest drivers.
3. Make System Repair Disc from new system. This will have all correct drivers for new pewter.
4. Restart PC with this disc and restore system image from network, DVD, etc.
5. System restore must change drivers in System Image to those for new PC. It comes back exactly to previous state. Awesome!

Lighting killed almost all in the original PC so had to replace MB, drives, graphics card, etc. Thought chances of complete restore were grim. Very impressed with Windows 7 so far.

I am not sure what you feel you are getting in System Repair CD you are making that is different from the Windows 7 DVD Repair console.

As far as I know they are one in the same.

If you are reimaging from an externally stored image using DVD/CD, then how is System Restore involved? It would only reimage the exact system image you have stored and not interact in any other way with the currently installed OS or other Repair tools on CD/DVD (to my knowledge).

Guess I'm not clear on exactly what you did, but would sure like to know as it sounds interesting.

Greg,

The old system had a 12-port RAID card which was killed. When I tried restoring the system image using the Repair disc from the old system it blue-screened in both normal and safemode startup. I assume this is because the driver set is trying to talk to a RAID card that isn't there and can't access the drives.

I did a clean install and made a new Repair disc from that which I assume had all the correct drivers for the new system thereon. I'm guessing that is the difference between a Repair Disc and the original Windows 7 install disc (?).

When I restored the system image using the new Repair disc it went brilliantly. The theory is the new repair disc is retoring the system image and updating the driver set to the new ones it has, which now match the system. If correct that is rather clever.

Done the process several times (updated MB BIOS which stuffed one of the RAID arrays so had to do it again, grrrr....) and each one restores the old image and it starts up to exactly where it was prior crash.

If you are speaking of the Windows 7 Repair CD and not a Recovery Disk,I believe it is the same as the Windows 7 DVD Repair console which doesn't contain any drivers other than what it takes to run itself.

You would pull your drivers from windows/system32/drivers. The installer of course has the full driverstore.

When you install any Windows 7 System Image on different hardware, there is a good chance it will start, but only a chance. It will switch out all the different drivers (from driverstore) and request several restarts along the way.

I do this when I cannot get Windows 7 to install on a problem machine and move the HD to another machine to install to cut troubleshooting time. It has worked about a dozen times with no performance hit.

My Windows 7 experience with RAID is that they don't play well together. So i can't advise you what might have happened there but it sounds like you sorted it out well.

OK, I am confused.. IanCocks, are you still having a problem or did the recovery CD fix it?

I go along with gregrocker in that the Repair CD is the same for all installs, but I do not know that for sure. I suppose we could compare some to see if they are.

Yes, the problem is fixed and I've used the method described several times with perfect results.

I can only assume there must be some difference in the Windows 7 Repair DVD made on a particular installation as the system with the image restored using the old repair DVD did not start, nor did it when I tried the Windows 7 install disk. Restoring the old image using the new Repair disk made on the new installation worked beaut.

Am an embedded system man so not a full-bottle on Windows, but its always nice to know why something worked. Main issue is system is going again without 2 or 3 days of re-installing programs, settings, etc.

Once again, I do not know for sure, but I made Repair CDs for two different computers and compared them. All the files on the x86 versions are exactly the same size.

On the x64 version, the .wim file is larger.

But if it works for you, that is good....