This must be simple ... right?!

jonold

Honorable
May 14, 2012
9
0
10,510
OK ....

so i got a few freebie donor parts:
- asus m5a97 pro mobo
- coolermater 360 elite case
- 320gb hdd
- 500 watt psu
- 4gb ram ddr3


however, i already have:
-akasa case
- 650i ultra nvidia mobo
- 500w psu
- nvidia 8800gts gpu
- 2 gb ram ddr2
- 500gb hdd

basically, i want to reformat the 320gb drive so i can move everything off the 500gb so that i can use the 500gb on the new mobo with old gpu, case and ddr3 ram.

i understand that u cant just swap hdd around without causing too much strife ... so im asking 'whats the most efficient way of doing this whilst keeping all my programs etc?'


plus, i want to move from vista to win7 - which i have on disk. can i keep the lot, including files, when i transfer?

any advice from u guys would be greatly appreciated. im no expert like u r!

phew! thats a big ask!
 
First, plug in the new hard drive and boot up on the 320GB drive's Windows so that you can install the driver for the new hard drive. Then, get a program such as MiniTool Partition Wizard Home Edition and use it to copy the 320GB HDD's data to the new hard drive. Then, shut down the computer, unplug the 320GB hard drive, and try to boot off of the 500GB drive. It should work and if it does, you can then leave the 320GB unplugged and on the 500GB drive, reopen the partition wizard, and then extend the 20GB partition to the full 500GB capacity of that hard drive.

After this, you can upgrade from Vista to 7 if the Vista installation version can be upgraded to the 7 version that you have.

However, if you're willing to re-install everything on your computer, you would be better off installing 7 directly onto the 500GB drive, installing all programs again, and then copying over any data from the 320GB drive that you want.
 

memadmax

Distinguished
Mar 25, 2011
2,492
0
19,960
Keeping your files will be easy, the rest not so easy.
The easiest and best way that I can think of is to stick the 320gb hard drive in your old setup, copy all your files that you want to keep on it. Then swap the parts that you want to swap.
Now, the next part is critical.
The easiest would be to do a clean install of windows 7, or you can try an upgrade from Vista to Windows 7. But in order to do that you have to have matching flavors, like Vista Pro with Windows 7 pro or greater, or Vista Home with Windows 7 Home or pro or greater, etc.
If you have that you can do an upgrade.
I would boot the windows 7 disk *** WITHOUT starting Vista with the new motherboard***. Let windows 7 upgrade vista and you should be alright.
 

jonold

Honorable
May 14, 2012
9
0
10,510
sorry maybe i havent been clear.

i already have vista 32bit on the 500gb drive. i want to move everything onto the 320gb drive (which iv formatted) so that i can take the 500gb and put it in the new set up - and then install win7 64 on it. so i guess im asking these questions:

1. whats the best way to transfer everything from 500gb - 320gb?
2. do i need to format the 500gb before i put it in the new set up in order to upgrade from vista 32 to win7 64?
3. am i missing anything else?

really appreciate your help so far. cheers
 


What I said is how you do what you just described.
 

jonold

Honorable
May 14, 2012
9
0
10,510
thanks very much. i also want to keep same of the data from the vista 32bit and put it on the win7 64 bit. i was going to do this first by keeping both HDs in the old setup. will i have a problem accessing my vista 32bit data on the 320gb drive from my win7 64bit 500gb drive? sorry ... im in the dark here!
 


You shouldn't have any trouble.

1: Install the driver for the 500GB drive while booted off of the 320GB drive.
2: Do a full copy of the 320GB's partitions to the 500GB drive. This can be done with software such as Minitool's partition wizard.
3: Boot off of the 500GB drive in order to test it. If it works, then go to step 4. If not, then reply back and we'll continue troubleshooting.
4: Use the partition wizard software to extend the partition on the 500GB drive to include any unallocated capacity.

That should work. In the unlikely situation in which it doesn't work, we'll just have to try a different method.
 

jonold

Honorable
May 14, 2012
9
0
10,510
thank you so much guys - much appreciated. i didnt even need to install drivers in the end.

plus i did an upgrade clean install x2 and it worked like a dream.

... now to partition for win 8!

again, many thanks,

jon :bounce: