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.

 

[SteveTT]

Thanks Kari, and sorry to hear of your loss.

Ok, I will try this on Friday when I we have a UK holiday. I did remove the drivers for the printer and Nvidia card before I sysprepped but as you say, maybe removing the devices in the old setup and rebooting then removing drivers etc will work. I am determined not to require a OS reinstall, but I think as this will be my third sysprep, I will have to do that if this one fails. Are there any settings I should have in place on windows update before sysprep? At the moment its set to ask before installing anything.

 

[Kari]

Windows update will not be a problem, let it be as it is. The only thing coming to my mind, in addition to what's already said, is to do the Sysprep from Audit Mode using the built-in administrator account rather than from normal desktop being logged in with you own account.

Reboot to Audit Mode from desktop: see tutorial Method One step 3 for how to open Sysprep dialog. Select Audit Mode, be sure the Generalize option is NOT selected, click OK:



Windows should automatically log in to built-in administrator account in Audit Mode, showing Sysprep dialog in the middle of desktop. Let it be there while you check that the Windows Media Player networking service is stopped as told at the very bottom of this tutorial. When OK, continue from the tutorial Method One Step 4.

Kari

 

[SteveTT]

Can you clarify - the above non Generalize mode to be used initially with reboot selected (not shutdown), then follow up with a further sysprep from step 4 in normal OOBE Generalize mode as usual, checking Media Player has been stopped beforehand?

 

[Kari]

Audit Mode is a special mode of Windows, allowing maintenance and customization even when no user accounts exist, using the built-in administrator account (so called "super user"). A bit more for instance in another tutorial, this from beginning of Part 4. Entering Audit Mode in tutorial http://www.sevenforums.com/tutorials/319903-windows-7-image-customize-audit-mode-sysprep.html:

When Windows has finished installing the system core on your hard disk or virtual hard disk, the preinstallation environment (Windows PE) which took care of the installation has done its job. A WinPE is like a mini operating system, taking care of vital system functions so that the real OS can be installed, analyzed or repaired. The WinPE checks its own checklist and if all lights are green, hands over the control to real Windows.

Windows thanks WinPE and boots first time. This first boot is called an OOBE boot, OOBE Mode (Out-Of-Box Experience), also known as Welcome Mode. To put it very simple it is (usually) a first ever boot after installation. If you buy a new computer with preinstalled Windows and turn it on, what you see and experience is OOBE Mode: Windows is there, ready to serve you but there's no user accounts yet, no personal data, nothing. A virgin Windows installation.

What we want now is to tell Windows "Sorry, I would like to do some stuff before entering OOBE". Windows accepts our request and let's us reboot to so called Audit Mode, kind of mix of WinPE and OOBE. Not WinPE per se but clearly not OOBE, either.

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Windows reboots now, rebooting to Audit Mode. It uses a so called built-in administrator user profile.

Audit Mode alone is nothing, can nothing. A built-in native Windows tool called System Preparation Tool (noun = Sysprep, verb = to sysprep) is needed to tell Audit Mode what to do. As soon as Windows shows the desktop in Audit Mode, it asks Sysprep to come to help as Audit Mode understands that although powerful together with Sysprep, alone it could do nothing.

Audit Mode automatically disables some services which might disturb Sysprep process. Also, because it uses the built-in administrator account instead of your account, it has the fullest possible rights and do not care of your personal settings. When sysprep when run normally fails, it is always a good idea to try again in Audit Mode.

Following the instructions in my previous post you will reboot to Audit Mode, then continue from this tutorial, Method One Step 4.

Kari

 

[crashnbuen]

I have a Crucial 240/ 256 GB SSD that I'd like to port from a Thinkpad X61T to T61. The SSD is kinda full but I can remove some Data to do this, but its going to be a huge task figuring out what to Remove.. lots.

How much FREE space do you think I should have before doing this?

- MINIMUM (Below this and risk botching doing this whole thing):
- RECOMMENDED (Good & safe):
- MAXIMUM (Dude, you wont need more than this much FREE SPACE):

 

[Kari]

As this procedure does not add anything on your HDD, only removes something, you don't need any extra free space. The rule is: if there's enough free space for the HDD to work on your old system, there's enough free space for it to be moved to a new hardware setup.

