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.

 

[Kari]

Hey Kari!

I'm switching my AMD setup to an Intel setup.

So that means i'd be changing my motherboard, cpu and ram.

Note the new motherboard uses UEFI bios while the old one doesn't

So I won't need to do a fresh install of windows 7 if I use sysprep?

I am afraid you must do a clean install. Legacy to UEFI will not work, at least I do not know how. MBR vs. GPT, I wouldn't even dream of risking my system stability.

My recommendation is to do a fresh, clean install.

Kari

 

[dakoslug]

Hey Kari!

I'm switching my AMD setup to an Intel setup.

So that means i'd be changing my motherboard, cpu and ram.

Note the new motherboard uses UEFI bios while the old one doesn't

So I won't need to do a fresh install of windows 7 if I use sysprep?

I am afraid you must do a clean install. Legacy to UEFI will not work, at least I do not know how. MBR vs. GPT, I wouldn't even dream of risking my system stability.

My recommendation is to do a fresh, clean install.

Kari

Ok so I should just backup my important documents, and format my hard drive?

 

[Kari]

Yes.

 

[oreo27]

Or run the new Motherboard (some systems I've worked on have this) legacy BIOS. This will allow you to boot normally using MBR. Someone correct me if I'm wrong since I'm not entirely too sure of this one.

 

[Syti13]

Hello,

I have read this tutorial start to finish and I just have a couple of questions regarding sysprep. I am soon to switch out my HDD for a new one, same size, make and model, along with switching out my i7 870, P55V modo and two Sparkle 2GB GTS 450's for an i7 2600k, Z68 modo and a Nvidia GTX660(1) which will be used for gaming, but I also use this computer for Music Production and where this is concerned I can't afford to lose any of my musical projects dating 10 years back. My music production software is installed on my C: Drive of my computer but the Vst Plugins (music instruments) are installed on two external HDD's and the internal HDD of the computer currently has a damaged Sata connector, which every once in a while I get a "no read disk error" that is always fixed after a reboot, but I'm not gonna sit and wait for this HDD to fully fail and risk the loss of all my Music. I have already purchased to the new HDD, same size, make and model as I stated above.

Questions:

Will using sysprep keep my old HDD Windows Registry intact and unchanged on my new HDD? Meaning will I have to re-register/activate all of these Vst's again (extremely time consuming)

Will my user account details still be intact(username)? Not caring too much about my personal settings like themes and system sounds.

And will I have to set my Windows Services to default before using sysprep? Because most of them are off now.

Making sure these Vst Plugins work or are registered after using sysprep to transfer Data to my new HDD is very improtant to me and hopefully I won't have to re-register all of these plugins again.

Thank you in advance.

~Syti

 

[dakoslug]

Do I need to use GBR format for my HD? can't I just use MBR?

 

[Kari]

Hi Syti, welcome to the Seven Forums.

Sysprep with generalizing switch as described in this tutorial is your best shot. Create a system image before starting to be able to revert the process if something goes wrong.

If it works, everything else is intact only the Windows license has lost its activation status and needs to be re-activated. YOu do not need to set services to default. That's what the sysprep is there for, when generalizing it sets your Windows in such a hardware neutral and default state it can be deployed as an image.

@dakoslug: I have never done this to anything else than MBR, so I really don't understand what you are asking.

Kari

 

[dakoslug]

Oh nothing, just the other post confused me.

 

[tguyette]

sysprep and 64 bit vs 32 bit

can one switch from 32 bit to 64 bit using sysprep?

 

[Kari]

can one switch from 32 bit to 64 bit using sysprep?

No.

Changing the bit version from 32 to 64 or vice versa always requires a fresh, clean install.

 

[kenewin7]

Hi all

I am posting this as a possible solution only, based on the myriad hardware\software configurations which could influence the outcome of a SYSPREP exercise:

I helped a friend upgrade his buggy mainboard\CPU. The old and new mainboards both had Intel chipsets so I hoped we might avoid SYSPREP,,,. Alas, it was not to be, so after tripping over the WMPNETWK.EXE problem, we finally got an OOBE + Generalize SYSPREP to run through to completion.

