Transfer Windows Vista Ultimate 64-bit to new hard drive

A

albertz

Member
Hello,

This question probably has been asked many times, however I've haven't yet backed up or have cloned Vista, nor have used Vista Backup and Restore.

Some time ago I installed Vista Ultimate 64-Bit using it's 64-Bit installation disc to a clean hard drive. My Vista Ultimate is a retail version with original case, COA and not an upgrade.

The Vista hard drive is running out of disc space and I need to move the Vista installation to a larger hard drive.

I suppose I could try and use a freeware imaging program or one of my older retail programs to create a back image and then restore. However since Vista has a built-in backup and restore I thought I would use it instead.

Is there anything I should be aware of or know before starting a backup and then restore (using Vista backup & Restore)?

I have a large USB drive to backup Vista to an image, however it's not bootable.
 
Last edited:

My Computer

System One

  • Manufacturer/Model
    Thinkcentre
    CPU
    Intel Core 2 CPU 2.67 Ghz
    Motherboard
    OEM
    Memory
    4 GB
    Monitor(s) Displays
    NEC
    Screen Resolution
    1920 x 1080p
Let us know how it works out please.
I have done it several times but I have always used Macrium Reflect Free without a problem.
I have a guide on my site
Macrium_Reflect_Free_Guide_ilikefree.co
 

My Computer

System One

  • Manufacturer/Model
    Lenovo Thinkpad T400
    CPU
    Intel Mobile Core 2 Duo P8700 @ 2.53GHz
    Motherboard
    LENOVO 64734VM
    Memory
    2.00GB Single-Channel DDR3 @ 531MHz
    Graphics Card(s)
    Intel Mobile Intel 4 Series Express Chipset Family
    Sound Card
    Conexant 20561 SmartAudio HD
    Monitor(s) Displays
    15 inch
    Screen Resolution
    1280 x 800
    Hard Drives
    1x 180GB Intel 530 series SSD
    1 x 120GB Hitachi 5400rmp
    1 x 650GB Western Digital Elements 5400rpm
    1x 1Tb Western Digital Elements 5400rpm
    Internet Speed
    Medium for New Zealand
    Other Info
    Weakest part of my computer is the graphics chipset.
    Only ever used a laptop.
    Also use USB Freeview TV Card
    Lenovo Docking Station
    External Speakers
    Other bits a pieces as needed
You need an answer from someone who is familiar with Vista Ultimate, Business or Enterprise, since Home versions do not have Complete PC Backup capability. (Home users typically use either Macrium or Acronis for imaging.) There are some tutorials from the days when many smart people were using Vista, e.g. http://www.vistax64.com/tutorials/99709-backup-complete-computer.html. I believe a "clone" is an identical disc for physical replacement (like changing a tire), so you need an image for your purposes.

(BTW I've been using MSE 4.9 since March. Feel free to post any new thoughts about the upgrade in your old thread.)
 

My Computer

System One

  • Operating System
    Vista Home Premium x86 SP2
    Manufacturer/Model
    HP Pavilion Elite m9150f
    CPU
    Intel Q6600
    Memory
    3 GB
    Graphics Card(s)
    NVIDIA GeForce 8500 GT
Vistaar said:
You need an answer from someone who is familiar with Vista Ultimate, Business or Enterprise, since Home versions do not have Complete PC Backup capability. (Home users typically use either Macrium or Acronis for imaging.) There are some tutorials from the days when many smart people were using Vista, e.g. http://www.vistax64.com/tutorials/99709-backup-complete-computer.html. I believe a "clone" is an identical disc for physical replacement (like changing a tire), so you need an image for your purposes.

(BTW I've been using MSE 4.9 since March. Feel free to post any new thoughts about the upgrade in your old thread.)
Click to expand...

The link you provided does have more information about a complete backup than is available from Vista.

My main concern was that a complete backup won't erase of format any backup media and that the backup image is saved under a folder and filename.

I've dealt with various backup and partitioning applications in the past. Some can easily wipe a hard drive and backup media if you don't follow their instructions. Vista Backup has few instructions. There is no prompting for a backup image filename. No details of how the backup is performed, etc. What Vista Backup does is find disk space and the displays any media with enough space to start the backup.

