Using Windows System image

I did a quick search here, and found some info but some problem items.

Here is what I want to do-

I have an Asus UL80Vt notebook with a 320 GB Maxtor. I want to replace it with an OCZ 60 GB SSD. Drive is partitioned with a 15 GB hidden recovery partition, 283 GB C: drive. Currently this drive has 30GB on it including Windows 7 Home Premium (64 bit).

I was going to save my System Image to a WD MyBook 500GB USB drive, remove the Maxtor, install the OCZ, reboot to a Windows 7 Repair (or Install) disk, then copy the system back from the external drive.

1) Will Windows System Image copy the hidden recovery partition? (I do not want it to)
2) The OCZ is currently unformatted. Do I need to do anything before I start this process?
3) Will the restore work to a smaller drive? (I read a post where someone said the new drive had to be larger than the original)

I don't have a lot of faith in much right now, the Asus Recovery disks failed to install the system to the new drive yesterday, despite making me shuffle 4 DVDs and displaying the progress it was making for 55 minutes.

Thanks.

madkiwi said:

1) Will Windows System Image copy the hidden recovery partition? (I do not want it to)

It seems to copy only system partitions necessary to restart the install. If the hidden partition is a system, it will copy it. You can tell by starting an image backup and it will show which partitions have to be backed up.

madkiwi said:

2) The OCZ is currently unformatted. Do I need to do anything before I start this process?

No

madkiwi said:

3) Will the restore work to a smaller drive? (I read a post where someone said the new drive had to be larger than the original)

Further testing seems to indicate the replacement drive will need to be large enough to support all the partitioned space on the original drive, not just the backed up partitions. So, if your Win 7 partition was around 60 G or less, it would restore. If you had another partition that caused 60 G to be exceeded, even though you don't back it up, it might not work.

I am still trying to test other instances, but for now this is what seems to happen.

If you can shrink the partition you may be able to restore, or transfer your data out of all but the Win 7 partition then delete them, it might restore, or try using something like Acronis where you can adjust the restored partition sizes.

Why on earth does it have to be this difficult? Did nobody at Microsoft even consider the possibility that someone might want to replace a drive with a smaller hard drive? This scenario would be exactly the same if I wanted to invest in a 10,000 rpm drive, they are expensive and could easily be smaller in capacity.

I DO NOT want to do a fresh install. I have had this computer for a month and I am only now just getting it set up the way I want it. Why in God's name would anybody think complete reinstalls are a good idea? I have Windows XP on a desktop that has been running for 5 years, I never reinstalled that OS. I understand that some people think a fresh install is best for an SSD, but I don't see that opinion spelled out on the golden tablets either.

OK, is there a way to do an install, then copy over all my settings, installed programs and preferences from my old drive?

All I want to do is change hard drives, not reinvent thepersonal computer. I have been trying to get this damn thing installed for 3 days already.