Question Upgrade drive swap

[Hornnumb2]

I have a toughbook that I use for vehicle programming and would like to swap to a bigger screen toughbook. Is there anyway just to swap the drive to the new one without having to reinstall all the programs again? It currently is dual partition with windows 7 and 10 to run the different programs. Thanks

 

[Lutfij]

I would reinstall the OS if I were in your predicament. Also, the larger Toughbook that you're looking into, is it the same specs wise only with a larger display or it's a different platform entirely? Something to consider would be that concurrent gen platforms are devoid of Windows 7 support.

 

[USAFRet]

I have a toughbook that I use for vehicle programming and would like to swap to a bigger screen toughbook. Is there anyway just to swap the drive to the new one without having to reinstall all the programs again? It currently is dual partition with windows 7 and 10 to run the different programs. Thanks

What type/size is the current drive?

Yes, there are ways to do this.

 

[Hornnumb2]

I think it is a 500GB drive now. It’s really not as much as reinstalling the OS, it’s more about the various vehicle software programs. Some only run on 7 and others run on 10 or 11.

 

[Misgar]

Some only run on 7 and others run on 10 or 11.

If the chipset in the new Toughbook does not support Windows 7 as @Lutfij mentioned, you may not be able (easily) to install a fresh copy of Windows 7 on the new machine.

If you don't mind some OS hacking you might get Windows 7 working tolerably well, albeit with perhaps a few drivers missing and some non-functional hardware:-
https://github.com/wortkraecker/Windows-7-on-modern-hardware

If you need direct access to certain hardware when you're running a VM, e.g. to the GPU for OpenCL/GL, you can configure "Passthru" in the VM.
https://www.nakivo.com/blog/hyper-v-gpu-passthrough/

I'm not sure if this technique applies to things like 16850 UARTs, assumimg the Toughbook contains COM ports.

If your Windows 7 programs don't need direct contact with specific hardware, you might be able to run Windows 7 as a Virtual Machine inside Hyper-V (or VirtualBox) in Windows 10 or 11. I have Windows XP, Windows 7 and Linux VMs running in Windows 10 Hyper-V.
https://www.sysnettechsolutions.com/en/install-windows-7-in-hyper-v-manager/

I stopped running dual boot (twin OS on one drive) many years ago, but I still have a 2009 Samsung NC10 that boots into XP and 7 off the internal drive. There might be an XP/98SE system in the loft.

 

[USAFRet]

I think it is a 500GB drive now. It’s really not as much as reinstalling the OS, it’s more about the various vehicle software programs. Some only run on 7 and others run on 10 or 11.

HDD or SSD?
If SSD, what make/model?

 

[Hornnumb2]

https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fi/opbo...ey=vbw6923tcapk215c7h6gm93fi&st=vgmat4nk&dl=0Ok I decided to try and run my 7 program on a VM but I get the blue screen of death on VM. I attached the screen shot.Any suggestions?