Can I upload a clone of my hard drive after I clean instal Windows 7?

WakyWizerd X · Feb 25, 2014

Going to install a new motherboard and processor. Can I clone my hard drive now onto an external hard drive, install the new hardware, do a clean install of Windows 7, and then upload the clone from my external back onto the original hard drive without problems?

rgd1101 · Feb 25, 2014

how different is the motherboard/cpu? a reinstall probably probably best.

WakyWizerd X · Feb 25, 2014

rgd1101 :

I am already planning on doing the re-instal, I want to know if I will be able to upload the clone of my hard drive, as it is before hand, onto the same hard drive after it has had the clean instal.

Current mother board/cpu is ASUS M2N Sli delux / AMD Athlon 64 X2 Dual Core Processor 6000+

New set up will be ASUS F2 A85-M pro / AMD A 10 680k black edition.

Windows 7 64bit

USAFRet · Feb 25, 2014

If you're doing the reinstall as you plan, the cloned instance is of no matter.
You can't have both.

Whatever is on the drive...new, old, nothing....migrating that cloned image will overwrite it.

WakyWizerd X · Feb 25, 2014

USAFRet :

I want to be clear on this, so you are saying that uploading the clone will overwrite the hard drive I re-instal windows on? Which will allow me to restore my hard drive as it was when I cloned it prior to the windows instal. Or am I misunderstanding what you are saying? Also what do you mean by I can't have both?

I just want to save my current data in the best means that I can so that I will have it after the re-instal.

USAFRet · Feb 26, 2014

WakyWizerd X :

1. Make an image of your drive as it is now
2. Change the hardware
3. Reinstall Windows on that drive, blowing everything away
4. Migrate the image from step 1 back onto that drive.....it will completely overwrite the Windows install from step 3

You can't have a 'new install', and the cloned install, at the same time.

Further possible issues - Since you're changing the motherboard and CPU, you will probably run into significant driver issues trying to use the cloned image from the previous setup. That's just like taking a drive from one PC, putting into another, and hoping it works.

WakyWizerd X · Feb 26, 2014

I was afraid of that. What would you recommend as the best course of action?

USAFRet · Feb 26, 2014

With new motherboard and CPU, a clean reinstall is best. The old drive and install might work, it might not. No way to tell until you try it.

Do you have all your application install disks, etc?
Save all of your personal data, incl passwords and all that.

Change the hardware and do a fresh reinstall of everything.

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Can I upload a clone of my hard drive after I clean instal Windows 7?

WakyWizerd X

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USAFRet

rgd1101

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WakyWizerd X

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USAFRet

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WakyWizerd X

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WakyWizerd X

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USAFRet

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