Moving a SSD w/ Win 7 install to a new PC


  1. ldelossa
    Posts : 10
    Windows 7 Pro x64
       New #1

    Moving a SSD w/ Win 7 install to a new PC


    Hey guys,

    So I spent a lot of time getting my windows 7 install the way I want. I plan on upgrading to a new lenovo w530 when they are released relatively soon. I'm not sure the best way to move my windows installation EXACTLY like it is to the new machine. I will be transferring the physical SSD itself to the new machine so imaging it to a new drive i not a step I need to take.

    Thanks a lot guys.
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  3. ignatzatsonic
    Posts : 12,012
    Windows 7 Home Premium SP1, 64-bit
       New #2

    As I understand it, you now have a PC with an SSD containing Windows 7?

    And you want to move that SSD as it is to the new Lenovo, without imaging or cloning?

    Is the Windows installation on the existing PC an OEM license, a retail license, or what exactly?

    Will the Lenovo come with its own Windows 7 on a standard spinning hard drive?
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  4. ldelossa
    Posts : 10
    Windows 7 Pro x64
    Thread Starter
       New #3

    yes I have my SSD with windows 7, I'm completely willing to clone this image, format the SSD and reimage the SSD however that still leaves the old unused drivers sitting there along with SID issues?

    The new lenovo will come with a drive but I will not make use of it I will most likely just keep it for spare parts as I have an SSD and a storage drive in my current laptop I'm just trying to move over to.
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  6. ignatzatsonic
    Posts : 12,012
    Windows 7 Home Premium SP1, 64-bit
       New #4

    If the existing PC has an OEM Windows license and you simply move the SSD system to the Lenovo, you will be in violation of the license terms and may have boot/compatibility issues anyway.

    But that shouldn't be a problem.

    Since you don't plan to use the Lenovo hard drive, I would download a Windows 7 ISO from mydigitallife.info, burn it to a DVD, and do a clean install to the SSD with that DVD. Then activate with the Lenovo Product Key.

    If the existing PC has a retail license rather than OEM, you could reuse that license on the Lenovo, but there wouldn't be any need to since the Lenovo will have it's own license.
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  7. gregrocker
    Posts : 50,642
       New #5

    The best way to move Win7 to new hardware is to SysPrep to move HD to another computer. This removes all drivers, activation, SID and HID to avoid conflicts during boot on new hardware.

    This can also be achieved by using Acronis True Image with Universal Restore to adjust during imaging, or the hard-to-find Paragon Adaptive Restore CD to adjust it after moving.

    Only rarely will Win7 start on new hardware outright. In that case you would want to immediately change the Product key on the C drive Properties page.
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  8. ldelossa
    Posts : 10
    Windows 7 Pro x64
    Thread Starter
       New #6

    gregrocker said:
    The best way to move Win7 to new hardware is to SysPrep to move HD to another computer. This removes all drivers, activation, SID and HID to avoid conflicts during boot on new hardware.

    This can also be achieved by using Acronis True Image with Universal Restore to adjust during imaging, or the hard-to-find Paragon Adaptive Restore CD to adjust it after moving.

    Only rarely will Win7 start on new hardware outright. In that case you would want to immediately change the Product key on the C drive Properties page.
    Thank you that is exactly what I was looking for. I basically want the SAME EXACT configuration settings just without all the drivers and activation and all that.
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