Solved Installing on new hard drive

ICit2lol

Member
Have an OEM Vista machine here that the HDD has died and I am wondering if I can download the OS to a stick and then install to a new drive and use the activation code from the original sticker.

Hav not got any disks or back ups as the friends son was a little wanton with the use of this machine has bought himself a new 7 machine and my friend his Mum wants the machine herself but cannot afford to go 7.
 

My Computer

System One

  • Manufacturer/Model
    LEC
    CPU
    E4500 duo core
    Motherboard
    D945GN
    Memory
    2GB
    Graphics Card(s)
    Inbuilt
    Sound Card
    Inbuilt
    Monitor(s) Displays
    LCD
Download and use Macrium Reflect. Put image on an external hard drive and then transfer to the new Hard Drive. I can tell you that it worked for me.
Imaging with free Macrium - Windows 7 Forums
With Macrium, if you are on the same computer there should be no need to use the Product Key number, it is already in the image.
 

My Computer

System One

  • Manufacturer/Model
    Dell XPS420
    Memory
    6 gig
    Graphics Card(s)
    ATI Radeon HD3650 256 MB
    Sound Card
    Intergrated 7.1 Channel Audio
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Dell SP2009W 20 inch Flat Panel w Webcam
    Hard Drives
    640 gb
    Cooling
    Fan
    Keyboard
    Dell USB
    Mouse
    Dell USB 4 button optical
    Other Info
    DSL provided by ATT
AH yes, another benefit, your software will not have to be reinstalled.
 

My Computer

System One

  • Manufacturer/Model
    Dell XPS420
    Memory
    6 gig
    Graphics Card(s)
    ATI Radeon HD3650 256 MB
    Sound Card
    Intergrated 7.1 Channel Audio
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Dell SP2009W 20 inch Flat Panel w Webcam
    Hard Drives
    640 gb
    Cooling
    Fan
    Keyboard
    Dell USB
    Mouse
    Dell USB 4 button optical
    Other Info
    DSL provided by ATT
Download and use Macrium Reflect. Put image on an external hard drive and then transfer to the new Hard Drive. I can tell you that it worked for me.
Imaging with free Macrium - Windows 7 Forums
With Macrium, if you are on the same computer there should be no need to use the Product Key number, it is already in the image.
Thanks rich I would if I could get an image from the machine but it will not boot to anything.

So I have seen somewhere that you can download an ISO for the Windows OS - I think Vista and definitely 7 but can't remember where I saw that, and install it from the stick and activate using the original key.
 

My Computer

System One

  • Manufacturer/Model
    LEC
    CPU
    E4500 duo core
    Motherboard
    D945GN
    Memory
    2GB
    Graphics Card(s)
    Inbuilt
    Sound Card
    Inbuilt
    Monitor(s) Displays
    LCD

My Computer

System One

  • Manufacturer/Model
    Dell XPS420
    Memory
    6 gig
    Graphics Card(s)
    ATI Radeon HD3650 256 MB
    Sound Card
    Intergrated 7.1 Channel Audio
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Dell SP2009W 20 inch Flat Panel w Webcam
    Hard Drives
    640 gb
    Cooling
    Fan
    Keyboard
    Dell USB
    Mouse
    Dell USB 4 button optical
    Other Info
    DSL provided by ATT
Yeah personally rich I would go with 7 as Vista is not my cup of tea but she is not able to afford it (7) - even the OEM so I will have to work something else out:huh:

If Ubuntu wasn't so different I'd put that on instead but I think she is so used to Windows it would prove to be really confusing.
 

My Computer

System One

  • Manufacturer/Model
    LEC
    CPU
    E4500 duo core
    Motherboard
    D945GN
    Memory
    2GB
    Graphics Card(s)
    Inbuilt
    Sound Card
    Inbuilt
    Monitor(s) Displays
    LCD

My Computer

System One

  • Manufacturer/Model
    Dell XPS420
    Memory
    6 gig
    Graphics Card(s)
    ATI Radeon HD3650 256 MB
    Sound Card
    Intergrated 7.1 Channel Audio
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Dell SP2009W 20 inch Flat Panel w Webcam
    Hard Drives
    640 gb
    Cooling
    Fan
    Keyboard
    Dell USB
    Mouse
    Dell USB 4 button optical
    Other Info
    DSL provided by ATT
I am more hopeful for the second ISO, than the first, but try both.
 

