New Mobo,Cpu and RAM... How do I NOT lose my data?

sunnybuoy

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Feb 14, 2016
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Hey guys, so the time has come for me to buy a new cpu mobo and ram... I heard that I need to "clone" my hard drive? I have Acronis True Image 2016 but I dont know what I need to do. How would I recover my data after I install my new parts?
Thanks
 
Solution
When you replace the CPU chip, mobo and RAM, I STRONGLY suggest you buy a new main storage device - either a hard drive or an SSD. You don't say so, but I suspect you want to continue using the Windows you already have rather than buy a new copy / version.

Forget cloning. Cloning is an operation that will make an exact copy of EVERYTHING on your old HDD to a new one so that you can continue using it just like the old one. BUT that usually cannot work because the version of Windows you already have on your old HDD is customized for the hardware of your old system. You plan, however, to have a very different system with new mobo and CPU, so it is very possible that the old Windows cannot be patched to work that way. Besides, cloning is...

Paperdoc

Polypheme
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When you replace the CPU chip, mobo and RAM, I STRONGLY suggest you buy a new main storage device - either a hard drive or an SSD. You don't say so, but I suspect you want to continue using the Windows you already have rather than buy a new copy / version.

Forget cloning. Cloning is an operation that will make an exact copy of EVERYTHING on your old HDD to a new one so that you can continue using it just like the old one. BUT that usually cannot work because the version of Windows you already have on your old HDD is customized for the hardware of your old system. You plan, however, to have a very different system with new mobo and CPU, so it is very possible that the old Windows cannot be patched to work that way. Besides, cloning is to be used if you plan to have a NEW HDD in the new system and want to copy everything from your old HDD.

In fact, with so much new hardware in your upgraded system, you best chance of success is to do a fresh Install of Windows and of all your application software on a new HDD. AFTER all that is done you can install your old HDD as a second drive so that you can use (or copy) your old user files.

I said you'd need to re-Install Windows AND your application software. You see, the issue is that the new Windows installed will have its own almost-empty Registry files, and that is where application software needs to store info about itself. So after Windows is installed, you Install each software package on the new system, and that process places the required info in the new Registry files so that Windows can find and use those apps.

To do this you will probably need to contact Tech Support for Windows and for all your software packages. I am assuming you want to keep using those software items that you already own, rather than buying new ones. The trouble is that, if you try to Install a package (or Windows itself) that has been installed already in your old system, that appears to be a second installation which is not allowed. You need to talk to the respective Tech Support departments to convince them that you are doing a significant upgrade on your system and just trying to re-use what you own. They can advise you how to do this.

If you do go this way, here are a few helpful notes.
1. When you assemble your new system and start with the fresh Install of Windows, do NOT have your old HDD installed. In fact, ensure that the device (SSD or HDD) that will be your new C: drive is the ONLY mass storage device in the system at that time. This will force certain parts of the process to use that same C: drive and avoid a possible odd problem later if you ever uninstall a second drive.
2. AFTER you have install Windows you can install your old HDD as a second drive. When you boot that up, go into BIOS Setup immediately and check the Boot Priority settings. It should boot from your new C: drive (maybe as the second choice, with the optical drive as first), and NOT try to boot at any time from the old HDD. SAVE and EXIT from that.
3. If you're putting almost everything on that new C: drive, you can copy all your old user files from the old HDD to the new one. Then I suggest you disconnect the old HDD temporarily so that it is an untouched perfect backup of your old system. After a while when you're SURE you did not forget to copy something you can re-connect the old HDD, wipe it completely empty, and re-Initialize it so that it can be used for data storage.
 
Solution

sunnybuoy

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Feb 14, 2016
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Thank you so much I understand now. When you say "new hdd" , Could I use a 120+gb SSD to load windows and then hook up my old HDD ? Or Do I need an HDD of the same size and specs as my old one?
 

Paperdoc

Polypheme
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A 120GB SSD would do fine - it does NOT have to be as big as your old HDD if you do not plan to copy all your old stuff to it. Look around carefully, though. The prices for 250 GB SSD's are pretty good and might be worth considering. Still, I expect your old HDD is bigger than that anyway.

With a system like that - one fast smaller SSD and one large HDD - I would suggest you plan your use this way. (This is exactly what I'm about to install.) Install your new system with only the SSD and your optical drive for storage, and Install Windows on the SSD. THEN connect up your old HDD.

Right here is where you need some extra temporary storage. Maybe you could borrow a HDD from someone. The issue is you want to be able to preserve all the data on your old HDD, but you also want to re-arrange lots of stuff on it. The re-arranging process risks damaging your old data, so you need a safe place to back that up temporarily while you do this. You need to copy virtually everything from your old HDD to the temporary place. (In fact, this is one place where you could do this job as a cloning task, even though there is some old stuff you won't need.) So your temporary storage place needs to be big enough to accept all your old data - not the full size of your old drive.

Now, if you have all your old data safe on another storage device, you can wipe out everything on your old drive. There are two ways to do this. The straightforward way, using Disk Management, is to Delete any and all Partitions on it. Then right-click on that big block of Unallocated Space and Create a New Simple Volume that uses up all the HDD space. This does NOT need to be bootable since you will use it only for storage. Allow a Full Format so Windows will test the entire surface. Alternatively, the surer but slightly longer way is to use a disk utility like DBAN or WD's Data Lifeguard or Seagate's Seatools to do a Zero Fill. WARNING! This destroys everything on the disk you are treating, so be SURE you are using in only on your old HDD that you WANT to wipe clean! This fills every part of the HDD with zeroes and triggers a self-diagnostic system in the HDD itself to replace any weak Sectors from a stock of spare good ones. When it is done that old HDD will appear to be a perfect flawless new HDD containing nothing. THEN you use Disk Management to Create a New Simple Volume that is not bootable, but you can do a Quick Format because all the Sector testing has just been done.

When you're done, reboot and verify that you have a second HDD that is empty and available. NOW is when you start organizing. First thing is, in Windows, you can tell it to place certain default Folders like My Documents and My Pictures, etc. on the second drive, saving space on the SSD. When you've made those adjustments, start Installing your application software. In each case, do not just let it install normally. Customize it by telling it to install on the second drive (the HDD) UNLESS you have particular software that you want fast access to. As each such package is installed, start it up and also, within that application, find where you can specify the location of its default file storage locations and set them to the second drive. When you're done most of your apps and their file folders will be on the HDD, saving space on the fast SSD.

Now you go to your temporary backup device that has all your old user files on it. Copy all those to the new locations you have created on the SSD and your old HDD. When you're sure you have them all copied you can wipe the temporary unit clean and return it to its owner. Hint: if you want to be SURE the owner cannot read your files that had been there temporarily, use that Zero Fill tool on the borrowed drive. It will completely remove all data on it. BUT don't do this if there were other files on it that belong to the owner and need to be saved!!
 

sunnybuoy

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Feb 14, 2016
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4,510

Thank you so much, I am so grateful for this!
Cheers