Transfer to new drive?

cclloyd9785 said:

Im not going to reinstall the OS just to get a bigger drive.


So I can clone my drive using Ghost 15, to my Seagate 1.5TB drive, then insert the new drive, install an OS with ghost, then clone it back or what?

Yes, that's about it. Clone your OS (with Ghost COPY) to your external drive. Then install your new disk, run the Ghost recovery disk and pull the clone into your new disk. I suggest you clone to a predifined folder on your external disk rather than to the disk address. If you give the folder a meaningful name, it will be easier to id when you work off the recovery disk. And make sure you also restore the MBR (you will be prompted for that option).

cclloyd9785 said:

Ok thank you.

OK follow the advice of Saltgrass. This is also the method recommended by Microsoft.

Procedure is very simple.
Connect and external USB drive.
Control Panel | Backup and Restore | in left-hand task pane select Create a System Image | follow prompts to backup all "drives" from your present hard disk to the external.

Now what you will have is a VHD file on that external which Win 7 knows how to use.

Now make yourself a System Repair Disk;
Control Panel | Backup and Restore | in left-hand pane, select Create a system repair disc

After you have the system repair disk, then put same into your CD drive.
Power off, boot up
IF you are not set up to boot from CD, then go into you bios (often the F2 kay) and choose to boot from CD first.
After booting from that repair disk, choose System Restore from the menu.
Prompts will ask where the repair image is located.
You'll be ask if you want to restore all drives (which you do).

It takes more effort to explain this procedure than it does to do it.

Once you've got your repair cd and the Win 7-created backup then you can't miss.

karlsnooks said:

cclloyd9785 said:

Ok thank you.

OK follow the advice of Saltgrass. This is also the method recommended by Microsoft.

Procedure is very simple.
Connect and external USB drive.
Control Panel | Backup and Restore | in left-hand task pane select Create a System Image | follow prompts to backup all "drives" from your present hard disk to the external.

Now what you will have is a VHD file on that external which Win 7 knows how to use.

Now make yourself a System Repair Disk;
Control Panel | Backup and Restore | in left-hand pane, select Create a system repair disc

After you have the system repair disk, then put same into your CD drive.
Power off, boot up
IF you are not set up to boot from CD, then go into you bios (often the F2 kay) and choose to boot from CD first.
After booting from that repair disk, choose System Restore from the menu.
Prompts will ask where the repair image is located.
You'll be ask if you want to restore all drives (which you do).

It takes more effort to explain this procedure than it does to do it.

Once you've got your repair cd and the Win 7-created backup then you can't miss.

Karl, why do you want him to jump thru 9 hoops with these complicated windows programs where he has Ghost15 which is a lot simpler.

Update: we are discussing after the fact. That's what the OP just told me: " your idea worked flawlessly".

This is a detailed explanation of a very simple procedure and is the very same procedure recommended by Microsoft.

The procedure works, works, works, works, works, works, works, works,.....

karlsnooks said:

This is a detailed explanation of a very simple procedure and is the very same procedure recommended by Microsoft.

The procedure works, works, works, works, works, works, works, works,.....

Karl, I am sure your procedure is correct. But I have had too much bad luck with MS backup/restore that I will not touch it with a 10 foot pole.

whs said:

Yes, that's about it. Clone your OS (with Ghost COPY) to your external drive. Then install your new disk, run the Ghost recovery disk and pull the clone into your new disk. I suggest you clone to a predifined folder on your external disk rather than to the disk address. If you give the folder a meaningful name, it will be easier to id when you work off the recovery disk. And make sure you also restore the MBR (you will be prompted for that option).

Ummmmm only problem with that is when he puts in the new disk it won't have an operating system on it so he's not going to be able to boot the thing up to clone or declone anything...

cclloyd9785 said:

Im not going to reinstall the OS just to get a bigger drive.

In a computer that only holds one disk drive... I'll bet you 3 manhole covers that's exactly what you end up doing.