Windows 7 Installation - Transfer to a New Computer

How to Transfer your Complete Windows 7 Installation to New Computer​

To start, a warning from Microsoft:

   Note

Important

You must use the Sysprep /generalize command to generalize a complete Windows installation before you can use the installation for deployment to a new computer, whether you use imaging, hard disk duplication, or another method. Moving or copying a Windows image to a different computer without running the Sysprep /generalize command is not supported.

This tutorial will show you how to do the transfer.

   Information

Windows 7 System Preparation Tool is a powerful, native Windows tool. When for instance used in so called Audit Mode, it let's you to freely configure Windows 7 to be then deployed to other computers as hardware independent image.

In this tutorial we use System Preparation Tool (sysprep) to prepare your Windows 7 installation to be moved to a new computer, keeping all your installed applications, program settings and user profiles. You can use this method for instance when you have bought a new PC and want to transfer your existing setup completely, without need to reinstall everything, or when you want to make major hardware changes like change the motherboard or GPU, which would usually cause Windows to stop booting normally.

   Warning

Using this method causes Windows 7 to lose all activation information, and it needs to be reactivated afterwards. If your Windows 7 is an OEM version, you might not be able to reactivate it, at least not without phone activation option.

I do not recommend to use this method on RAID systems. All experiments on RAID I know have failed.

With the speed of today's hardware evolution, most of us geeks are upgrading the hardware more often than operating system. Upgrading hardware can be painfully slow process if we need to reinstall the operating system and all our installed applications, plus transfer program settings and user profiles.

Using sysprep makes this easy. Changing the motherboard, or for instance an old ATI GPU to a new nVidia GPU quite often causes Windows 7 not to be able to boot anymore. This fact is usually accepted by the user, who then reinstalls the OS and all applications and transfers user profiles from a backup location.

Same thing when buying a new computer with completely different hardware setup compared to the old one, or trying to restore a system image to different hardware setup. Normally this would include a complete reinstallation of Windows 7 and all applications.

Why not use sysprep to avoid reinstalling? Here are the different scenarios where you can use it.

   Warning

An upgraded Windows cannot be sysprepped. As this method is based in sysprepping, this tutorial is valid only for Windows setups which have not been upgraded.

This means that if you have for instance in-place upgraded Vista to Seven, or using Anytime Upgrade upgraded for instance a Home Premium to Ultimate, you cannot sysprep and this tutorial cannot be used in your case.

Notice that a repair install is also an upgrade install, so if you have ever done a repair install (= in-place upgrade to same edition), you cannot sysprep.

PLEASE DO NOT FORGET TO CREATE A SYSTEM IMAGE BEFORE PROCEEDING!​

As you can read on this thread, on rare occasions this method does not work. If this happens, you can always restore your system using your backup image.

Backup Complete Computer - Create an Image Backup
System Image Recovery

IE10 Users: Please read this article first: Sysprep Fatal Error With IE 10 (FIX) | System Administration

METHOD ONE

Changing hardware components but keeping old hard disk(s)

Use this method if you:
- Change other hardware components but keep your old HD containing Windows 7
- Move the HD containing Windows 7 to another computer

1. Before installing new hardware, boot Windows 7 normally
2. Disconnect all external hardware except mouse, keyboard and main display. If your system folders are located only on C: drive, disconnect all other hard disks except that containing the C:. In case of relocated system folders, for instance the profile folder Users located in another drive and other system folders on C:, first move the relocated system folders back to C: then disconnect all other drives. Reboot after this
3. Run Command Prompt as administrator
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4. Type to Command Prompt: %windir%\System32\Sysprep\Sysprep.exe, and hit Enter
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5. In sysprep dialog that opens, choose System Cleanup Action as Enter System Out-of-Box-Experience (OOBE), select Generalize, select Shutdown Options Shutdown. Click OK
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6. Sysprep generalizes now your Windows 7 setup and shuts down your computer. Do not run any other programs during this phase!
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7. Switch the main power of your PC off and install the new hardware OR dismount the hard disk(s) and mount it (them) to a new computer
8. Boot the PC from sysprep generalized hard disk. You will notice Windows booting as if it was the first boot after installation, installing default drivers and updating registry. One or two reboots are needed, depending on your system specifications
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9. When Windows finally boots up, you will need to enter all information as if this really was a new, fresh installation
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10. Because your old user profiles already exist, Windows does not accept your normal username, but instead you have to create a new temporary user. I use username Test for this purpose
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11. When login screen appears, choose your old user account to login
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12. Windows boots now to default OOBE first boot desktop, with default 800*600 resolution and default theme. All your installed applications are there, as well as your old user profiles and folders. Windows has installed the default drivers for your setup, you can update them if needed
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13. Go to Control Panel > User Accounts and delete the temporary user account (in this case Test) that you just created

