Question how to move old system c:\ drive to new build

[krankytonight]

How can I move/clone/whatever my old C:\ windows drive to a brand new PC? Was told I could just physically put it in the new machine, boot up, then fix the drivers. I put it in the new PC, power up, I go to boot options, there are no options shown? My old machine is pretty old, it started as a Windows 7 machine that was later upgraded to Windows 10. Drive is a 2.5" Samsung SSD.

Probably some step I need to do but I don't know what it is. New machine is ASUS Prime Z790-A wifi. I really need to find a way to get the old drive (or a duplicate) to the new machine to avoid many hours wasted re-installing tons of programs if I start from scratch with a fresh Windows install. I don't mind how many hoops I have to go through as long as I don't have to start with a new Windows installation where I have to reinstall every single piece of software. I'll buy a new SSD, I'll buy another copy of Windows 10 (if one can be found), whatever. I just can't bear to spend time I don't have reinstallng everything if I could even find all the media.

I tried physically putting the SSD from the old machine into the new PC to see if Samsung Magician would work if I got a new SSD and cloned the drive, but when it didn't work at all with the old drive on the new PC, I was stuck. I put the old computer's C: drive into the new computer, the UEFI doesn't show me any options to choose a boot disk.

I know I've read that this can be done. Thanks for any pointers you can offer.

 

[lvt]

Sure you don't have to reinstall Windows for each motherboard replacement.

Just plug the old C drive on the new motherboard and Windows should boot then install the drivers itself.

So take a breath and dig deeper into your UEFI Bios to see how to select a boot drive.

 

[DSzymborski]

Unfortunately, it can't be done well. It may work, it may not and if it doesn't, it may not work at all or you'll be chasing down bugs for months. Windows is not intended to be used as a modular OS in this manner. Windows 10 does a better job at making up for it when people cut corners, but it's extremely far from perfect.

What are these applications? It's been a long time since installation media was an actual thing. Steam games don't need to be individually reinstalled; you can just reinstall Steam on the new drive and point it to existing Steam directories. Most executables to install applications can be held in a folder when you need to install. A wipe-and-reinstall is a very basic maintenance function and you need to be prepared to do it; it's like saying you have a smoke detector with a battery you can't change or a furnace with a filter you can't change! The longer you put off doing things correctly, the harder it will be to ever do so.

 

[Zerk2012]

How can I move/clone/whatever my old C:\ windows drive to a brand new PC? Was told I could just physically put it in the new machine, boot up, then fix the drivers. I put it in the new PC, power up, I go to boot options, there are no options shown? My old machine is pretty old, it started as a Windows 7 machine that was later upgraded to Windows 10. Drive is a 2.5" Samsung SSD.

Probably some step I need to do but I don't know what it is. New machine is ASUS Prime Z790-A wifi. I really need to find a way to get the old drive (or a duplicate) to the new machine to avoid many hours wasted re-installing tons of programs if I start from scratch with a fresh Windows install. I don't mind how many hoops I have to go through as long as I don't have to start with a new Windows installation where I have to reinstall every single piece of software. I'll buy a new SSD, I'll buy another copy of Windows 10 (if one can be found), whatever. I just can't bear to spend time I don't have reinstallng everything if I could even find all the media.

I tried physically putting the SSD from the old machine into the new PC to see if Samsung Magician would work if I got a new SSD and cloned the drive, but when it didn't work at all with the old drive on the new PC, I was stuck. I put the old computer's C: drive into the new computer, the UEFI doesn't show me any options to choose a boot disk.

I know I've read that this can be done. Thanks for any pointers you can offer.

Your going to be better off doing it the right way Fresh install.

 

[krankytonight]

The reason a fresh install needs to be the last resort is I have about $5000 of engineering software on the PC that I have no media for (got lost in a move, thank you so much you no-name Moving & Storage company) and if I start fresh I will lose it. So almost any amount of effort is worth trying. If it doesn't work, it doesn't work, but I have to try.

 

[Lafong]

The reason a fresh install needs to be the last resort is I have about $5000 of engineering software on the PC that I have no media for (got lost in a move, thank you so much you no-name Moving & Storage company) and if I start fresh I will lose it. So almost any amount of effort is worth trying. If it doesn't work, it doesn't work, but I have to try.

