I finally broke down and bought an SSD for my OS and a few regularly used applications. How do I "move" Windows 7 from my current HD to my new one. I really don't want to reformat the existing HD due to the number of installed programs.
I do NOT want a dual boot system, I want win 7 on my SSD ONLY, and not on my existing HD. What is the best approach to do this?
Thanks!
This tutorial may be of some help SSD - Install and transfer the Operating System if your SSD is already installed then scroll down to the Transfer OS system part.
I am about to do the same thing.
In the sticky thread "Show us your SSD performance in the hardware section I have had a long discussion about this.
Although the tutorial link to in this thread is good advice I have found that I do not have to go through all the steps detailed in that tutorial.
It all depend on how your current HDD is aligned and what program you use to either image or clone the original HDD and load that image on the SSD or clone to the SSD.
With Acronis TI 2011 taking a complete disk image of a HDD, the complete drive not just the system partitions, that DOES have proper alignment and then loading that image on the SSD it will align the SSD properly.
NOTE:
This only works IF the image you make is of the COMPLETE drive and you load that COMPLETE image on the SSD. If you image just certain partitions and NOT the COMPLETE drive then this will not work. The SSD may not be aligned properly.
Now if you current HDD that is used to hold the OS/sys reserve and any other partitions is bigger then the SSD you are going to use then you should resize those partitions so they will fit on the SSD as they are on the HDD.
For me my main drive is 250GBs with a C, OS, partition of 80GB the sys reserve is 100MB and my D partition is 145GB.
I original resized the C partition to 60GBs and the D partition to 175+GBs, I then did a test on another HDD (as I don't have my SSD yet) that is 160GBs in size. I ran into a slight problem in that TI 2011 resized the C partition down to 36+/-GBs to give more room for the D partition and leaving the hidden sys reserve the 100MB.
I wasn't happy about that so what I have done on the HDD I am making the image from to load on the SSD is I resized the C partition to the 60GBs (about 22GB less then what I started with) moved that extra 22GBs into the D partition (my D partition only has 5+GBs of data on it) then move 120GB of the D partition into unallocated space after the D partition making the D partition 52GB. Leaving me with 3 partition as I had originally but smaller. First partiton is still the 100MB and aligned at 1024KB, second partition is 60GBs and the third is 52GBs. Add that all up and it comes to less space then the 120GB SSD that I am getting. I then used TI 2011 to image that setup of partitions with proper alignment. So hopefully when I load that image on the SSD everything will work out.
So I suggest you do what I have done to resize partition so all of them that are now on your main drive will fit without a problem on the SSD. Then use a imaging or cloning program that YOU KNOW will preserve the alignment, that is if your current HDD is aligned properly, when loaded on or cloned to the SSD.
As I said in that other thread I will find out in a couple of days if this works. But I have all the confidence it will.
Shootist you assume his drives are aligned - But as whs has noted, and stated, if the drive isn't aligned in the first place, it won't be aligned when you image or clone it, and an unaligned SSD drive is really no better than a spinner.
Yet another (hopefully the definitive) SSD Alignment Thread | Knowledge BaseIf you restore an entire disk using an image of a non-aligned disk, the restored disk will not be aligned.
If you clone a disk that is not aligned, the cloned disk will not be aligned.
If you clone a disk that is aligned, the cloned disk will be aligned.
Now I know you know this because you stated it, but it bears repeating because again, if the drive isn't aligned in the first place, and the OP doesn't have a program like ATI 2011 or another program to to align drives well.... that's what the tutorial is for. You may not agree, but then we all have different methods of getting things done.
Anyway I used to this nifty program and got a nice aligned SSD drive..... Paragon Migrate OS to SSD - System migration to Solid State Drives (SSD) - Overview
The only catch is it's twenty bucks, but check out what it can do for - you can move from a large HD to a smaller one, you can exclude folders, and.... it automatically aligns your drive. :)
At any rate I see the OP used the tutorial and it has worked for them. Glad to hear it.
Yes I got a copy of Migrate os to ssd from Paragon - glad to hear it worked for you.
It can be used for migrating to HD as well as ssd.
That is what I said in my original post
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It all depend on how your current HDD is aligned and what program you use to either image or clone the original HDD and load that image on the SSD or clone to the SSD.
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Nothing about agreeing or disagreeing. The tutorial is a proven method. I for myself am trying to shorten the work needed to move the OS/folders and files from a spinning HDD to SSD with the programs I have at hand and no extra cost.
If your present HDD is already aligned properly then there is no good reason to go through all the steps in that tutorial.
I was just trying to point that out.
But at this point I am going by others peoples experience. I will see how it goes on Wednesday.
Yeah, I'm what I'd call a very entry-level builder. I can put parts in and properly hook things up but when things go wrong my trouble shooting ability is limited. Once the discussion got into aligning disks my skull exploded like an invader from "Mars Attacks". That OS to SSD program is wonderful. I forgot to time my computer before the move, but after it takes 15 seconds from the time I see "windows starting" until I can type my password in at the win7 login screen. :)
The latest version of Paragon Migrate OS to SSD 10.0.17.13028_000 does not work with Win 7 64bit
It hangs with a few seconds remaining, with the following error: -
Windows failed to start. A recent hardware or software change might be the cause. To fix the prblem:
1. Insert your Windows installation disc and restart the computer
2. Choose your language settings and then click "next"
3. Click "repair your computer"
status: 0xc0000034
Info: An unexpected error has occured
When I install Win 7 installation disk and click repair my computer, I get an error message telling me that the system repair disk is not compatible with the version of Windows I am trying to repairWTF.
I have managed to restore Win 7 on HDD to last known good configuration, but as yet Paragon are not able to offer any other solution than:-
"It *could* help. But I think it will be useless too"
I will know give this method a try and let you all know.
Cheers,
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