Computer Cloning Question

[Wingman]

I have a one year old Windows 7 computer. I am buying a second identical computer to use as a backup. It will take me many hours (days) to transfer all my data and downloads from my existing computer to the new computer. Would it cause any problems to take the System Image from my existing computer and use it to "clone" my new computer? That way I would have two identical hard drives without having to transfer all the data manually. I am aware I need to pay a license fee to MS. I am not trying to get out of doing that. This "cloning" would be done by a computer tech (I don't have enough knowledge). At this point, I am not interested in Windows 10 or Linux. I just need to know if I can expect problems that would make this a BAD idea.

Thank you for your knowledge, advice and help.

 

[i_hate_autofraud]

Before you get a shop to clone for you, you need to make a back-up to an external drive
via USB and let it run the backup while you have dinner, etc.

Giving a computer to any shop for work w/o a back-up can turn out badly.

Ask the shop for their assurance there won't be a problem before they start.

For me, at-home back-ups saved me losing 10 yrs of work!

 

[edwardh1]

with a mac seems you would just drag the hard drive over to the new puters hard drive. done.

we once ran a business and maintained an exact back up at home.
once when we eturned from a 2 week vacation strangely the office hard drive was blank.
no problem, dragged what was at home over onto it, back in business. made us wonder who was messing with the puter in our absence.

 

[OVERKILL]

Super easy, just hook the hard drive from the new computer up to the old computer either using SATA or a USB enclosure and then use something like Acronis True Image or something free from the UBCD to copy the drive. If the computer came with Windows 7, you already have a license (COA) on the computer itself, so there's no legal issue in doing what you are doing.

 

[Andrew1972]

Do you have a router with Ethernet cable hooked to each? If the router has 1 gigabit ports it won't take long to create connect between them and transfer files. A backup program can schedule the backups of data.

 

[Wingman]

After doing more reading, I have another question. Since both are Windows 7 machines and are identical in hardware, could I save the system image from my current computer to an external hard drive, then plug in the external hard drive to the new computer and restore the system image from the first computer to the new computer? Would this make the new computer an exact clone of the current computer?

 

[OVERKILL]

Originally Posted By: Wingman
After doing more reading, I have another question. Since both are Windows 7 machines and are identical in hardware, could I save the system image from my current computer to an external hard drive, then plug in the external hard drive to the new computer and restore the system image from the first computer to the new computer? Would this make the new computer an exact clone of the current computer?


I suggested a very easy way of achieving that above in my post.

 

[SHOZ]

I cloned hard drives using the free Hirens Boot CD and the partitioning software in a Linux environment.. As long as you have an extra SATA port and the machine boots it was pretty easy. The hard part if you have multiple drives is determining which one you are looking at. It will show you the drive serial number.

That software is also good for getting rid of protected unneeded Windows files such as an "Old Windows" directory from an second install. You can give the "Trusted Installer" the boot.

 

[Wingman]

Thanks to all who replied. I am not very computer literate, but you guys have given me a lot information to research. I appreciate your time and help.