Windows 7 Restore Point - Can I use on multiple computers?

[Clogged]

Hi,

Long story short, my HD is acting up on a 2 week old laptop, I've heard some clicking noises coming from it. I spoke with the retailer and agreed to swap it for me with a new laptop. I don't have the time to reinstall a fresh Windows 7, do the countless hours of updates, and then install the programs I need.

Is it possible I can make a restore point using Windows 7 of the current laptop, save the restore point on an external hard disk, and then when I get my new laptop, I can use the restore point saved on the external hard disk. Therefore, I don't need to do all the updates, reinstall a fresh Windows OS, and install my previous programs I need.

Is it possible? An answer ASAP would be very much appreciated as I'm trying to get this done today. Thanks so much!

 

[Brink]

Hello Clogged, and welcome to Seven Forums.

Sorry, but no. Restore points are installation specific.

Not to mention a new laptop wouldn't have the same specs as the old one, so a system image wouldn't work as well.

Also, a laptop comes with an OEM copy of Windows 7 installed that cannot be used on any other computer.

Sorry.

 

[Clogged]

Hi Brink and thanks for the welcome and reply. I don't think I was clear, sorry. I will be receiving the exact same laptop so the specs will be the same. Is it still not possible?

 

[Brink]

In that case, you could create a full system image from the old laptop and save it to say and external HDD, then do a system image recovery to the new laptop. Afterwards, you'll need to activate the new laptop with the product key number on it's COA sticker instead of the one from the old laptop.

If you like, you could also use a 3rd party program like Macrium Refelect Free to create and restore the images from instead.

• http://www.sevenforums.com/tutorials/73828-imaging-free-macrium.html
• http://www.sevenforums.com/tutorials/218920-macrium-reflect-create-bootable-rescue-usb-drive.html