fix boot on cloned win 7 HDD on SSD

[sjuliani]

i just bought a new laptop (lenovo ideapad3) w ssd and windows 11. im trying to clone several partitions with different windows versions (windows 7 on a couple) from the harddrive on my old work laptop into the single ssd of the new laptop by creating new partitions and then cloning each partition using easeus. I should add i need all the new partitions to be bootable separately.
the problem i have now is fixing the boot sequence on the cloned partition.
Everytime i boot the cloned windows 7 partition i get the winload.efi not found/missing. i tried repairing the boot via command prompt by using a windows 11 usb but no luck. i tried making a win 7 bootable usb but have not bee able to boot into it without it crashing at the windows logo (apparently there is an issue with win7 booting on uefi and gpt based drive).
at this point i dont know what else to try.
any help would be much appreciated

 

[MisterEd]

Is there a reason you need a physical Windows 7 computer? Would a virtual machine work for you?

Here a Windows 7 Pro VM running on my Windows 11 Pro laptop.

 

[samuria]

Win 11 will be running on uefi ,secureboot etc and 7 will be set to mbr that were your problem is to change isnt a simple job running as a virtual pc is simple Convert Windows 7/8/10 Installation from Legacy to UEFI Without Data Loss (Simpler Method) - YouTube

You should make an image of ALL win11 paritions before you start or you could brick the pc

 

[sjuliani]

I actually completely forgot about doing that. I should point out that the main use of the partitions are for automotive diagnostic software (GM, ford, etc...)
I know i can do the VM for 3-4 of the partitions but for the others due to the type of software it requires native installs. besides that some partitions are running windows 10, some windows 7 and other windows xp.
With that said the main softwares i need to use right at this moment I know i can use in vm (partition is on windows 7). Do you have any suggestions on how i would clone the partitions into a working VM ? I have vmware workstation but have never built a VM before.

Is there a reason you need a physical Windows 7 computer? Would a virtual machine work for you?

Here a Windows 7 Pro VM running on my Windows 11 Pro laptop.

View attachment 423106

- - - Updated - - -

here is the photo of the drive and the many partitions. the one i use the most is the the porscheGM partition thats the one i need to create the VM for now

 

[MisterEd]

Is there a reason you have so many special partitions? Wouldn't individual folders work?
I suggest you at least try to set up a Virtual Machine to see if one would meet your needs.
There are several programs you can use to create a Virtual Machine. You might want to try

• Hyper-V (requires Win 10/11 Pro)
• VirtualBox
• VMWare

If you are uncertain you could try VirtualBox. If you decide to try to create a Virtual Machine let me know so I could help you get started.


Hyper-V
If you have Windows Windows 11 Pro you can use Hyper-V. You can enable Hyper-V in "Windows features".

VirtualBox
Oracle VM VirtualBox
VirtualBox 7.0.10 platform package
https://download.virtualbox.org/virtualbox/7.0.10/VirtualBox-7.0.10-158379-Win.exe

VMware Workstation 17 Player (free for personal use)
Download VMware Workstation Player | VMware
Try Workstation 17 Player for Windows
https://www.vmware.com/go/getplayer-win

 

[sjuliani]

the programs are not all compatible with the same windows version.
I am ready to make a VM.
i did made a vhdx file using disk2vhd and then convert it to a vmdk using starwind v2v converter, but am having trouble configuring a vmx file from it.
with the current settings, when i start the vm it gives me an error "a disk read error occurred".
Do i need to install windows 7 on the VM drive? the harddrive i converted has windows 7 already installed

Is there a reason you have so many special partitions? Wouldn't individual folders work?
I suggest you at least try to set up a Virtual Machine to see if one would meet your needs.
There are several programs you can use to create a Virtual Machine. You might want to try

• Hyper-V (requires Win 10/11 Pro)
• VirtualBox
• VMWare

If you are uncertain you could try VirtualBox. If you decide to try to create a Virtual Machine let me know so I could help you get started.


Hyper-V
If you have Windows Windows 11 Pro you can use Hyper-V. You can enable Hyper-V in "Windows features".

VirtualBox
Oracle VM VirtualBox
VirtualBox 7.0.10 platform package
https://download.virtualbox.org/virtualbox/7.0.10/VirtualBox-7.0.10-158379-Win.exe

VMware Workstation 17 Player (free for personal use)
Download VMware Workstation Player | VMware
Try Workstation 17 Player for Windows
https://www.vmware.com/go/getplayer-win

 

[rvcjew]

the programs are not all compatible with the same windows version.
I am ready to make a VM.
i did made a vhdx file using disk2vhd and then convert it to a vmdk using starwind v2v converter, but am having trouble configuring a vmx file from it.
with the current settings, when i start the vm it gives me an error "a disk read error occurred".
Do i need to install windows 7 on the VM drive? the harddrive i converted has windows 7 already installed

Did you figure out what you needed or do you still need to make a VM of this OS? The easiest way is probably to use the v6.2 (last one to support windows 7) of VMware vCenter Converter Standalone if that is your goal.

https://customerconnect.vmware.com/downloads/get-download?downloadGroup=CONV62 (just make a free account to get access to the file.)

Malcolm