Can I install Vista to a new SSD from my old HDD in an enclosure?

[pxfragonard]

Just for a lark, I'm thinking of upgrading. But I have no Vista OS except what came preinstalled with the machine, a Dell Dimension C521. I thought if I put a new SSD in the bay (with an adaptor), hooked it up, and put the old HDD in an enclosure, plugged it into a USB port and powered on the machine, the BIOS would allow Vista to be installed from the old drive.

Does this make any sense?

 

[ilikefree]

If you did it that way you would need to go into the bios and tell the computer to boot from the usb

 

[pxfragonard]

Thanks! so I'd hit f2 or something to get there and set that instruction. Then turn the machine off then on with the old drive turned on. But would it take so I didn't have to start it that way every time? J mean would it install the OS? Then could I run a Macrium backup I made beforehand?

 

[Barman58]

What you are suggesting is a good start - but hits one major obstacle... windows is specifically designed not to run from a USB attached drive.

What you could do is Migrate the system. (move the working system using special software), don't worry, it's quite simple, more so on a desktop than a laptop

Take a look at this video ...

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eKIRvH7jwx8


I will advise to backup all your valuable content for safety (this type of transfer although very safe can very rarely cause corruption), and at a later time consider moving this to the old drive away from the operating system (or easier still delete the old version of the OS leaving the data in place. This would allow you to update your system without risking damage to your data

I would also suggest that you install the SSD into the first Drive connector on the motherboard after it's all installed as this will allow the system to be the default if something ever happens

There are many different software packages to perform the migration, take a look at Macrium Reflect, Aomei partition software, Minitool Partition Wizard, all of which are available in free versions that are good enough for this job

 

[ilikefree]

I used the free version of Macrium Reflect when I did mine about 2 years ago

Macrium Reflect Free Trials

Macrium Reflect - Incredibly powerful software that allows you to create and schedule effective backups

www.macrium.com