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.

 

[ahmed3fouad]

how to restore image file ( after method 2 ) to new computer
Waiting your answer with photo if it's available

 

[Feodar]

Hi Kari,
Great tutorial but i had a few questions before i dive into this.
I'm building a totally new Computer but want to keep my software as is by moving my HDD with windows onto my new system.
First, will this work for a totally new build and more importantly will my software (installed games) continue to function fully?
I really do not want to do a clean install of windows since getting my software back up to date especially games will take days.

my first time ever posting so i hope i got it right

 

[Victor S]

how to restore image file ( after method 2 ) to new computer
Waiting your answer with photo if it's available

Method 2 has the steps to restore the image file.
So it's hard to understand where you're at in the process.

 

[ahmed3fouad]

After run System Preparation Tool in windows 7 . it didn't complete
Error : A fatal error occurred while trying to sysprep the machine

What do i do ?

 

[Victor S]

After run System Preparation Tool in windows 7 . it didn't complete
Error : A fatal error occurred while trying to sysprep the machine

What do i do ?

Provide more info.
Does Windows 7 still work on the computer?
What was the fatal error?
I probably can't help much here. Just don't have the time now.
But there are experts here who will, if you provide the info.

 

[Paulinafrica]

Hello Everybody & in particular Kari for such an outstanding tutorial, I am busy replacing my Motherboard and I have decided to try the Sysprep method, unfortunately I am encountering a 'fatal error' when running Sysprep - not the WMPNetworkSvc error, although it may be related? The error that I am getting is:

2012-05-19 16:07:19, Error      [0x0f0082] SYSPRP LaunchDll:Failure occurred while executing 'C:\Windows\System32\wevtapi.dll,EvtIntSysprepCleanup', returned error code 1717[gle=0x000006b5]
2012-05-19 16:07:19, Error      [0x0f0070] SYSPRP RunExternalDlls:An error occurred while running registry sysprep DLLs, halting sysprep execution. dwRet = 1717[gle=0x000006b5]
2012-05-19 16:07:19, Error      [0x0f00a8] SYSPRP WinMain:Hit failure while processing sysprep cleanup providers; hr = 0x800706b5[gle=0x000006b5]

I'm assuming that wevtapi.dll is the guilty party in this case? I'm unsure as to what process/service to stop to allow Sysprep to run successfully, any advice will be appreciated
Cheers
Paul

 

[Victor S]

Tough one Paul. I looked around, as you probably did, found the same problem, but no real answer.
The only solution I saw was a reinstall, entirely against your purpose.
I can only guess virus. Hate saying that, but it has to be at least considered.
So you might look into that.
Could be permissions, of which I know little. I just use admin for everything I do.
As far as stopping services, that DLL is used by a number of them, some which will stop your machine if you stop them.
Good luck. Solving this will make you a hero.

 

[Paulinafrica]

Hello Victor S, thanks for your time & effort on my behalf, I'm fairly certain - or as certain as one can be - that it's not a virus, but you never know, I will re-scan with various tools to at least nullify that theory.
Failing that, I may have to try the manual method as proposed by Kaktussoft - who I know is out of favour at the moment - by removing all current MB drivers including discrete graphics drivers/software, deactivating certain software like Adobe Acrobat, MS Office etc., replacing the new MB, rebooting and let Win 7 do its thing, then installing all the new drivers for the new MB from the CD, I'm not overly confident with this method, particularly as we are talking about different chipsets - H55 replacing P55 - but there does seem to be enough anecdotal evidence that this method works OK.
Cheers
Paul

 

[phdzor]

Hello, im going to buy new computer but keep my ssd disc with windows 7 from my old pc which died and i cant make it run again, so my question is, can i do this in new pc somehow, in safe mode or how it is possible to do this.

Thanks

 

[Victor S]

Hello, im going to buy new computer but keep my ssd disc with windows 7 from my old pc which died and i cant make it run again, so my question is, can i do this in new pc somehow, in safe mode or how it is possible to do this.