METHOD TWO

Change the hard disk(s) or move Windows 7 setup to a new computer using third party imaging software

Use this method if you:
- Replace the HD containing Windows 7 on your old computer
- Move Windows 7 to a new HD on another computer

1. Follow steps 1 through 5 above (method 1)
2. Boot PC with an imaging CD/DVD (Paragon, Macrium etc.). See Macrium Reflect Free:at our sister site TenForums.com: Backup and Restore with Macrium Reflect Windows 10 Backup Restore Tutorials . Also see this post for a practical tip to create a Macrium system image.
3. Create an image of your system
4. Turn PC off, change the hard disk(s) and reboot with imaging application, restoring the image OR boot the new computer with imaging software and restore the image
5. Continue from step 7 above (method 1)

This procedure is failsafe, and works every time. There is nothing to worry, but of course it is recommended to make a backup before trying this. I have even used this method when some serious driver issues caused the PC to constantly crash (BSOD), to reset all drivers to Windows defaults and then reinstalling them one by one to find the culprit.

   Note

What does Sysprep generalizing do to my Windows 7 setup?

• All system specific information is removed or uninstalled
• Security ID (SID) of your hardware setup is reseted
• All system restore points are deleted
• All event logs are deleted
• All personalization is removed (taskbar, toolbars, folder options, start orb etc.)
• Built-in administrator account is disabled (if it was enabled) and needs to be re-enabled after the transfer if needed

What happens when booting first time after sysprep generalizing?

• First boot configuration is run
• New SID is created
• Re-arm counter is reseted if not already re-armed three times
• Windows 7 is booted using first boot default drivers and settings

I have tested all above mentioned methods with all versions of Windows 7, from Starter to Enterprise. It works every time, with one exception: for reasons unknown to me, sysprep seems sometimes dislike Windows Media Player networking service, which is by default started every time Windows 7 starts. In about every third time I've done this, I've got an error message when trying to generalize:



However, this is not a big problem. You just need to stop the WMP networking service, and run sysprep with generalize option again. You can stop the service in question by typing net stop WMPNetworkSvc to command prompt, and hitting Enter:



If you have any questions, do not hesitate to ask.

Happy computing!

Kari

EDIT: A Useful tip from xxxwea, as later confirmed by Victor:

Kari, just a suggestion.

You might note in the tutorial that if on first booting Windows can't finish configuring, a reboot into safe mode, then a normal reboot will allow it to finish successfully.

This has happened to me both times I used a sysprepped system drive in a new computer. I found the answer to this problem buried deep in this thread the first time I ran into it, and the same thing happened yesterday on a different computer.

It's a seemingly very silly solution, but it works. I do believe many people have abandoned their sysprep work when they encounter the problem.

I think the solution deserves more visibility.

 

[Kari]

You are right, you can not sysprep an in-place upgraded Seven.

 

[Tonyyy]

Hey Kari, I know this post is pretty old, but it seems people still post and reply. I've got a general quick question. A couple days ago I received my Intel Motherboard and Core i7, upgrading from a Manufactured AMD Motherboard. Yesterday, I swapped out the old AMD Motherboard in replace with the new Intel Motherboard. It wouldn't boot up, it said invalid system disk, replace the disk and press any keys. I went into the bios and changed some settings and got it to the point where it asked me to just "Run windows normally" or use the "Start-up Repair Wizard". When I ran windows normally it basically blue screened and when I use the Start-Up Repair Wizard it wouldn't go anywhere at all. It just stood at the screen. Although, before I did this, I did make a boot up disk, but I'm still wondering if that would work to fully boot up my computer with no complications. In the end, I basically put the old motherboard back in and system restore to a past date, and everything went back to normal. My copy of Windows 7 Home Premium is an OEM version because I bought this computer from Best-Buy and eventually upgraded everything slowly, everything went well. I'm only having problems with the new motherboard and cpu. Will method one work? I'm questioning myself because yes, it is an OEM version of Windows 7, but I don't have the money at the moment to purchase a clean Window 7 CD. The Core i7 and Motherboard are just sitting there and I don't want it to go to waste. Any ideas?