My Computer

System One

  • Manufacturer/Model
    Dell XPS420
    Memory
    6 gig
    Graphics Card(s)
    ATI Radeon HD3650 256 MB
    Sound Card
    Intergrated 7.1 Channel Audio
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Dell SP2009W 20 inch Flat Panel w Webcam
    Hard Drives
    640 gb
    Cooling
    Fan
    Keyboard
    Dell USB
    Mouse
    Dell USB 4 button optical
    Other Info
    DSL provided by ATT
Hiyya rich I did a quick Google in my tea break and found these refs

Google
 

My Computer

System One

  • Manufacturer/Model
    LEC
    CPU
    E4500 duo core
    Motherboard
    D945GN
    Memory
    2GB
    Graphics Card(s)
    Inbuilt
    Sound Card
    Inbuilt
    Monitor(s) Displays
    LCD
My comment is that you should not download from sites that you do not recognize. Second comment is that I can almost bet that most of those sites lead to to dead links. Vista is old, and not many ways to obtain it. I'd be very cautious.
You may want to try to call your computer manufacturer or the location where you bought it, and see if you can get a CD for cost (usually about $25.00, when they were available.
 

My Computer

System One

  • Manufacturer/Model
    Dell XPS420
    Memory
    6 gig
    Graphics Card(s)
    ATI Radeon HD3650 256 MB
    Sound Card
    Intergrated 7.1 Channel Audio
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Dell SP2009W 20 inch Flat Panel w Webcam
    Hard Drives
    640 gb
    Cooling
    Fan
    Keyboard
    Dell USB
    Mouse
    Dell USB 4 button optical
    Other Info
    DSL provided by ATT
Thanks Richard I did notice that some of the download link exe file numbers were different so I am downloading th e ones you sent me :)
 

My Computer

System One

  • Manufacturer/Model
    LEC
    CPU
    E4500 duo core
    Motherboard
    D945GN
    Memory
    2GB
    Graphics Card(s)
    Inbuilt
    Sound Card
    Inbuilt
    Monitor(s) Displays
    LCD
How is the HD Dead?

The laptop may have the recover drive, and if the laptop could start, you could get it and put it to the new drive via the image method as rich posted.
 

My Computer

System One

  • CPU
    Dual L5639 // i7 950 @ 4.0Ghz
    Motherboard
    Evga SR-2 // Gigabyte x58a-ud3r
    Memory
    12Gig Corsair XMS3 // 6Gig OCZ Gold
    Graphics Card(s)
    gtx 560 ti // gtx 260-216
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Dual 22" // Headless
    Hard Drives
    OCZ aGILITY 3, 120Gig + Seagate 500Gig x 2
    PSU
    Silverstone da700 // Corsair 520hx
    Case
    Rosewill BlackHawk Ultra // Antec 900v1
    Cooling
    Twin CM Hyper 212+ // Noctua NH-u12
    Other Info
    Acer 8930 laptop with x9100...
Last edited:

My Computer

System One

  • Manufacturer/Model
    Dell XPS420
    Memory
    6 gig
    Graphics Card(s)
    ATI Radeon HD3650 256 MB
    Sound Card
    Intergrated 7.1 Channel Audio
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Dell SP2009W 20 inch Flat Panel w Webcam
    Hard Drives
    640 gb
    Cooling
    Fan
    Keyboard
    Dell USB
    Mouse
    Dell USB 4 button optical
    Other Info
    DSL provided by ATT
Download and use Macrium Reflect. Put image on an external hard drive and then transfer to the new Hard Drive. I can tell you that it worked for me.
Imaging with free Macrium - Windows 7 Forums
With Macrium, if you are on the same computer there should be no need to use the Product Key number, it is already in the image.

Rich, I have a related question for you regarding Macrium Reflect. Does this create a back-up image that is stored in a selected directory on the external drive, and does not interfere with the drive's existing files? I ask this because I've seen backup software that clones a drive directly, wiping out everything on the target to make the image look identical to the source. This would of course present a problem if the external hard drive is storing other data. I'm hoping Macrium doesn't do this. Thanks!
 

My Computer

System One

  • Manufacturer/Model
    HP Pavillion dv5t
    CPU
    Intel Core Duo 2.53GHz
    Memory
    4Gb
    Graphics Card(s)
    NVidia GeForce 9600M GT 512Mb
    Screen Resolution
    1280x800 32bit
    Hard Drives
    Seagate Momentus XT 500Gb
    Hitachi Travelstar HTS543225L9A300 250Gb
    Mouse
    Microsoft 4000
I use the free version and I choose image rather then clone and I do not lose anything from my external. The image is compressed and in a folder that you have the chance to name. I have no partitions on my external. I have just a few documents, pics, OS backup and my favorites from IE.
 

