Windows 7 Can you superimpose files and their listings plus locations on a new HDD

[Ekul]

High, long time windows user, new to the forum.
I'm hopping to catch some windows gurus for this.

So, my girlfriends HDD bit the bullet a week ago and corrupted the disk formating. Windows reads it as an empty disk ready to format. That being said, I was able to recover the entire drive with a program called Recuva, so I have everything back.
here is my Issue.
I'm putting all the files on a new drive with a fresh copy of windows on it. Is there a way to move the directory files and registries over so I don't have to dig up every installation disk for every program she had.
Essentially I want to make a clone of the HDD on the new one.
I know this is usually easier done from having a disk image, but that I am lacking.
Any tips or suggestions are appreciated.

 

[Pauli]

High, long time windows user, new to the forum.
I'm hopping to catch some windows gurus for this.

So, my girlfriends HDD bit the bullet a week ago and corrupted the disk formating.

What the heck is that? Never heard about it. Any more information?

 

[MikeHawthorne]

Hi

It's likely that some of the software will run if you just copy it to the new hard drive, and create a link from the .exe file.
It will create the registry entries the first time you run it or not require registry entries.

I know you can do that with WOW, and several other games, some Adobe software, and misc. programs.

When I installed Windows 8 in dual boot configuration on my old computer along with Windows 7 I found that more than half the software would run in W8 without being reinstalled, and that's a different OS, the rest had to be installed again.

I have to say I'm not sure if you could get away with copying the registry from one Windows installation to another.
It's worth a shot if you don't mind reinstalling W7 again if it doesn't work.

I would expect that it could be a problem.

If you ran CCleaner on the old hard drive, and created backup registries on a regular basis, when scanning it, then you could install CCleaner on the new hard drive and use the Registry Recovery feature to replace the current one from one from the old computer.

There's a chance that if it doesn't work, CCleaner would warn you or let you switch back.

That's just speculation I've never tried to do it.

Mike

 

[patcooke]

I always go for a clean install of the entire op sys and apps. At best you will be importing unwanted baggage like junk files etc, at the worst you will be importing undesirables such as malware and corrupted data. All of this is compunded by the fact that you are trying to import from a corrupted drive - all in all, the savings in time and effort achieved in the short term are just not worth the potential for problems in the long term.

 

[Ekul]

What the heck is that? Never heard about it. Any more information?

HDD is the abreviation for Hard Disk Drive

Hi

It's likely that some of the software will run if you just copy it to the new hard drive, and create a link from the .exe file.
It will create the registry entries the first time you run it or not require registry entries.

I know you can do that with WOW, and several other games, some Adobe software, and misc. programs.

When I installed Windows 8 in dual boot configuration on my old computer along with Windows 7 I found that more than half the software would run in W8 without being reinstalled, and that's a different OS, the rest had to be installed again.

I have to say I'm not sure if you could get away with copying the registry from one Windows installation to another.
It's worth a shot if you don't mind reinstalling W7 again if it doesn't work.

I would expect that it could be a problem.

If you ran CCleaner on the old hard drive, and created backup registries on a regular basis, when scanning it, then you could install CCleaner on the new hard drive and use the Registry Recovery feature to replace the current one from one from the old computer.

There's a chance that if it doesn't work, CCleaner would warn you or let you switch back.

That's just speculation I've never tried to do it.

Mike

the worst I had to do from moving the files was run a disk repair. Touching the things I shouldn't in windows I guess.

but then I am messing with fire trying to do this.

my main consern with this is having to to move PhotoShop and Ilastraitor onto the new disk cause of the the adobe keys being a pain to deactivate and allowing the install on a new machine.

 

[Ekul]

I always go for a clean install of the entire op sys and apps. At best you will be importing unwanted baggage like junk files etc, at the worst you will be importing undesirables such as malware and corrupted data. All of this is compunded by the fact that you are trying to import from a corrupted drive - all in all, the savings in time and effort achieved in the short term are just not worth the potential for problems in the long term.

I keep 7 different anti-malware and security programs on my desktop, so I think I'm good against the malware.

just remember for your future post that one mans trash is another mans treasure. And most of the recovery is being put on a clean install of W7, anyway. If information recovery was just digging through trash, why are their business that make $1,700 per disk they recover?
As a moderator, Thanks for your opinion about what I'm trying to do. But in the spirit of informational forums, please don't comment unless you have something to contribute.
because as for opinions, I'd rather shift through trash and malware then have to install every single app she used that might require us to re-buy every security key that the license agreement has been maxed out on.

 

[MikeHawthorne]

Hi

I have a lot Adobe software the only one I have now that know I can copy to a new disk and run is Premiere E10.

For years I had a copy of Illustrator 8 on a CD that I could just copy to any computer I got and it would run, without having to do the install and registration again.

I couldn't install Photoshop CS3 a second time on the same computer, so I could run it from both Windows 7 and 8 when I was dual booting.

If you don't know what the registration numbers are you can look them up at Adobe, if the are legit, or use Belarc Adviser which will show you the Serial Numbers for all your installed software.

Technically you're not installing Photoshop on a new computer, so if you need to call Adobe they will sort it out.
They have always been very easy to get along with for me.

I've had some of my Adobe software on a lot of computers, (I don't upgrade very often) and I couldn't always deactivate it first.
Just a few months ago I got hit by lightning and it totalled my Motherboard and a lot of other stuff.