 

[Kaktussoft]

Hey Kari, I know this post is pretty old, but it seems people still post and reply. I've got a general quick question. A couple days ago I received my Intel Motherboard and Core i7, upgrading from a Manufactured AMD Motherboard. Yesterday, I swapped out the old AMD Motherboard in replace with the new Intel Motherboard. It wouldn't boot up, it said invalid system disk, replace the disk and press any keys. I went into the bios and changed some settings and got it to the point where it asked me to just "Run windows normally" or use the "Start-up Repair Wizard". When I ran windows normally it basically blue screened and when I use the Start-Up Repair Wizard it wouldn't go anywhere at all. It just stood at the screen. Although, before I did this, I did make a boot up disk, but I'm still wondering if that would work to fully boot up my computer with no complications. In the end, I basically put the old motherboard back in and system restore to a past date, and everything went back to normal. My copy of Windows 7 Home Premium is an OEM version because I bought this computer from Best-Buy and eventually upgraded everything slowly, everything went well. I'm only having problems with the new motherboard and cpu. Will method one work? I'm questioning myself because yes, it is an OEM version of Windows 7, but I don't have the money at the moment to purchase a clean Window 7 CD. Any ideas?

What is the bsod error? Is harddisk now attached to old motherboard ...if so I know some tricks

 

[Tonyyy]

I'm not too sure, it bsod and instantly crashes. Don't have enough time to glance at it, and yes at the moment my hard drive is currently attached to my old AMD Motherboard.

 

[Kaktussoft]

I'm not too sure, it bsod and instantly crashes. Don't have enough time to glance at it, and yes at the moment my hard drive is currently attached to my old AMD Motherboard.

Goto device manager:
update the SATA driver to "standard AHCI 1.0 serial ATA controller"
Also IDE drivers to standard.
Don't reboot now!!

Deinstall other unwant stuff as well. On board graphics card driver, on board wifi, on boar network card, cpu driver etc.

Als uninstall unwant software for example spcial graphics card software.

Now shutdown and attach disk to new motherboard. try to boot
Are both motherboard BIOS's set to AHCI. See SATA mode somewhere in bios.

 

[lkm020]

Hi Kari,
Will Method 1 work for porting a Vista installation?
Thanks
Kevin

 

[Kari]

Hi Kevin.

Basically sysprep works the same way on Vista and Seven so why not? Have never tried on Vista, though, so I can not promise you anything.

If you make a backup or create a system image first, there's nothing stopping you to try. Worst case scenario would be to restore the backup or image

Kari

 

[Lord KiRon]

Stuff to add to tutorial

Hi guys,
Great tutorial.
I registered to report something worth adding to the tutorial:
If you get the dreaded “Windows could not finish configuring the system. To attempt to resume configuration, restart the computer.” error during restore of sysprep image and computer keeps restarting attempting to configure itself and gives this error again - there is an easy solution (at least worked for me twice on Wn7 x64 Ultimate SP1 and x64 Pro SP1) :

- Just try to boot into safe mode with F8. It will tell you that it can't be configuret from safe mode - it's OK, next restart it will pass the "installing serivces" phase and go into system configuration screen as expected.

 

[Kari]

Thanks for the tip, Lord KiRon and welcome to the forums.

Kari

 

[kensiko]

EDIT - a few hours later:

Remove this key:
hkey_local_machine\system\setup\ dword: upgrade
...and then give sysprep another go.

This worked for me, thanks for the tip !!

 

[realmy66]

Old hard drive in new build

I have not seen anything that exactly helps me. I am replacing a dead motherboard and my old CPU but keeping all other equipment. I need to know if this should work as both boards are intel based. The old board is no longer made so I am updating with one using Z68 chipset. I use Windows 7 Home Premium 64 bit and it is OEM...bought it from tiger direct when I upgraded from Vista. I do not want to lose any info on my hard drive and have no other pc to use. My husband uses Macs as he does graphic design. Should this change over work? If there is no way to make it work I am done with Microsoft. I have had so many issues over the years and very little help from them. I am hoping someone in these forums can give me some good suggestions. I enjoy being able to build my own pcs to my own specs. I am moving from a DP45SG extreme board with Intel Core 2 Quad CPU to Asus P8Z68V Pro and Intel Core i5-2500 processor. ( I have a Seagate Barracuda 1TB hard drive (sata), 2 Sony sata DVD burners, Coolmax 950w power supply, Corsair memory which I am upgrading, EVGA GeForce 9800 GT superclocked video card, and soundblaster audio card.)