Thanks

Sysprep is meant to be used in a running computer from a running system, so it's too late for that.
I don't know of a way of making the Win 7 on your SSD work in a new computer.
And I doubt anybody else does. Wish it wasn't like that, but it is.
If somebody does have a method, they'll pitch in with it, and you can decide if you want to try it.
IMO, your best bet is to reinstall Windows on your new computer.
If you have something important on your SSD, make sure you don't lose it by reinstalling Windows there before you get that data off the SSD.

 

[rrights]

Thanks Kari for info you have made available on sysprep.

In an earlier post p750mmx ran into the same problem I am having - sysprep cannot run on a computer that has been upgraded from a pervious version. He suggested deleting the upgrade key in the registry - aided by a Google search. I'm hoping p750mmx might fill in here how to delete the upgrade key, as I have had no luck searching for it. Any info would be helpful.

Rob

Hello there Kari,

the first reply from my "new" system. All is well and activated, no errors after finishing Windows setup. Just a telephone call to reactivate Windows 7 Prof.

I should let you know that I first got a error when starting sysprep. The error that more users get in some circumstance; "sysprep cannot run on a computer that has been upgraded from a previous version".
That error is valid as my Windows 7 Prof. is an (unofficial) upgrade from a Windows Vista Ultimate installation (for keeping my old settings and programs, again). I disabled the error by the deletion of the upgrade key in the registry (Google is our friend).
Although I selected the "shutdown" option in sysprep, my system didn't shutoff after the completion of sysprep. I've checked all the active processes and saw nothing that indicated that sysprep was still running. So........, I shut the system down myself. Hope was high.

After that a Philips screwdriver (and my hands) did the rest

Starting the "new" hardware give me the screens you have put on the first page in a slightly different order, but he, what do I care, I'm happy

Thanks for the very useful information in this topic.

With kind greetings, Ad

 

[chun96]

Any way of doing this on Windows XP?

 

[ICIT2LOL]

Hum Kari just as the last post can this be done with other OS's I am particularly interested in a machine that I have been trying to fix that has Vista on it.

I didn't realise in my haste that the disk that was given to the owner was in fact an OEM and have spent multiple hours and and installs on another mobo.

I have downloaded everything on two occasions now and the third is holding good so far. I wouldn't ask but I do these fixes for friends and work colleagues that cannot afford to keep buying OEM's?

 

[djfourmoney]

Read most of it...

I see when this doesn't work, people get the c0000021a Fatal System Error.

What I am using is an image of Windows 7 32-bit Home Premium that was originally Windows 7 Ultimate 32-bit RC2. I did the double install trick and made a registry change to allow the retail version to install over the release candidate.

This all worked on the original machine. Even when I switched over to a SSD in that machine it all worked, did a Bare Metal Restore from My WHS 2011 box.

Even ran with the new hardware, but that's when the Copy Protection problems started. Switched from HDMI back to VGA, seemed to work until I tired to record some races last weekend. Copy Protection came up despite PlayReady being updated and installed. To sort out any other problems, I decided to do a repair install. After it finished, I had to disable IPv6 to get internet and of course that broke HomeGroups, Server Connector and TV Archive.

So unless you can come up with an answer, I may have to go with a complete new install. Too many content providers flag stuff so I can't continue like this, never had that problem EVER in three versions of Media Center.

Sysprep after deleting the Upgrade key in the registry will run, Generalize Windows (no problems, no errors) and then either on shutdown or reboot, I get this error (c0000021a). I tried the System Repair Console and it found the problem, offered to fix it, I did. Rebooted, this time into Safe Mode, same problem (c0000021a).

This won't fix it - Jean-Pierre Paradis's Blog: SysPrep /generalize + BCD store + STOP: c000021a

I get the same error.

Help!

 

[djfourmoney]

Thanks Kari for info you have made available on sysprep.

In an earlier post p750mmx ran into the same problem I am having - sysprep cannot run on a computer that has been upgraded from a pervious version. He suggested deleting the upgrade key in the registry - aided by a Google search. I'm hoping p750mmx might fill in here how to delete the upgrade key, as I have had no luck searching for it. Any info would be helpful.

Rob

Hello there Kari,

the first reply from my "new" system. All is well and activated, no errors after finishing Windows setup. Just a telephone call to reactivate Windows 7 Prof.

