Can I clone Windows 7 onto SSD from HDD, then upgrade Windows 7 to Windows 10 on the SSD?

[Gus_33]

Can I clone Windows 7 to my Samsung 850 evo SSD from my HDD (using the migration software), then upgrade Windows 7 to Windows 10 on the SSD (with full OS on usb stick) and still be able to run windows 7 on the HDD in dual boot?

I have the serial for Windows 7 but not for 10 as I reserved the free upgrade.

Thanks in advance!

 

[JaredDM]

I would imagine that should be able to work. I don't think M$ disables your Win 7 activation after you upgrade to 10 (though they could I suppose). However there are a few things you need to be aware of in this process. First off, cloning from a HDD to an SSD can occasionally lead to issues with the 4K sector alignment. If it was a fresh install of Win 7 you should be good, however if it was upgraded from any previous version that will be a problem. Also you'll need to change the GUID (global unique identifier) code of one of the drives if it's using a GPT partition table. Otherwise Windows won't like having both drives connected at the same time with the same ID. If it's just MBR partitioned you don't need to worry about this.

 

[USAFRet]

I've heard people say this works.
But...you have 1 license. Either the Win 7, or the Win 7 Upgraded to Win 10.

IMHO, you don't get to use both.

 

[ArtPog]

We've performed the identical process you have outlined both with respect to Win 7 & Win 8.1 and have experienced no problems using multiple OSs on the same PC.

We work with removable HDD/SSDs (mobile racks) installed in our desktop PCs so we can easily access multiple OSs installed on separate drives in a single PC.

We have not experienced any particular problem involving the GUID of disks partitioned with the GPT scheme.

The disk-cloning program we use is the Casper program.

 

[Gus_33]

The original Win 7 boot drive is MBR partitioned but I presume the SSD is GPT (I haven't plugged it in yet). Would this still be a problem?

It was a fresh install of Win 7 so cloning should hopefully have no issues.

I realise I only have one license for Windows but I foolishly installed it on my smallest HDD - 120Gb so I have to clone it to my 250Gb SSD then upgrade. I am curious to see if I can still use Win 7 on the HDD but it's not essential, although I have some programs that don't have Win 10 drivers out yet such as Soundmax audio.

 

[SalvadorZombie]

The original Win 7 boot drive is MBR partitioned but I presume the SSD is GPT (I haven't plugged it in yet). Would this still be a problem?

It was a fresh install of Win 7 so cloning should hopefully have no issues.

I realise I only have one license for Windows but I foolishly installed it on my smallest HDD - 120Gb so I have to clone it to my 250Gb SSD then upgrade. I am curious to see if I can still use Win 7 on the HDD but it's not essential, although I have some programs that don't have Win 10 drivers out yet such as Soundmax audio.

I'm not 100% sure but I think it would be a problem. It's not hard at all to convert from GPT to MBR (or vice versa) though. Just Google it, and it's about as simple as using the command prompt, or the cloning software (some of them allow you to do this using it as well).