My Computer

System One

  • Manufacturer/Model
    Dell XPS420
    Memory
    6 gig
    Graphics Card(s)
    ATI Radeon HD3650 256 MB
    Sound Card
    Intergrated 7.1 Channel Audio
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Dell SP2009W 20 inch Flat Panel w Webcam
    Hard Drives
    640 gb
    Cooling
    Fan
    Keyboard
    Dell USB
    Mouse
    Dell USB 4 button optical
    Other Info
    DSL provided by ATT
^ Thanks for confirming that, Rich. I just installed Macrium and saw the image and clone options. I'm presently running "image". I'm looking forward to seeing how this all works out.

When restoring, I'm guessing that it's necessary to boot from the CD or USB drive, as booting from the primary HD would have locks on numerous files, preventing Macrium from overwriting them.

What's especially cool is seeing how Macrium is leveraging the dual cores. My secondary core is pegged, handling the load of the backup, while my primary core is able to address desktop processing.
 

My Computer

System One

  • Manufacturer/Model
    HP Pavillion dv5t
    CPU
    Intel Core Duo 2.53GHz
    Memory
    4Gb
    Graphics Card(s)
    NVidia GeForce 9600M GT 512Mb
    Screen Resolution
    1280x800 32bit
    Hard Drives
    Seagate Momentus XT 500Gb
    Hitachi Travelstar HTS543225L9A300 250Gb
    Mouse
    Microsoft 4000
I tested restoring using the CD, worked perfectly. As far as I know the CD is only needed if you cant boot. Be sure to test the CD and then put in a safe place.

EDIT: If the back up cant complete, usually due to errors on your hard drive. Use chkdsk to clear it up. I found out that I have 4 kb bad sectors. I think it was due to the hard shutdowns I was forced to make several times.
 

My Computer

System One

  • Manufacturer/Model
    Dell XPS420
    Memory
    6 gig
    Graphics Card(s)
    ATI Radeon HD3650 256 MB
    Sound Card
    Intergrated 7.1 Channel Audio
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Dell SP2009W 20 inch Flat Panel w Webcam
    Hard Drives
    640 gb
    Cooling
    Fan
    Keyboard
    Dell USB
    Mouse
    Dell USB 4 button optical
    Other Info
    DSL provided by ATT
^ Yep, I hear you.

Before I performed my backup, I manually deleted junk temporary files and ran Piriform CC Cleaner to delete other extraneous files. Ideally, the best thing is to defragment the hard drive before doing this, as I'll bet it will reduce the file access time somewhat.

I plan on getting an SSD drive soon and will then test the restore to see how it works. I've got Windows Ultimate and plan to install it once the SSD is in place, but instead of upgrading my Vista Home Premium I'm going to do a fresh install. It has been 3 years, so it's about time to clean house a bit. :)
 

My Computer

System One

  • Manufacturer/Model
    HP Pavillion dv5t
    CPU
    Intel Core Duo 2.53GHz
    Memory
    4Gb
    Graphics Card(s)
    NVidia GeForce 9600M GT 512Mb
    Screen Resolution
    1280x800 32bit
    Hard Drives
    Seagate Momentus XT 500Gb
    Hitachi Travelstar HTS543225L9A300 250Gb
    Mouse
    Microsoft 4000
Mine took quite a lot longer, because I specified a 200Gb volume. Just over 3 hours for the transfer using medium compression, resulting in a 170Gb file. Part of the reason why it didn't compress more was due to a large chunk of video files. I'll have to pare it down some. When I put in an SSD drive, I'll plan to partition it so that I can keep files that don't need regular backups separated from everything else.
 

My Computer

System One

  • Manufacturer/Model
    HP Pavillion dv5t
    CPU
    Intel Core Duo 2.53GHz
    Memory
    4Gb
    Graphics Card(s)
    NVidia GeForce 9600M GT 512Mb
    Screen Resolution
    1280x800 32bit
    Hard Drives
    Seagate Momentus XT 500Gb
    Hitachi Travelstar HTS543225L9A300 250Gb
    Mouse
    Microsoft 4000
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