Swap SSD's, reinstall windows, keep files/settings/programs etc

Soldato
Joined
22 Jul 2012
Posts
16,125
Location
London
Right then, how to go about this if it's doable?

Situation:
PC with 60Gb SSD
Laptop with 120Gb SSD

I want to swap them (and obviously format them before reinstalling windows), but I want to keep the laptop files/programs/settings etc and restore them to the replacement SSD.

It's my mum's laptop and she use an external hdd for storage and therefore doesn't use/need 120gb. I do :D

Basically, I don't to be moaned at if she ends up having to reinstall programs and enter all her login passwords all over again etc...
It needs to be seamless. Like it never happened ;)

Help a brother in need!
 
Are you saying your scamming ya mothers 120 gb SSD from her to a 60gb? Shock horror

Widows backup and restore maybe not sure about the size limitations though but there are loads of progs out there.

What OS is it and what make and model hard drives are installed and external and laptop make and model?
 
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Yep. Waste not, want not :D

Win764 (both machines). Agility 3 SSD's (does it matter?), and god knows what the external drive is...

Would cloning the drive be an option?
 
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Ok, cheers.

I may need a little bit of totally heterosexual handholding here :D
This is a little bit out of my sphere.

Btw, I could network the two and save the cloned image on my PC's HDD if that helps.
I don't know what the hell I'm doing here. I'm fine with a simple windows installation.
 
Lol

Holding hands with strangers late at night waiting to hear from someone from oz is a bit out of my price brochure ask the boss. :)

I would stick ya mums drive in the PC clone it to your desired location then you can do what you want from there.
 
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Costs extra ;)

So you have never used a back door buck up?

:Edit:

Are we we only two awake? lol

Downland one of the progs listed above in the link burn the bootable disk clone ya mums drive job done. But you will have to reinstall but dont take my word for it im a bit piddled.
 
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I'm not quite sure how to respond to that ;) No, I don't believe I have... Although there was that one time I got really drunk and.. Woah.

Y'know what? There's 89gb free out of 111gb... Wasted, bloody wasted on her :D

EDIT: Okey dokes, I'm going in. Thank you very much if this works, damn you to blazes if it doesn't.


Nah, not really, cheers!
 
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SUCCESS!

To cut a very long story short, I connected both drives to my PC and cloned the 120gb laptop drive data to the 60gb PC drive.
Put the 60gb in the laptop, reactivated windows and voila.

I just went with a totally fresh install for the PC though.

It's easy when you know what you're doing and what the results are going to be... I didn't, so it was a bit of an adventure.
 
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