There are certain applications that will supposedly assist you in adapting to new hardware.

Never used them; can't vouch for them.

But they might be worth a look considering you are in a rather desperate situation.

Re-deploying to new hardware - KnowledgeBase - Macrium Reflect Knowledgebase

knowledgebase.macrium.com

 

[Zerk2012]

The reason a fresh install needs to be the last resort is I have about $5000 of engineering software

Then I would contact the software people and see what you need to do they got to have a record of the purchase somewhere showing you bought it unless your running stuff you didn't buy and can't replace it.

 

[USAFRet]

Sure you don't have to reinstall Windows for each motherboard replacement.

Just plug the old C drive on the new motherboard and Windows should boot then install the drivers itself.

So take a breath and dig deeper into your UEFI Bios to see how to select a boot drive.

hahahahha...
breathe....
hahahahaha


You're assuming that works correctly for every motherboard swap?
And the OS will simply boot up in the new hardware?

I'm not sure how I can fully express how wrong that is.

 

[ex_bubblehead]

The further apart the hardware the less likely it is to work. Going from AMD to Intel (or the reverse) is pretty much guaranteed not to work in the vast majority of cases. In addition, any piracy protection built into that $5000 software is absolutely going to trigger on such a move.

 

[USAFRet]

The reason a fresh install needs to be the last resort is I have about $5000 of engineering software on the PC that I have no media for (got lost in a move, thank you so much you no-name Moving & Storage company) and if I start fresh I will lose it. So almost any amount of effort is worth trying. If it doesn't work, it doesn't work, but I have to try.

Contact that software company.

What would you do if your current hard drive died right now?

 

[lvt]

The reason a fresh install needs to be the last resort is I have about $5000 of engineering software on the PC that I have no media for (got lost in a move, thank you so much you no-name Moving & Storage company) and if I start fresh I will lose it. So almost any amount of effort is worth trying. If it doesn't work, it doesn't work, but I have to try.

Did you read this?

If Your SSD Is Not Showing Up In Bios, Try These Fixes

Follow our guide on how to fix an SSD that does not show up in the BIOS to save yourself countless hours and money spent on shipping "not working SSD" back and forth.

www.technewstoday.com

 

[krankytonight]

Thanks for your suggestion, I will be able to try that tomorrow.

 

[lvt]

Thanks for your suggestion, I will be able to try that tomorrow.

In the mean time I will throw another link that I found quite useful.

How to Change Legacy to UEFI without Reinstalling Windows 11, 10, 8, 7

Here, you are going to learn how to change Legacy to UEFI easily and safely on without reinstalling Windows 11, 10, 8, and 7.

www.diskpart.com

So if your old computer has legacy Bios, what you want to do now is to convert your MBR drive to GPT drive.

Please make sure that you have a cloned system disk before trying.

 

[Corwin65]

Cost of doing business.

You have a business that relies on some software, safeguard the installation media. Be prepared for failures.

Sometimes you have to bite the bullet and upgrade or buy new software. Most of us have.

Contact the company you bought it from.

 

[ex_bubblehead]

Thanks for your suggestion, I will be able to try that tomorrow.

Sure hope you do this with a cloned drive otherwise you'll be back shortly complaining that now you can't get it to boot in either machine and you "really need that software, right now."

 

[SkyNetRising]

I tried physically putting the SSD from the old machine into the new PC to see if Samsung Magician would work if I got a new SSD and cloned the drive, but when it didn't work at all with the old drive on the new PC, I was stuck.

With those kind of experiments use only cloned drive.
If you experiment original drive from old pc, then you may mess it up and make unbootable.

You need to make sure certain settings in BIOS are properly set up.
1. Intel RST off,
2. Sata controller in AHCI mode,
3. CSM on,
4. Fast boot off, Secure boot off.

I put the old computer's C: drive into the new computer, the UEFI doesn't show me any options to choose a boot disk.
I know I've read that this can be done. Thanks for any pointers you can offer.

If windows on old pc was installed in legacy/MBR mode, then it is not UEFI bootable.
In UEFI mode only UEFI bootable drives are shown in boot order list.
Enable CSM. Then all drives will appear in boot order list. Even non-bootable drives will appear there.