 

[Kaktussoft]

I have not seen anything that exactly helps me. I am replacing a dead motherboard and my old CPU but keeping all other equipment. I need to know if this should work as both boards are intel based. The old board is no longer made so I am updating with one using Z68 chipset. I use Windows 7 Home Premium 64 bit and it is OEM...bought it from tiger direct when I upgraded from Vista. I do not want to lose any info on my hard drive and have no other pc to use. My husband uses Macs as he does graphic design. Should this change over work? If there is no way to make it work I am done with Microsoft. I have had so many issues over the years and very little help from them. I am hoping someone in these forums can give me some good suggestions. I enjoy being able to build my own pcs to my own specs. I am moving from a DP45SG extreme board with Intel Core 2 Quad CPU to Asus P8Z68V Pro and Intel Core i5-2500 processor. ( I have a Seagate Barracuda 1TB hard drive (sata), 2 Sony sata DVD burners, Coolmax 950w power supply, Corsair memory which I am upgrading, EVGA GeForce 9800 GT superclocked video card, and soundblaster audio card.)

Because of the fact your old motherboard is dead, you can't sysprep anymore. You have to do it in another machine. But that's not available I know. And maybe it doesn't start at all in another pc.


Harddisk was connected using serial ata, or just an IDE cable? serial ATA is most likely.

1. Try to boot from new motherboard
2. If not booting, switch from ahci to ide in BIOS or vice versa. (serial ata settings)
3. Remove all old motherboard related stuff in device manager (on board stuff like network card, graphics card, audio etc)
4. Uninstall all associated software like graphics cards configuratione utility
5. remove drivers in IDE ATA/ATAPI-controllers group
6. Install new drivers using CD that you got when buying new motherboard.

All drivers work fine? See "device management". No question marks there?
Switch back to AHCI mode (if you're in IDE mode now) http://www.sevenforums.com/tutorials/61869-ahci-enable-windows-7-vista.html
S

 

[realmy66]

Thank you. I will try this and post back.

 

[Archquark]

Is sysprep method possible when tranferring to Dell computer

My wife has bought a new Dell XPS 8300 with Windows 7 Premium installed. She wishes to move all her programs and files from her old HP Pavilion machine with Windows 7 Professional installed to the new Dell machine. Is this possible with sysprep or will she have to use Windows easy transfer or similar program and reinstall her applications? I beleive from what I have read that sysprep appears to work only if the new machine does not contain an OS.

Thanks

 

[Kaktussoft]

My wife has bought a new Dell XPS 8300 with Windows 7 Premium installed. She wishes to move all her programs and files from her old HP Pavilion machine with Windows 7 Professional installed to the new Dell machine. Is this possible with sysprep or will she have to use Windows easy transfer or similar program and reinstall her applications? I beleive from what I have read that sysprep appears to work only if the new machine does not contain an OS.

Thanks

Windows 7 Professional has a valid license (not OEM)?
Dell XPS 8300 and old HP Pavilion are both desktops? or laptops?

 

[Archquark]

Windows 7 Professional has a valid license (not OEM)?
Dell XPS 8300 and old HP Pavilion are both desktops? or laptops?[/QUOTE]

Both Dell XPS 8300 and HP Pavilion are desktops. Windows 7 Professional is a valid licensed update from Microsoft. The original OS was the HP OEM Windows 7 Premium that was installed on the computer when she bought it.

Sorry for the delay in replying we were in the process of doing a backup of her HP hard drive. It took over 10 hours as our external backup drive is only USB 2.0. We will be buying a new external backup drive with esata port for the Dell.

 

[Kaktussoft]

we were in the process of doing a backup of her HP hard drive. It took over 10 hours as our external backup drive is only USB 2.0. We will be buying a new external backup drive with esata port for the Dell.

How did you make the backup, so with what software? What did you backup, only C-drive or all partitions?

 

[Archquark]

How did you make the backup, so with what software? What did you backup, only C-drive or all partitions?

We used the Windows 7 backup program and backed up the original HP system drive with the system image option selected.

 

[khamarr3524]

Hi, I have a few questions concerning SysPrep. I'm considering buying a new laptop and have come between two laptops, one with integrated graphics (not my primary choice) and a real graphics card (primary choice) however obviously this computer is more expensive and so to cut back on the price, I looked into seeing if I could transfer my entire computer over to the new one, without purchasing Win7 again. In place of the 90 dollar windows 7, I could get around a 40 dollar external hard drive and transfer the boot disc to that computer, right? I need to make sure of this before I waste my money on this computer as I am merely trying to save myself some money.

TL;DR/Summary: Is it possible for me to use an external hard drive to save a boot disc or some sort of memory that contains all my information from my currently laptop to a completely formatted hard drive only laptop (one with no operating system) using SysPrep or some other method?

 

[djshonrock]

Awesome Tutorial man!! Keep up de GREAT Work!!!!