We placed the prepped hard-drive into the rebuilt system and.... it halted with the dreaded 'Windows could not finish customizing your machine' error, followed by 'Will continue after restart'.

So - in the pursuit of insanity we re-booted 3 times and got the same gut-wrenching result.

We then tried Safe Mode only to be informed that this process cannot be done in Safe Mode.

In total desperation, I re-booted the machine and kept the LEFT-SHIFT key depressed.

I remember this from Windows 95 days of preventing startup items from interfering with problematic boot issues,,, and would you believe it - IT ACTUALLY WORKED!

The PC is now up and running perfectly after updating drivers.

I cannot guarantee that this will work for everyone experiencing these startup errors, but what have you got to lose by trying? After all the alternative is several hours of format\reloading Windows7 + apps + everything else....

 

[andy11235]

http://www.sevenforums.com/hardware...d-inplace-install-re-install.html#post2296045

I keep getting an error from sysprep that says you cannot sysprep on an upgraded computer.
i did an in place install since there where some problems with the operating system it fixed this.
Now i need to upgrade the motherboard and processor.

i tried looking for "hklm/system/setup/upgrade" which has been stated that removing this would allow it to continue but the key does not exist i tried to put it in and remove it and it still give same results(i figured as much).
so windows moved/ changed how they determine an upgrade/in place install.

How can i go about making it think it is a clean install to use sysprep?

 

[Kari]

How can i go about making it think it is a clean install to use sysprep?

You can't.

You can only sysprep an original clean install. As so called repair install is basically nothing else than in-place upgrade although both original and upgraded Windows are the same edition, it is however for system and sysprep as upgrade.

All registry hacks I have heard of have so many risk factors I wholeheartedly recommend to accept the facts and reinstall.

Of course if you had done a system image prior to upgrade install, you could now restore the image, sysprep, change the motherboard, and finally upgrade your sysprepped Windows on new motherboard.

Kari

 

[andy11235]

Kari,
Thank you for the information, that was the news i was expecting.
i will have to rebuild it because the old image is technically corrupted because windows was installed with a bad ram chip in.

They need to bring back the old xp repair.

 

[Syti13]

Kari,

I've been away for a couple of days, the reason for my late response. Thank you for your advice... I've decided to go with restoring a system image via Win 7 DVD. I have the new (empty) HDD installed but when I go to the "select a system image backup" it shows my External HDD as Drive C: then I click>next>next which takes me to "Your computer will be restored from the following image" it shows "drives to restore" as \\?\Volume {26579eda-de02-11e0-aed3-806e6f6e6963}, C:. I'd like to know is this supposed to happen and if not, then what should I do.

~Syti

 

[Kari]

Kari,

I've been away for a couple of days, the reason for my late response. Thank you for your advice... I've decided to go with restoring a system image via Win 7 DVD. I have the new (empty) HDD installed but when I go to the "select a system image backup" it shows my External HDD as Drive C: then I click>next>next which takes me to "Your computer will be restored from the following image" it shows "drives to restore" as \\?\Volume {26579eda-de02-11e0-aed3-806e6f6e6963}, C:. I'd like to know is this supposed to happen and if not, then what should I do.

~Syti

That is a good question, not sure what the answer is .

Post your Backup & Restore issues here: Backup and Restore - Windows 7 Support Forums, I'm sure you get an answer.

 

[Syti13]

Ok, Kari, thank you. I will do that now

 

[Syti13]

Just an update, what I had to do was install windows 7 onto the new HDD which changed the drives to the correct letter, my internal HDD is now C: and my external is now F: then I restarted the PC and now I'm currently running the image restore via the Windows 7 disk which now shows my external drive as F: which is now restoring my C: drive. This may help someone with the same problem I've ran into. Only problem was reactivating windows via phone support.

 

[Syti13]

Hey Kari, I got everything I needed done with the help of this tutorial and sysprep. One question....When I need to delete the other user created during sysprep process (I used "Test" also) it gives me the option to delete files or keeps files, could you tell which selection I want to do.

Thank you again for your help and this tutorial.

 

[Kari]

Delete files. That temporary user profile is totally unnecessary, as are its files.