multiple Win7 hdd's ???

[ShrtCut]

I have several (9) harddrives, all have win7 installed and are fully functionable as standalone drives. Each are full of proggys/files/music etc. that I would like to move to a "Master" hdd.

My ??? is: Can I install each drive with the Master on the same machine, remove what I want from each, then reformat each hdd as I go??? And if so, is there a really quick way to reinstall Win7 on the reformated drives???

 

[theog]

Yes, copy & paste to & from any HD.

I believe the quickest way to install Windows 7 is USB shick.

http://www.sevenforums.com/tutorials/2432-usb-windows-7-installation-key-drive-create.html?ltr=U

 

[dnorris]

I have several (9) harddrives, all have win7 installed and are fully functionable as standalone drives. Each are full of proggys/files/music etc. that I would like to move to a "Master" hdd.

My ??? is: Can I install each drive with the Master on the same machine, remove what I want from each, then reformat each hdd as I go??? And if so, is there a really quick way to reinstall Win7 on the reformated drives???

Why do you want to reformat and reinstall Win 7 on these drives if all you're doing is moving files off of them?

 

[bobkn]

I have several (9) harddrives, all have win7 installed and are fully functionable as standalone drives. Each are full of proggys/files/music etc. that I would like to move to a "Master" hdd.

My ??? is: Can I install each drive with the Master on the same machine, remove what I want from each, then reformat each hdd as I go??? And if so, is there a really quick way to reinstall Win7 on the reformated drives???

For convenience, I'd probably use an external USB drive caddy like this one:

Newegg.com - Thermaltake BlacX N0028USU External Hard Drive SATA Enclosure Docking Station 2.5" & 3.5" USB 2.0

(Not a product recommendation, as I have never used one.)

It would give the added advantage of avoiding confusion about which drive the PC will bott from. (I had an unfortunate experience with an eSATA drive with an OS installed on it.)

I know of no reliable way to copy any program that requires an installer. (A few don't) You may copy any files that you like, given enough time.

 

[gregrocker]

You are moving the data off of all 9 HD's onto the master drive, then want to reinstall Win7 to each of the nine? Where are they to be used?

Either reinstalling or reimaging all 9 on the same machine means they may not all start up if moved to different hardware. Some will, some won't. You need a program like Paragon Adaptive Restore to remove the drivers before moving them to be sure, or learn how to do it manually.

And of course you won't want to activate them until they are on the target hardware.

There is likely an easier way to achieve this if you tell us what you want to do with the 9 installs of Win7. Obviously you wouldn't need them all on the same computer.

 

[whs]

Why so complicated. Move all your files either to one system or to an independent data partition on any of the HDDs and include them into the libraries of all the other systems. That should be a pretty painless job.

 

[hawkin90]

Seems like a waste of time to me, but you should use USB shick as theog posted in the second post

 

[ShrtCut]

Thanks for all the input guys, helped alot
I took all the files I wanted from each hd and put them on a external hd, then stripped off all the other proggys that wasnt necessary, ran a couple of cleaners and was left with basically a naked install of Win7 on each hd. I had some old atx boxes with ps/mb/cd/floppy, upgraded 4 of the mb's. I got my hands on some used ddr memory sets (total 20gig=$45usd) and threw them all together, gave 4 to my grandkids, and got $100-150 for the remaining. Only had $125 invested in everything (boxes, mb's mem & all), took my time, maybe 10-12hrs and was lucky enough to have all the cables laying around in the shop (LOL)

ChaChing!

Think I'll go find some more old boxes, heheee