Moving or Cloning Windows 7 to dissimilar or different hardware

by getdeclue on August 4, 2012

Before performing this step or any steps on this website make sure you have a valid current backup of your system in case something goes wrong. Also make sure you notate your Windows License key as you may need to reactivate windows after performing these steps.

When moving a hard drive to different hardware you may not have success in booting it the first time unless you take a step first. From the original computer run sysprep from the C:\windows\system32\sysprep directory. Select the OOBE Out of the box Experience option and make sure you click the generalize button and choose the shutdown option. This will make your computer boot up like the first time you purchased it. Now you can remove the hard drive from your system and place it in your new computer.

You can view a video demonstration here: http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/preparing-an-image-using-sysprep-and-imagex.aspx

These steps may not work if you have a hardware or software raid or if you are using a home version of windows.

This post is provided “AS IS” with no warranties and confers no rights, before following any steps on this site you must take responsibilty for your own actions.

Previous post:

Next post: