Windows 7: Restore to dissimilar hardware

Hi,



The Plus Pack for Acronis True Image 2013 features an interesting feature called Universal Restore which lets you restore your backup image to a different hardware.
Of course you would still have to download drivers for the new hardware but it could save a lot of time of reinstalling everything.

What do you think of this? Would this really work?

I found a writeup about how it works (see here)

Would the system be instable or is it OK to use it to move Windows to a different computer, assuming the current system is stable?

It sounds plausible, but I suspect you'd have activation/Not Genuine issues.

How about entering a new product key on the new computer? (as I have one more new Windows license)

I'd deactivate paid programs on the old computer and reactivate them on the computer I moved them to (to avoid activation issues)

I could still save a lot of time by this (I have many programs, including many freeware)


Would there be any other issues, other than activation?

I can't really say for sure, the Acronis software seems to be for deployment to several PCs at once, say in a business environment which has a MAK, Multiple Activation Key. I would think any image would carry the installed key with it even though the HAL is removed.
Software is another thing since many may be for a single install by one user. You would have to give it a test on one or two machines I think to know.

Ok. I think I'll give it a try soon. Thank you!

Sound like a good science experiment, let us know what happens.

How about the windows tool sysprep to prepare an image for new hardware
Windows 7 Installation - Transfer to a New Computer
would this be an easier way to achieve same result although as stated it would depend on activation/license situation

We've been advising Acronis Universal Restore for years here, along with legacy freeware Paragon Adaptive Restore CD which has now been merged into Paragon Virtualization Manager.

These perform the same functions as SysPrep in removing activation, SID, HID and other interference with booting on new hardware. In addition they let you supply drivers up front or which are demanded for it to start.

I used Acronis 2010 Univ Restore twice recently for a Dual Boot where it did not perform correctly, so from the Paragon App I had it PNP Adjust the re-imaged OS pointing it to the C:/Windows/System 32 folder to scan for needed drivers. This worked fine, as Paragon always has when Acronis doesn't.

The top expert on this and a developer for it is SIW2, who I am always proud to say is my teacher here.

gregrocker: That's awesome. You covered all the detals I needed. Thank you for your answer!

Also thanks for everyone for helping me.

You're welcome mate! did you get them restored?