HELP ASAP!!! installing windows 7 without dvd or usb

Britton30 · 19 Apr 2011

raclimja said:

wtf this is getting very complex and i am no programmer to decipher this kind of stuff -.-

i like the idea on copying the bootable stuff on 320gb to 500gb but NOT MOVING it because the operating system and programs on it is still needed

i like this idea Switching my Windows 7 Boot Disk from D to C with BCDBoot rather than BCDEdit - Scott Hanselman

but according to that article, his boot is on C: and his system is on D:

what i need is to make my 500gb boot not system and not compromising my 320gb

is this still possible -.- ???

It should not make a difference what your drive letters are. try scott's steps to move the BCD to your 500GB drive from the 320GB. then you should be able to run the repair install. Do you have a Windows 7 Install DVD?

gregrocker · 19 Apr 2011

You need a bootable installer (either DVD, USB flash stick or external HD) to do the type of install you describe.

Easiest is to borrow or buy a 4gb USB stick, install Ultra ISO trial version, on File tab Open ISO or DVD, on Bootable tab Write Disk Image, Format, Write to stick. Boot under USB or HD's.

Unplug the smaller HD to boot installer and install to the 500gb to Clean Install Windows 7: use Custom Install>Drive Options to Delete all partitions, create New, then Format. Accept the 100mb System Reserved partition which places the Repair console conveniently on the F8 Advanced Boot Options.

To move the 500gb HD to new hardware, SysPrep it on the old hardware before moving it to remove all drivers, activation and Hardware ID's - so you need the bootable installer anyway to make this work: SysPrep to move HD to another computer

Yes, you could clone or image your Win7 (if the same version) over to the 500gb, then unplug source HD and SysPrep.