Transferring Windows

[PleaseStop]

Hi,

 

If I say had Windows 7 on my casual 1tb Hardrive, and wanted to take it off this and put it on a SSD.

 

How would I go about this?

 

Is it simple or will it be a hassle?

[techguru]

clone the hdd to the ssd with acronis trueimage

I do this quit often

[Captain_WD]

Hi,

 

If I say had Windows 7 on my casual 1tb Hardrive, and wanted to take it off this and put it on a SSD.

 

How would I go about this?

 

Is it simple or will it be a hassle?

 

Hello PleaseStop and welcome to Linus Tech Tips forum

 

You have a few options in front of you:

- As @techguru pointed out, you can use Acronis True Image to clone your drive. The program usually has a free version for each major storage drive manufacturer. I would proceed with caution with this option as it is advised to have a similar or larger sized drive as a destination one, otherwise you might end up losing data or corrupting some system files. Moreover, there's a chance that the SSD is recognized as a HDD and it might miss out the important features such as TRIM.

- Another option is to restore a system image with a system repair disk. It should restore everything as it is with no changes at all. Here's a link to that: http://windows.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/restore-computer-from-system-image-backup#1TC=windows-7

- I would suggest doing a clean install as it would refresh your whole system, get rid of any unwanted files and unneeded applications, avoid any potential problems and generally give your build a fresh start.

 

Captain_WD.

[Speaker1264]

Moreover, there's a chance that the SSD is recognized as a HDD and it might miss out the important features such as TRIM.

 

 

qft, I would be very wary of this.  You don't want the OS to start defragging your SSD, that would be bad.  IMO you should just do a clean install to clean out all the junk that has probably built up over time, and possible other things that could be slowing down your system.

[PleaseStop]

I've had this comp for 2 months haha, and the reason I ask is because soon (could be ages idk yet) I'll be getting an SSD. my computer has barely anything in it, so re installing all my programs wouldn't be much of a hassle. But, the thing is, will I have to buy windows again? It's not like I can use the same product key.

[Br3tt96]

I've reinstalled windows with my cd/key about 3-4 times. Same code every time... No issues and windows says it's a genuine version so...

[Captain_WD]

I've had this comp for 2 months haha, and the reason I ask is because soon (could be ages idk yet) I'll be getting an SSD. my computer has barely anything in it, so re installing all my programs wouldn't be much of a hassle. But, the thing is, will I have to buy windows again? It's not like I can use the same product key.

 

You should be able to use the same key. If you are having troubles with it (usually happens with Windows 8 and latter ones) you should simple contact MS's support to issue you a new licence and you will be good to go. Other than that you should be OK.

 

Captain_WD.