Restore Windows 7 Image to a different computer

Question

I have a PC running windows 7. I have created a system image from this PC and I'd like to 'install' that system image on a different machine. But I keep getting an error message after running the recovery console that the computer could not boot up do to a general error. Is it possible to create a system image on one PC and load the image on a totally different PC?

Answer 1

As an alternative you could create the image with Symantec Backup Exec System Recovery and restore it to the different hardware. Use this often and itw works very well. Just did a laptop restore from a current Dell E6500 to a Dell D810 wee had spare. Worked perfectly even though harware was very different. A few drivers needed installing but only minor issues. There is a wizard that will check for drivers which can then be added to teh recovery disk.

Answer 2

One common cause would be trying to deploy an image that's running in AHCI or RAID mode on a machine with the controller set to IDE legacy emulation mode. You should check this setting in your BIOS.

As Multiverse IT says in the comments, Vista/7 are largely hardware independent beyond this. We'd need more specifics on the machines to try to pin down a problem.

Answer 3

I found this very interesting. It doesn't mean it won't work. (Indeed some backup/imaging tools explicitly boats this capability.) But it does mean, as far as I understand, that MS doesn't care about this scenario.

Microsoft Article 279624 -

How to move a Windows installation to different hardware

Over the life cycle of a Microsoft Windows operating system, you may have to restore a system state backup that is installed on one computer to the same physical computer or even to a different physical computer. Recovery from the following events may require a restore operation: (...)

You can restore a system state backup from one physical computer to the same physical computer or another computer that has the same make, model, and configuration (identical hardware).

Microsoft does not support restoring a system state backup from one computer to a second computer of a different make, model, or hardware configuration. Microsoft will only provide commercially reasonable efforts to support this process. Even if the source and destination computers seem to be identical makes and models, there may be driver, hardware, or firmware differences between the source and destination computers.