 

[crashnbuen]

As this procedure does not add anything on your HDD, only removes something, you don't need any extra free space. The rule is: if there's enough free space for the HDD to work on your old system, there's enough free space for it to be moved to a new hardware setup.

True. But I only have 25 GB free space remaining which is said to be not so good for SSD performance.

Such system transformations like this can be pretty impact-ful/ heavy needing 'working space' right? Or am I wrong?

So, how much time would it take for this 256 GB SSD? Given your experience in this space?
- The Backup / Initialization (on Source Machine)
- The Restore / Rekindle (on Destination Machine)

PS: Any specific DRIVERS/ HARDWARE you might recommend removing from the System pre Initialization?

 

[Kari]

If you do as told in this tutorial, it has none whatsoever impact in your system performance, and does not need any more free space than an SSD or HDD would normally need to operate.

Question about manually removing drivers is totally irrelevant as the sysprep command with generalize switch as told in this tutorial removes all hardware related information.

 

[crashnbuen]

If you do as told in this tutorial, it has none whatsoever impact in your system performance, and does not need any more free space than an SSD or HDD would normally need to operate.

Question about manually removing drivers is totally irrelevant as the sysprep command with generalize switch as told in this tutorial removes all hardware related information.

Would that also remove all the DRIVERS (related to System 1) etc and their files folders that were EATING SPACE?

That way on System 2, there is space for new drivers?

 

[Britton30]

Yes, the generalize option removes hardware specific drivers and I think the hardware ID that Windows stores, which make this possible to move the install to new hardware.

 

[crashnbuen]

Typically how much time does it take? From your past experiences?

 

[Britton30]

IT will depend on your total data imaged and the speed of your hardware. My images, I have two drives, took 18 minutes each to make and a little less than that each to restore, so about an hour.

If you're not making any images (you should to have a way back) the whole sysprep procedure and hardware transfers can take from 10 minutes to an hour, this includes registering the install again.

 

[Kari]

IT will depend on your total data imaged and the speed of your hardware. My images, I have two drives, took 18 minutes each to make and a little less than that each to restore, so about an hour.

If you're not making any images (you should to have a way back) the whole sysprep procedure and hardware transfers can take from 10 minutes to an hour, this includes registering the install again.

Exactly. My last transfer was with a laptop with over 400 GB on HDD in two partitions, over 150 GB on C:. Generalizing it as per this tutorial took about 3 or 4 minutes, 5 minutes to open the lid and removing HDD and to put it on a new laptop, about 10 minutes to set up the new laptop.

 

[SteveTT]

Kari
I tried for the third time to transfer the image to new hardware setup today without success. I followed your instructions with regard to audit mode etc. Sysprep completed quickly, but it failed to boot into safe mode stating the usual message "Windows could not complete installation. To install windows on this computer, restart the installation" Unless you have any ideas to get booted up, it looks like i'm going to have to embark on a clean install.
Steve

 

[Britton30]

Have a look at THIS POST referenced at the bottom of this tutorial. This user it seems did not get into Safe Mode either.

Describe all of your steps so far.

Are you using Macrium or Windows Back up and Restore?

 

[SteveTT]

I followed the instructions from kari a few pages back. I note someone found a fix from regedit cmd command and making some alterations from there. How easy is to to amend from the command prompt? I have edited before from explorer but presume its not as easy from shift f11?

 

[SteveTT]

The only part of the process I could not do is boot into safe mode first time round. F8 had no effect.
Is there another way?

 

[crashnbuen]

One more question:

When I do the migration to a new laptop (X61T to XT61) what licensing/ software issues could I face?
e.g. MS Office and other software applications that might have some kind of 'link' or binding to the previous machine?

Any such experiences?

 

[SteveTT]

Thanks Britton30! Fourth attempt worked. It was your reference back to an old post with the regedit that fixed it. I am so relieved!

 

[Britton30]

One more question:

When I do the migration to a new laptop (X61T to XT61) what licensing/ software issues could I face?
e.g. MS Office and other software applications that might have some kind of 'link' or binding to the previous machine?

Any such experiences?

You will have to reactivate Windows. The software's Id will/should also be removed and would have to be addressed per program. I suspect there should not be a problem.

Thanks Britton30! Fourth attempt worked. It was your reference back to an old post with the regedit that fixed it. I am so relieved!

Thank you!. Good to hear you got it going.