Solved Installing on new hard drive

[ICit2lol]

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.

 

[richc46]

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.

 

[richc46]

AH yes, another benefit, your software will not have to be reinstalled.

 

[ICit2lol]

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.

 

[richc46]

Dont know of any good ISOs of Vista. I have this in my favorites, but not sure if it still works.
Microsoft Windows Vista (32-bit) Free Download and Reviews - Fileforum
From a bad hard drive hard to download anything. The only suggestions that I have is to try to borrow a CD or go with Seven. I have Seven and prefer it over Vista.

 

[ICit2lol]

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.

 

[richc46]

Try the ISO link that I gave. Im not sure if it works, but the try is free.
Found this in my favorites, too
http://www.askvg.com/direct-download-links-download-official-original-and-untouched-windows-vista-rtm-with-sp1-setup-files-32-bit-and-64-bit/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+AskVG+%28AskVG%29
Try this ISO and the one that I gave in my above post.

 

[richc46]

I am more hopeful for the second ISO, than the first, but try both.

 

[ICit2lol]

Hiyya rich I did a quick Google in my tea break and found these refs

Google

 

[richc46]

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.

 

[ICit2lol]

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

 

[Patonb]

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.

 

[richc46]

Try the ISO link that I gave. Im not sure if it works, but the try is free.
Found this in my favorites, too
[Direct Download Links] Download Official Windows Vista RTM with SP1 Setup Files (32-bit and 64-bit) - Tweaking with Vishal
Try this ISO and the one that I gave in my above post.

If you have problems with the ISO, it may have to be modified, just post.

 

[Cytherian]

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!

 

[richc46]

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.

 

[Cytherian]

^ 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.

 

[richc46]

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.

 

[Cytherian]

^ 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.

 

[richc46]

Macrium is fast 15 minutes
http://www.sevenforums.com/tutorials/73828-imaging-free-macrium.html

 

[Cytherian]

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.