Windows 7 HDD to replace Windows Vista HDD

[Audiohill]

Hello!

I recently have contacted Microsoft multiple times asking if I could replace the Windows Vista hard drive on my laptop with another laptops Hard drive with Windows 7 on it. Apparently I could but they never explained. Basically I try and boot the HDD and it says starting windows but then restart and asks if i want to boot In safe mode, safe mode with networking, safe model with command prompt, and normally. I tried them all and the computer reboots and it displays those options again.

Any help would be nice!

Thanks, Jon!

 

[kenrivers]

Are the two laptops identical? Was Windows 7 originally installed on the other laptop or did you install it yourself? If it came pre-installed then it is an OEM version of the software and is tied to the hardware of that laptop. The problem with taking an HDD from one laptop to another that is a different make and model, even if it is a retail version of Windows 7, is that the motherboard drivers will be different and won't work with the other computer. Short answer is if Windows 7 is an OEM version you can't use it on another computer. If it is a retail version then your best bet is to do a clean install and install the required drivers.

 

[Audiohill]

Are the two laptops identical? Was Windows 7 originally installed on the other laptop or did you install it yourself? If it came pre-installed then it is an OEM version of the software and is tied to the hardware of that laptop. The problem with taking an HDD from one laptop to another that is a different make and model, even if it is a retail version of Windows 7, is that the motherboard drivers will be different and won't work with the other computer. Short answer is if Windows 7 is an OEM version you can't use it on another computer. If it is a retail version then your best bet is to do a clean install and install the required drivers.

If I got an ISO of Win 7 and had the key, would it work?

 

[kenrivers]

Are the two laptops identical? Was Windows 7 originally installed on the other laptop or did you install it yourself? If it came pre-installed then it is an OEM version of the software and is tied to the hardware of that laptop. The problem with taking an HDD from one laptop to another that is a different make and model, even if it is a retail version of Windows 7, is that the motherboard drivers will be different and won't work with the other computer. Short answer is if Windows 7 is an OEM version you can't use it on another computer. If it is a retail version then your best bet is to do a clean install and install the required drivers.

If I got an ISO of Win 7 and had the key, would it work?

It should work assuming you are going to do a clean install.

 

[JDFan]

If I got an ISO of Win 7 and had the key, would it work?

IF you have the iso easiest method would be to boot using the iso and run a repair install from the setup options ( A repair install will force windows to reevaluate the devices on the system and load the proper ones for the new system without having to reformat and reinstall the entire OS - losing all of the documents\settings\programs etc. ) I would try it first and if it does not work then resort to a full reformat\reinstall. (NOTE : the repair install will most likely deactivate the install so that you will need to reactivate using the activation server and possibly the phone activation process - since the repair will notice the difference in the devices installed on the new system vs. the old system but as long as you have a valid key it should reactivate without any problems.)

 

[Audiohill]

If I got an ISO of Win 7 and had the key, would it work?

IF you have the iso easiest method would be to boot using the iso and run a repair install from the setup options ( A repair install will force windows to reevaluate the devices on the system and load the proper ones for the new system without having to reformat and reinstall the entire OS - losing all of the documents\settings\programs etc. ) I would try it first and if it does not work then resort to a full reformat\reinstall. (NOTE : the repair install will most likely deactivate the install so that you will need to reactivate using the activation server and possibly the phone activation process - since the repair will notice the difference in the devices installed on the new system vs. the old system but as long as you have a valid key it should reactivate without any problems.)

Thanks! It worked and Is now running Windows 7. I ran my ISO through and it worked like a charm!

 

[JDFan]

Thanks! It worked and Is now running Windows 7. I ran my ISO through and it worked like a charm!

Glad to hear it worked correctly -- Since Vista's release the Repair install option has improved greatly and it normally works fine to move a HDD with the OS into another system - since it pretty much deletes all of the system files and then does a reevaluation of the new system and installs the components needed for it - there are times when it runs into problems if it can not find the proper drivers or misses deleting an old driver for a component that is no longer present but on Win 7 it works almost always without causing problems.

One thing you will want to do now is look into the Device manager (control Panel - Device Manager) just to see if there are any Yellow warning signs present on any devices as that will warn of any potential problem areas if any device drivers did not install properly or there are any conflicts found. ( This should be done after any installation of new devices just to double check if any problems\conflicts were encountered during the device installation.)