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Home » 2011 » March » 13 » How to Transfer your Complete Windows 7 Installation to a New Computer
8:28 PM
How to Transfer your Complete Windows 7 Installation to a New Computer
How to Transfer your Complete Windows 7 Installation to a New Computer
 

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. Run Command Prompt as administrator
    .
    Windows 7 Installation - Transfer to a New Computer-audit_1.png
    .
  3. Type to Command Prompt: %windir%\System32\Sysprep\Sysprep.exe, and hit Enter
    .
    Windows 7 Installation - Transfer to a New Computer-sysprep_start.png
    .
  4. 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
    .
    Windows 7 Installation - Transfer to a New Computer-sysprep_run_and_generalize.png
    .
  5. Sysprep generalizes now your Windows 7 setup and shuts down your computer. Do not run any other programs during this phase!
    .
    Name: Sysprep_Run_and_generalize_2.png Views: 2251 Size: 3.5 KB
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    Name: Sysprep_Run_and_generalize_3.png Views: 2249 Size: 3.4 KB
    .
  6. Swith 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
  7. 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
    .
    Windows 7 Installation - Transfer to a New Computer-sysprep_reinstalling_devices.png
    .
    Windows 7 Installation - Transfer to a New Computer-sysprep_registry_settings.png
    .
    Windows 7 Installation - Transfer to a New Computer-sysprep_reboot_needed.png
    .
  8. When Windows finally boots up, you will need to enter all information as if this really was a new, fresh installation
    .
    Windows 7 Installation - Transfer to a New Computer-sysprep_first_boot_2.png
    .
  9. 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
    .
    Windows 7 Installation - Transfer to a New Computer-sysprep_first_boot_3.png
    .
  10. When login screen appears, choose your old user account to login
    .
    Windows 7 Installation - Transfer to a New Computer-sysprep_first_boot_5.png
    .
  11. 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
    .
    Windows 7 Installation - Transfer to a New Computer-sysprep_first_boot_6.png
    .
  12. 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.)
  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)
METHOD THREE
Change the hard disk(s) or move Windows 7 setup to a new computer using Windows Seven's native Backup and Restore
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. Change the hardware componets you want to, letting the old HD be still mounted as system disk OR if transferring to a new computer, mount the old HD to the new computer as system (boot) disk
  3. Boot computer normally, continuing from step 7 above (method 1)
  4. Launch Windows Seven Backup and Restore, create a complete system image. This tutorial shows you how: Backup Complete Computer - Create an Image Backup
  5. Shut down the computer, dismount the HD and mount the new one
  6. Boot from Windows 7 installation DVD, choosing Repair > Restore an image, using the image you created in previous step. This tutorial shows you how (from Step Two / 7): System Image Recovery
  7. When image is restored, boot your computer normally
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 Gurus  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 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:

Windows 7 Installation - Transfer to a New Computer-sysprep_fatal_error.png

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:

Windows 7 Installation - Transfer to a New Computer-sysprep_stop_wmp_service.png

If you have any questions, do not hesitate to ask.


Category: Computer Zone | Views: 1032 | Added by: seniorkoa | Tags: Hardware & Drivers, Gurus Windows, Gurus Tutorials | Rating: 5.0/1
Total comments: 1
0  
1 seniorkoa   (2011-06-14 11:06 AM) [Gurus Entry]
Did any Guru had difficulty practicing this?
Just post your comments for discussion.

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