Can Macrium image be used to restore a PC on which it was not created?

[provlima]

Is it possible to use my W10 laptop's Macrium 6 image to restore it to my Desktop's HDD?

Simply put can I replicate a Macrium image to a pc it was not created on

Thanks for your help

 

[ThrashZone]

Hi,
I don't believe so
Tell us more about the win-10 laptop and how 10 came to be on it
Spec's of both machines would be nice to know as well

If it were possible the reflect recovery cd would have to be created on each machine and used to restore an image at boot.
Whether an image can be restored to a different pc you'd have to see about that one

 

[strollin]

The image can be restored but whether or not the system will be bootable and usable is questionable. There's also the question as to the validity of the Windows license.

Generally, it is NOT worthwhile to restore a Macrium image made on a different machine.

 

[mrjimphelps]

As mentioned above, you may be violating the terms of your Windows license if you restore an image of one computer onto another computer.

If you have determined that it is not a violation of your Windows license, there is another issue: it is likely that most of your drivers won't work on the 2nd computer. You'll have to install new drivers for all those which aren't working.

Finally, are you sure that Windows 10 will work on your 2nd computer? Not all computers will work correctly with Windows 10.

If you have decided to go through with this, it is very strongly advised that you make a good backup image of the 2nd computer before restoring another image to that computer, so that you can recover if necessary.

 

[SIW2]

1) You may need to adjust the restored image to boot on different harware.

For windows 7 Make Windows 7 bootable after motherboard swap - Windows 7 Help Forums

Probably not needed for win10.


2) You will need a license for the OS on the new hardware.

 

[Lady Fitzgerald]

You are supposed to be able to do so using the paid version of Macrium Reflect using Redeploy. See http://knowledgebase.macrium.com/di...indows+to+new+hardware+using+Macrium+ReDeploy

 

[apb]

1) You may need to adjust the restored image to boot on different harware.

For windows 7 Make Windows 7 bootable after motherboard swap - Windows 7 Help Forums

Probably not needed for win10.


2) You will need a license for the OS on the new hardware.

Thanks! But, a question.

In my case, I want to copy an installation to identical hardware: 2 additional machines, and I have 2 additional licenses. However, some things will still be different, for example NIC MAC address, CPU serial number and maybe stepping. So, my question is, for those kind of changes will I still need the Paragon software, or will Windows still work [correctly]?

I might add that when I did this previously with laptops, there was a screwup so that Wifi on the new machine would not work; the OS thought it was a second wifi and it never worked, even though it was the same exact identical model of wifi card. Everything else, however, did work perfectly, including the hardwire LAN.

Thanks.

--p.

 

[SIW2]

Try it and find out.

 

[apb]

Try it and find out.

Thanks. Uh, well, that option had sort of occurred to me.

--p.

 

[mrjimphelps]

If you have identical hardware, then it should work without issue. The only issue I can think of is that the OEM Windows license number will be different between the two computers. But it should still work. In the past, I have set up one PC, made a Ghost image of the PC, then pushed the Ghost image out to several other PCs. There was very little I had to do to the target PC after that - as I recall, I had to set the computer name to a unique name, so that we didn't have a whole lot of PCs with the same name.

 

[apb]

Thanks. Actually, changing the machine name is another issue. Although windows offers a UI to do that, apparently it does not actually change the network name, which involves hacking the registry. I think there is another forum article about that somewhere.

 

[Lady Fitzgerald]

You are supposed to be able to do so using the paid version of Macrium Reflect using Redeploy. See http://knowledgebase.macrium.com/di...indows+to+new+hardware+using+Macrium+ReDeploy

If using redeploy on the paid version of Macrium Reflect, do not enter the license code on the original installation of Win 7 until after you have made an image of the installation. Then, just enter the individual license codes after "restoring" to the subsequent PCs.

Windows installations are ties to the MOBO serial number so you either have to use a new license on each new installation or, deactivate the license on the old PC then reactivate it on the new PC (assuming the license is retail). If you only have an OEM license and you are moving from a dead PC to a new one or a dead MOBO to a new MOBO on the same PC, you will need to call MS and beg, grovel, whatever to allow the transfer (you may need to call more than once to get a sympathetic operator).

 

[apb]

If using redeploy on the paid version of Macrium Reflect, do not enter the license code on the original installation of Win 7 until after you have made an image of the installation. Then, just enter the individual license codes after "restoring" to the subsequent PCs.

Windows installations are ties to the MOBO serial number so you either have to use a new license on each new installation or, deactivate the license on the old PC then reactivate it on the new PC (assuming the license is retail). If you only have an OEM license and you are moving from a dead PC to a new one or a dead MOBO to a new MOBO on the same PC, you will need to call MS and beg, grovel, whatever to allow the transfer (you may need to call more than once to get a sympathetic operator).

I have transplanted win 7 pro system disks from one laptop to another of same hardware (but presumably different mobo s/n) without any complaint about licensing. However, I am not sure of the exact licensing of the OS; may even have been OEM. I suspect MS allows you some number of such changes before they will force you to call, despite what their official policy might be.

 

[SIW2]

You could try OODiskImage, it has few functions under Tools>Change Computer Properties. You can point it at a resored image, before booting into the restored version.

There is a giveaway of 11 pro

registration
Registrieren Sie sich hier kostenlose Vollversion von OO DiskImage 11

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[SIW2]

Manual adaptation OO Software

 

[apb]

You could try OODiskImage, it has few functions under Tools>Change Computer Properties. You can point it at a resored image, before booting into the restored version.

There is a giveaway of 11 pro

registration
Registrieren Sie sich hier kostenlose Vollversion von OO DiskImage 11

Download Archive

Thanks! That is really stressing my German fluency. However, they end up sending a link to the German locale version. Do you know offhand if the license codes will work with the English locale version you posted a link to? Yeah, I know... try it. But, do you know the answer before I do all that?

--p.

 

[SIW2]

The answer is yes.

 

[mjf]

It probably is illegal unless you can get an MS phone representative to agree to it.
The licensing is described here and you appear to be using the OEM:SLP which uses a license embedded in the BIOS SLIC table.
https://www.mydigitallife.net/diffe...nnel-slp-nonslp-and-coa-license-product-keys/

 

[apb]

It probably is illegal unless you can get an MS phone representative to agree to it.
The licensing is described here and you appear to be using the OEM:SLP which uses a license embedded in the BIOS SLIC table.
https://www.mydigitallife.net/diffe...nnel-slp-nonslp-and-coa-license-product-keys/

Reading that page, seems to me that in my case it was probably a OEM:NONSLP, or OEM:COA since the COA stickers attached to the machines were Vista licenses, as confirmed by talking to a MS agent. The win 7 OS was acquired later, possibly oem, possibly retail. Since I'm an individual, not working for a corporation, I can't consult a lawyer before moving a disk from one computer to another. (...and not dozens of computers.) If MS's own license validation does not complain, I assume they do not object.

BTW, I would hesitate to call something that violates MS's license to be "illegal." It would definitely be a contract (eula) violation, but whether it breaks a law is more subtle.