Windows 7 - Transferring Old Laptop HDD Data to New

cstebila · 05-30-2011

Hey guys,

Laptop computer was recently destroyed, however the hard drive presumably still works. I was wondering what would be the best way to get this information off the hard drive and onto my new laptop. It is a Western Digital 500gb SATA drive with Windows 7 + all my data on it.

Any help is very appreciated!

cstebila

Bill2 · 05-30-2011

Take a look here.

Windows 7 Installation - Transfer to a New Computer

mickey megabyte · 05-30-2011

do you have a desktop computer around?

a simple way would be to temporarily insert the old laptop drive into the desktop computer, copy all the data across onto the desktop pc, then transfer it onto the new laptop using a usb stick or some other external drive.

Bill - the op states that the old laptop was 'destroyed', but thinks the hdd is still ok.

Bill2 · 05-30-2011

Quote: Originally Posted by mickey megabyte

do you have a desktop computer around?

a simple way would be to temporarily insert the old laptop drive into the desktop computer, copy all the data across onto the desktop pc, then transfer it onto the new laptop using a usb stick or some other external drive.

Bill - the op states that the old laptop was 'destroyed', but thinks the hdd is still ok.

Ya, i guess i wasnt clear enough. Sysprep is not possible but he can do the rest which is basically what you said, so over to you mickey.

cstebila · 05-30-2011

mickeymegabyte - I potentially have the use of a desktop computer. Not sure what the components are, its an older machine running 7.

Bill2 - Would I need to run sysprep on the old computer, or the new one?

DocBrown · 05-30-2011

You might want to look at the options to make an External case, adapter, or HD Dock to copy the data to the new computer. Then you could make an EXT backup HD of the old laptop HD

Build your own External Hard Drive

mickey megabyte · 05-30-2011

is the old laptop drive sata?

then you would need a spare sata port (and leads) to be able to use it with the desktop pc.

you don't want to boot off the laptop drive, use the current win 7 for that. just have the lappy drive as a temporary secondary drive, so it becomes E: (or whatever).

cstebila · 05-30-2011

Really appreciate all the help so far. Quick last 2 questions.

Would purchasing a HDD enclosure which converts to USB be an option? Would a 2.5 SATA HDD with Windows 7 on it be able to convert to an external drive via an enclosure? I ask because I thought I've tried this in the past only to find the computer not recognizing the drive.

Thanks for all the help guys, really helpful. Appreciate it

DocBrown · 05-30-2011

This Xion Dock worked well with Desktop & Laptop Sata HDs

Build your own External Hard Drive

Windows 7 - Transferring Old Laptop HDD Data to New

Transferring Old Laptop HDD Data to New problems?