When my new computer arrived all my Adobe software installed with no issues even though it was a completely new computer and it had not been deactivated.

So you may find that you will be able to reinstall it with no issues anyway.

Mike

 

[Ekul]

Hi

I have a lot Adobe software the only one I have now that know I can copy to a new disk and run is Premiere E10.

For years I had a copy of Illustrator 8 on a CD that I could just copy to any computer I got and it would run, without having to do the install and registration again.

I couldn't install Photoshop CS3 a second time on the same computer, so I could run it from both Windows 7 and 8 when I was dual booting.

If you don't know what the registration numbers are you can look them up at Adobe, if the are legit, or use Belarc Adviser which will show you the Serial Numbers for all your installed software.

Technically you're not installing Photoshop on a new computer, so if you need to call Adobe they will sort it out.
They have always been very easy to get along with for me.

I've had some of my Adobe software on a lot of computers, (I don't upgrade very often) and I couldn't always deactivate it first.
Just a few months ago I got hit by lightning and it totalled my Motherboard and a lot of other stuff.

When my new computer arrived all my Adobe software installed with no issues even though it was a completely new computer and it had not been deactivated.

So you may find that you will be able to reinstall it with no issues anyway.

Mike

I'll give it a try, hopefully everything works. I've had issues with Adobe before with reinstalling, and their support wasn't helpful.
I wasn't looking forward to reinstalling things, but if there is no way to duplicate the directory then I guess it can't be helped.
thank you.

 

[patcooke]

just remember for your future post that one mans trash is another mans treasure. And most of the recovery is being put on a clean install of W7, anyway. If information recovery was just digging through trash, why are their business that make $1,700 per disk they recover?

Having spent many years in system software research and development writing programs 2,000 pages long in Assembler and machine code I am all too well aware of the powers and potential problems of trawling for data to be recovered from the bowels of a corrupted system. I am also am familiar with the skills and knowledge which enabled those so involved to command the recovery fees to which your refer. Today I offer those services free of charge via routes such as these forums and am especially motivated so to do when the data represents such things as irreplaceable personal documents.

As a moderator, Thanks for your opinion about what I'm trying to do. But in the spirit of informational forums, please don't comment unless you have something to contribute.

What I was expressing in my reply was not an "opinion" but a considered response to the situation you described based on my experience. This is what I have to "contribute", it is offered freely for you to accept or reject. You have chosen to reject it and that is your right.

What is not your right is to make uninformed and offensive comments about the validity of my advice and to suggest that it is an unworthy contribution.

These forums exist thanks to the many people who give freely of their skills, knowledge, experience and, above all, their time to assist people who come to them seeking help. It is the right of all seeking such support to accept or reject advice offered but whatever the response, it should be made gently and graciously and not in the ungrateful and arrogant fashion in which you have chosen to word your response.

 

[Ekul]

Having spent many years in system software research and development writing programs 2,000 pages long in Assembler and machine code I am all too well aware of the powers and potential problems of trawling for data to be recovered from the bowels of a corrupted system. I am also am familiar with the skills and knowledge which enabled those so involved to command the recovery fees to which your refer. Today I offer those services free of charge via routes such as these forums and am especially motivated so to do when the data represents such things as irreplaceable personal documents.


What I was expressing in my reply was not an "opinion" but a considered response to the situation you described based on my experience. This is what I have to "contribute", it is offered freely for you to accept or reject. You have chosen to reject it and that is your right.

What is not your right is to make uninformed and offensive comments about the validity of my advice and to suggest that it is an unworthy contribution.

These forums exist thanks to the many people who give freely of their skills, knowledge, experience and, above all, their time to assist people who come to them seeking help. It is the right of all seeking such support to accept or reject advice offered but whatever the response, it should be made gently and graciously and not in the ungrateful and arrogant fashion in which you have chosen to word your response.

first off I will say yes that my response was ungrateful, but arrogant it was not.

my original post described my situation of having already RECOVERED the files from the corrupted drive and the question I had asked was if there was a way to move the files and directories over so it would boot and loging to the user profile and access data as though the was not a HDD change.

YOUR response was arrogant if anything, for you said basically to just trash those files and all and start from scratch like a basic level user.

this response was not an answer to my question, was not help to the situation I'm in or what I'm trying to do, and offered no insight to my question on how to proceed next. You said start from scratch, but its clear from the question that I'm asking for any insight on how to salvage it.

if you had made a reply that said that what I'm trying to do is not possible or highly unlikely because of reasons A). B). C). I might have been more respectful. But again, you gave no insight on how to or if what I'm doing might be possible.

like I said, I have the old data I don't need to go digging for it.

since you have such skill at writing documents 2,000 page documents and have such vast knowledge of the computer languages, why could you not give insight on how I might go about doing what I'm trying to do?

I just want to boot it up, have it open like it did on the old drive, and not have to reinstall all 120 something art programs she worked with on it.

but you said, basically said start from scratch, and really didn't offer any of your vast knowledge on the situation. Thank you so much for your time and effort, it must have really strained your brain.

I think the other guy pretty much answered my question, thank you sir for your help and insight.

now do your duty as a mod and mark this as answered, give me my warning for disrespecting a moderator who was unhelpful, and lock this thread.