I should let you know that I first got a error when starting sysprep. The error that more users get in some circumstance; "sysprep cannot run on a computer that has been upgraded from a previous version".
That error is valid as my Windows 7 Prof. is an (unofficial) upgrade from a Windows Vista Ultimate installation (for keeping my old settings and programs, again). I disabled the error by the deletion of the upgrade key in the registry (Google is our friend).
Although I selected the "shutdown" option in sysprep, my system didn't shutoff after the completion of sysprep. I've checked all the active processes and saw nothing that indicated that sysprep was still running. So........, I shut the system down myself. Hope was high.

After that a Philips screwdriver (and my hands) did the rest

Starting the "new" hardware give me the screens you have put on the first page in a slightly different order, but he, what do I care, I'm happy

Thanks for the very useful information in this topic.

With kind greetings, Ad

The Upgrade Key is located under HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE/System/Setup

I did this and while Sysprep setups the disk to Generalize it, rebooting or booting after its completed (from a shutdown as well) I get the Fatal Error (c0000021a) and nothing seems to fix it.

 

[FPAQQ]

I followed everything and after trying out everything I could, I got it to work.

Everything is fine now but every time I boot I get "Setup is updating registry". How can I fix this? It's not much of a problem just a nuisance really.

Thanks.

 

[p750mmx]

Thanks Kari for info you have made available on sysprep.

In an earlier post p750mmx ran into the same problem I am having - sysprep cannot run on a computer that has been upgraded from a pervious version. He suggested deleting the upgrade key in the registry - aided by a Google search. I'm hoping p750mmx might fill in here how to delete the upgrade key, as I have had no luck searching for it. Any info would be helpful.

Rob

Hello there Kari,

the first reply from my "new" system. All is well and activated, no errors after finishing Windows setup. Just a telephone call to reactivate Windows 7 Prof.

I should let you know that I first got a error when starting sysprep. The error that more users get in some circumstance; "sysprep cannot run on a computer that has been upgraded from a previous version".
That error is valid as my Windows 7 Prof. is an (unofficial) upgrade from a Windows Vista Ultimate installation (for keeping my old settings and programs, again). I disabled the error by the deletion of the upgrade key in the registry (Google is our friend).
Although I selected the "shutdown" option in sysprep, my system didn't shutoff after the completion of sysprep. I've checked all the active processes and saw nothing that indicated that sysprep was still running. So........, I shut the system down myself. Hope was high.

After that a Philips screwdriver (and my hands) did the rest

Starting the "new" hardware give me the screens you have put on the first page in a slightly different order, but he, what do I care, I'm happy

Thanks for the very useful information in this topic.

With kind greetings, Ad

What someone else above this reaction already suggested

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\system\setup

There was a key called “upgrade”, that once deleted lets you run SysPrep like normal. Delete that key and you are good.

 

[SevenRick]

Kari,

Thanks for this comprehensive tutorial!

A couple of questions.
I plan on cloning my SSD sata2 120gb to a new SSD sata3.
I will then boot off the new SSD on my current I7 920 x58 board, sysprep and move the new SSD to a new x79 board.

Do I need to be concerned with disabling any of the controllers in device manager or changing ahci\ide settings in the bios before running sysprep?

Also, I have a second physical hard drive with music and photo data etc. for implementing the move should I remove this drive?

Thanks again.

 

[Kari]

Hi SevenRick, welcome to the Seven Forums.

I have to be careful now, never sysprepped an SSD. As far as I know there's no need disabling anything, sysprep should do it for you. In any case, do not start without a complete image backup in case...

The data disk is in no way disturbing the process. Let it stay there.

Kari

 

[SevenRick]

Hi SevenRick, welcome to the Seven Forums.

I have to be careful now, never syspreped an SSD. As far as I know there's no need disabling anything, sysprep should do it for you.


Kari

Thanks for the kind welcome and quick response.

I am surpised that you have not run a ssd yet.

Should I clone my ssd to a hhd before I run sysprep? Then take the syspreped hhd to the new board, make sure it boots and then clone the hhd to the new sata3 ssd?