Windows 7 Replacing ultrabook hard drive. Not sure how to get windows on new drive.

neok182

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Jun 12, 2011
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First off, i apologize if this is in the wrong place or if there's another topic about this, i looked but didn't really see anything.

I'm planning on buying an Asus Zenbook UX32VD soon and it comes with a standard 7200 rpm drive instead of an SSD. So because of that i want to upgrade it to an SSD drive.

But I also want to have the same windows thats installed moved over to the new drive. The drives i've looked at all have data migration tools and one comes with norton ghost but i've never had to do something like this before where i didn't have an optical drive and a windows disk for a reinstall so i'm looking for some help here before i order everything and then do something stupid.

i don't mind if i have to lose whatever settings and data i might have setup already, but i just want to make sure i have the same windows and the additions it comes with moved over to the new SSD drive.

Any help would be much appreciated. Thanks in advance.
 


Hello neok182,

There are 2 software programs that come to mind and I use both of them.

1. Free Data Recovery Software, Backup Software, Partition Manager and Mac Cleaner Freeware in Windows/Linux/Mac - EaseUS Official Site not sure on migration to SSD's in the free Home Edition. Have used this for years.

2. Free Partition Magic Software for Windows - AOMEI Partition Assistant, this one I know has SSD migration tool in it's free Home Edition. Started using this one a few months ago and found it has a few more tools than EaseUS and the processes are a bit faster.

Hope this helps
Don
 


One way is to make a image of the install, and there are several ways to do that, including the Windows Backup and Restore or Acronis.

But the size of the original install and whether you have a recovery partition you want to keep, is important in your decision.
 


thanks guys. hopefully i won't have much trouble.
 


Okay so i did the clone with EaseUS todo and the clone seemed to work fine, it said it did. but windows won't boot. gives me a boot error 0xc0000225 and it tells me to use the repair disk to fix it.

except this is an ultrabook, there is no CD drive, and there is no repair disk.

Did i just spend $200 on a paperweight or is there something i can do here because right now i'm pretty pissed that i've done this clone twice and both times i'm getting this issue.
 


You can always put the install media on a flash drive, if necessary.

I don't use that program, but does it ask if you want to clone/image the system partition along with the OS partition? If you were to have the boot files in a separate partition and did not include that, the system may not boot.

I suppose that is one of the reasons I like Windows Image backup, it knows what is necessary to restore the system, but it does have limitations.
 


well this is the first time i've ever done anything like this on something without a CD drive so honestly i'm lost.

it did ask about the system and i followed their instructions exactly for a system drive.

i'm going to put the other drive back in and wipe the ssd again.... then use the partition magic one and guess i'll see if theres a firmware update for the ssd.

I looked at image backups and the zenbook even offered to make ISOs, but i have no way to run a CD from it, so thats kinda useless.
 


Alright i've now tried with 4 different cloning softwares and each one refuses to boot. exact same error.

i tried to make a windows 7 recovery on a USB, but because it wasn't the exact same as the asus recovery it would not work. I then tried to follow the instructions for the asus recovery but there is no bootsect in their recovery.

Currently just copying the whole recovery to a flash drive for shits and giggles to see if it works.

I'm seriously hoping one of you here can help me because if i don't have any replies to this in the morning i'm just going to say screw it and bring this into geek squad or compusa and give them however much money they want to fix it because i'm ready to toss the whole thing out a window.
 


I'm seriously hoping one of you here can help me because if i don't have any replies to this in the morning i'm just going to say screw it and bring this into geek squad or compusa and give them however much money they want to fix it because i'm ready to toss the whole thing out a window.

Before you do, can you give us a screenshot of your disk setup through "Disk Management"
Most notebooks, netbooks, laptops have 2-3 partitions from the manufacturer;

1. System Recovery; in case something goes wrong, you can reset your system to factory settings.
2. Operating System
3. System files; boot files, this has to be included when copying the OS to another drive or it will not boot.

And in most cases 1 & 3 are hidden and possibly password protected.

Don
 


Link Removed

there's a screenshot. top one is my current internal drive.

bottom is the cloned. i've done 4 program and each one has done the clone seemingly perfectly, but it just won't boot.
 


Are you aware you have a UEFI system?

Is disk 1 and 2 the clone drive or do you have a ~20 G drive?

Don't know what utilities are aware of UEFI systems, but have you seen anything that mentions the fact you need to keep that setup intact?

Do you have any backup drives where you could create an image of your current drive for safety?
 


Going to go ahead and say no. As i said before i have never ever done something like this. i've always just done a fresh instal, but that isn't really an option on a device with no cd drive.

I have a 500GB hard drive which is the one up top and a 256GB SSD which is the one on the bottom. I've done clones with programs that specifically say clone system.

disk 2 is a 32gb ssd drive used for instant on with the 500gb drive.

i've done the backup to an ISO, and i'm not doing anything to the original 500, in fact i'm typing this on the ultrabook with the 500 back in. i've done that every time the ssd didn't work.
 


Well, the way I see it, there are a couple of ways you can go. Your limitations, no access to any DVD drive (other computer) is a problem with one way and no external drive to make an image is another way.

The first way, and what I suggest, is you do a clean install on the SSD. The drawbacks with this procedure are you need to have access to the Windows Install DVD files to copy to a flash drive. If you had those files, and a flash drive, we could make a UEFI bootable flash drive.

The second method, which is limited by your not having an external drive to image your system, would be to "try" to get the size of your install small enough so it would fit on the SSD. Removing the Data Partition and Recovery partition would be enough, but those are your decisions, and I have no experience with the Recovery partition and what it might contain you need.

You could make the drive footprint small enough by deleting just the Data partition. But I have not tested to see if Windows imaging will ignore the empty space between partitions, so I cannot even suggest that before testing. But I also won't suggest it if you do not have a backup image in case something goes wrong.

Let us know ....
 


I have been testing all day and found a couple of things regarding the Windows Backup and Restore Imaging process.

The Image created will not contain the Recovery Partition, since the backup does not seem to recognize it. So, if you decided to go this way, you would have to remove both the Data and Recovery partitions, and reboot, then make an image to restore to the SSD.

It looks like an image will contain a Recovery partition, even though it does not show as being backed up during the image making process.

You cannot just remove the Data partition, since it seems Windows still sees the unallocated space as used.

Other utilities, such as Acronis, might allow you to restore an image to a smaller drive, but I haven't tried...
 


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Lumberjack principle: old way of cutting wood may be the best. All programs promising you the best result may not work at all.

I'd prefer safe copying your files, and doing the installation from the start. That way you know where you are. I wouldn't trust shortcuts in crucial items.
 


First off, i apologize if this is in the wrong place or if there's another topic about this, i looked but didn't really see anything.

I'm planning on buying an Asus Zenbook UX32VD soon and it comes with a standard 7200 rpm drive instead of an SSD. So because of that i want to upgrade it to an SSD drive.

But I also want to have the same windows thats installed moved over to the new drive. The drives i've looked at all have data migration tools and one comes with norton ghost but i've never had to do something like this before where i didn't have an optical drive and a windows disk for a reinstall so i'm looking for some help here before i order everything and then do something stupid.

i don't mind if i have to lose whatever settings and data i might have setup already, but i just want to make sure i have the same windows and the additions it comes with moved over to the new SSD drive.

Any help would be much appreciated. Thanks in advance.

You can create a backup on a DVD and apply this for installing it on new HD. By the way, why are you changing the HD ? has it been crashed ?
 


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