Backup Computer > On a Hard Disk > (select hard disk from a pull down menu) > Start Backup
 

My Computer

System One

  • Manufacturer/Model
    Thinkcentre
    CPU
    Intel Core 2 CPU 2.67 Ghz
    Motherboard
    OEM
    Memory
    4 GB
    Monitor(s) Displays
    NEC
    Screen Resolution
    1920 x 1080p
With Macrium you create an image and store it on an external or spare drive and create a boot disc (DVD)as well.
The program gives this option in the "Other Tasks" menu
Change your bios to boot from DVD and restart your computer with the external spare drive attached.
Follow the prompts from Macrium and you won't go wrong.
I have done this on several computers without any problems.
I make an image every month as a complete backup with all my installed programs and tweaks saved
 

My Computer

System One

  • Manufacturer/Model
    Lenovo Thinkpad T400
    CPU
    Intel Mobile Core 2 Duo P8700 @ 2.53GHz
    Motherboard
    LENOVO 64734VM
    Memory
    2.00GB Single-Channel DDR3 @ 531MHz
    Graphics Card(s)
    Intel Mobile Intel 4 Series Express Chipset Family
    Sound Card
    Conexant 20561 SmartAudio HD
    Monitor(s) Displays
    15 inch
    Screen Resolution
    1280 x 800
    Hard Drives
    1x 180GB Intel 530 series SSD
    1 x 120GB Hitachi 5400rmp
    1 x 650GB Western Digital Elements 5400rpm
    1x 1Tb Western Digital Elements 5400rpm
    Internet Speed
    Medium for New Zealand
    Other Info
    Weakest part of my computer is the graphics chipset.
    Only ever used a laptop.
    Also use USB Freeview TV Card
    Lenovo Docking Station
    External Speakers
    Other bits a pieces as needed
ilikefree said:
With Macrium you create an image and store it on an external or spare drive and create a boot disc (DVD)as well.
The program gives this option in the "Other Tasks" menu
Change your bios to boot from DVD and restart your computer with the external spare drive attached.
Follow the prompts from Macrium and you won't go wrong.
I have done this on several computers without any problems.
I make an image every month as a complete backup with all my installed programs and tweaks saved
Click to expand...

Tried Macrium and was able to backup and restore without any problems. Took approx. ~30 mins to create an image backup and approx. ~55 mins to restore.

Macrium saved an image file of approx. ~40 Gigabytes. When I ran Vista Backup and Restore I noticed it wanted to have at least 200 Gigabytes of free disk space for backup.

One thing I noticed after the restore. I believe perhaps I didn't select the correct options during restore? The new hard drive partition is the same size as the previous smaller drive's partition. The remaining drive space wasn't allocated to the new Vista partition.

Vista has a partition resize function so It was easy enough to extend the partition using the unallocated space.
 
Last edited:

My Computer

System One

  • Manufacturer/Model
    Thinkcentre
    CPU
    Intel Core 2 CPU 2.67 Ghz
    Motherboard
    OEM
    Memory
    4 GB
    Monitor(s) Displays
    NEC
    Screen Resolution
    1920 x 1080p
Glad to hear you got it sorted out and job done
 

My Computer

System One

  • Manufacturer/Model
    Lenovo Thinkpad T400
    CPU
    Intel Mobile Core 2 Duo P8700 @ 2.53GHz
    Motherboard
    LENOVO 64734VM
    Memory
    2.00GB Single-Channel DDR3 @ 531MHz
    Graphics Card(s)
    Intel Mobile Intel 4 Series Express Chipset Family
    Sound Card
    Conexant 20561 SmartAudio HD
    Monitor(s) Displays
    15 inch
    Screen Resolution
    1280 x 800
    Hard Drives
    1x 180GB Intel 530 series SSD
    1 x 120GB Hitachi 5400rmp
    1 x 650GB Western Digital Elements 5400rpm
    1x 1Tb Western Digital Elements 5400rpm
    Internet Speed
    Medium for New Zealand
    Other Info
    Weakest part of my computer is the graphics chipset.
    Only ever used a laptop.
    Also use USB Freeview TV Card
    Lenovo Docking Station
    External Speakers
    Other bits a pieces as needed
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