Re-Installing Windows 7

Heldelance · Jan 23, 2013

Hi everyone,

I've got a big of a question about re-installing Windows. Currently, the hard drive it's on is rather old (4-5 years I think) and it's rather low capacity (250 gb).

I would like to set up Windows to a different drive, maybe even net myself an SSD and put it there.

The question I have is, do I have to reinstall everything after changing the drives Windows is on?

I'm assuming that I will need to reinstall the drivers and stuff for the PC based on the fact that the drive they'll be on will no longer exist. I'm just not sure about programs like games and such which are on a different drive.

Many thanks for the input.
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Jstn7477 · Jan 23, 2013

Yes, everything will have to be re-installed. Just about every program you install makes entries in the Registry which of course will be gone when you install a clean copy of Windows elsewhere.

Heldelance · Jan 23, 2013

I thought so. Was hoping there was an alternative, but I highly doubted it. I suppose it's for the best, clean out all the old stuff.

timta2 · Jan 23, 2013

As long as you are not changing any other hardware (other than the hard drive) you should be able to just clone the installation to another drive without any problems.

A fresh installation might be a better option if you want everything fresh though.

ThE_MaD_ShOt · Jan 23, 2013

Cloning is an option for sure if the os is in good shape. I cloned the drive in one of my rigs when I went from a 320 gb drive to a 1tb drive.

andrewsmc · Jan 23, 2013

Link to "Cloning" info plz?

Heldelance · Jan 23, 2013

I'm guessing he means imaging the drive. I think I'll just go for the fresh install that way there aren't too many problems. Better start to list the stuff I need to D/L (can't find the MB CDs...)

Jetster · Jan 23, 2013

Cloning to an SSD is not a good idea. When you install 7 to an SSD it make changes to the system to optimize the system for an SSD

Processor	AMD Phenom II X4 955 Black Edition
Motherboard	Gigabyte GA-870A-UD3 Rev2
Cooling	OCZ Vendetta w/Scythe Ultra Kaze 2000RPM Fan
Memory	8 gb Corsair Vengeance 1600mhz 9-9-9-27
Video Card(s)	Gigabyte GeForce GTX 570 1280MB Overclocked V2
Storage	3x Seagate Barracuda 1TB
Display(s)	22" Samsung LCD
Case	Coolermaster HAF 932
Audio Device(s)	Integrated
Power Supply	Corsair HX-620 620W
Software	Windows 7

System Name	Awesomesauce 4.3 \| Laptop (MSI GE72VR 6RF Apache Pro-023)
Processor	Intel Core i7-5820K 4.16GHz 1.28v/3GHz 1.05v uncore \| Intel Core i7-6700HQ @ 3.1GHz
Motherboard	Gigabyte GA-X99-UD5 WiFi LGA2011-v3\| Stock
Cooling	Corsair H100i v2 w/ 2x EK Vardar F4-120ER + various 120/140mm case fans \| Stock
Memory	G.Skill RJ-4 16GB DDR4-2666 CL15 quad channel \| 12GB DDR4-2133
Video Card(s)	EVGA GTX 1080 Ti Hybrid SC2 11GB @ 2012/5151 boost \| NVIDIA GTX 1060 6GB +200/+500 + Intel 530
Storage	Samsung 840 EVO 500GB + Seagate 3TB 7200RPM + others \| Kingston 256GB M.2 SATA + 1TB 7200RPM
Display(s)	Acer G257HU 1440p 60Hz AH-IPS 4ms \| 17.3" 1920*1080 60Hz wide angle TN notebook panel
Case	Fractal Design Define XL R2 \| MSI
Audio Device(s)	Creative Sound Blaster Z \| Realtek with quad stereo speakers and subwoofer
Power Supply	Corsair HX850i Platinum \| 19.5v 180w Delta brick
Software	Windows 10 Pro x64 \| Windows 10 Home x64

Processor	AMD Phenom II X4 955 Black Edition
Motherboard	Gigabyte GA-870A-UD3 Rev2
Cooling	OCZ Vendetta w/Scythe Ultra Kaze 2000RPM Fan
Memory	8 gb Corsair Vengeance 1600mhz 9-9-9-27
Video Card(s)	Gigabyte GeForce GTX 570 1280MB Overclocked V2
Storage	3x Seagate Barracuda 1TB
Display(s)	22" Samsung LCD
Case	Coolermaster HAF 932
Audio Device(s)	Integrated
Power Supply	Corsair HX-620 620W
Software	Windows 7

Processor	i7-3770K
Motherboard	Biostar Hi-Fi Z77
Cooling	Swiftech H20 (w/Custom External Rad Enclosure)
Memory	16GB DDR3-2400Mhz
Video Card(s)	Alienware GTX 1070
Storage	1TB Samsung 850 EVO
Display(s)	32" LG 1440p
Case	Cooler Master 690 (w/Mods)
Audio Device(s)	Creative X-Fi Titanium
Power Supply	Corsair 750-TX
Mouse	Logitech G5
Keyboard	G. Skill Mechanical
Software	Windows 10 (X64)

System Name	Selene / Yoda
Processor	Fx 8350 @ 4.4 / Phenom II x6 1090t @ 3.6
Motherboard	Gigabyte 990FXA-UD3 r4.0 / Gigabyte 890XA-UD3
Cooling	H100i / Xig Dark Knight
Memory	4x 8gb G.Skill Snipers / 4x 4gb G.Skill Ares
Video Card(s)	Gigabyte R9 290x / XfX DD & VisionTek HD6850's C'fired
Storage	256gb ssd, 2x 2tb Wd Blacks & 1x 1tb Wd black / 1x 1tb
Display(s)	Dell Ultra Sharp 2408 WFp / Hp w2207
Case	Raidmax Vampire / Chieftec Alum. Dragon Blue
Audio Device(s)	Onboard Hd Audio / Onboard Hd Audio
Power Supply	Corsair TX 850 watt / Corsair TX 750 watt
Mouse	Logitech G500s
Keyboard	Corsair Strafe
Software	Win 10 pro / Win Vista Home prem. 64 bit
Benchmark Scores	What are benchmarks anyway?

System Name	In the works
Processor	4670k
Motherboard	ASUS Z87
Cooling	5x120mm
Memory	8GB Sniper Gskill 1833
Video Card(s)	MSI 970 Gaming
Storage	2x 240gb SSD's + 1TB seagate
Display(s)	27" Acer 1920x1080
Case	Corsair Carbide 200R
Power Supply	OCZ Power 600W Modular
Keyboard	Corsait K70 with red switches
Software	Win10

System Name	Juliette // HTPC
Processor	Intel i7 9700K // AMD Ryzen 5 5600G
Motherboard	ASUS Prime Z390X-A // ASRock B550 ITX-AC
Cooling	Noctua NH-U12 Black // Stock
Memory	Corsair DDR4 3600 32gb //G.SKILL Trident Z Royal Series 16GB (2 x 8GB) 3600
Video Card(s)	ASUS RTX4070 OC// GTX 1650
Storage	Samsung 970 EVO NVMe 1Tb, Intel 665p Series M.2 2280 1TB // Samsung 1Tb SSD
Display(s)	ASUS VP348QGL 34" Quad HD 3440 x 1440 // 55" LG 4K SK8000 Series
Case	Seasonic SYNCRO Q7// Silverstone Granada GD05
Audio Device(s)	Focusrite Scarlett 4i4 // HDMI to Samsung HW-R650 sound bar
Power Supply	Seasonic SYNCRO 750 W // CORSAIR Vengeance 650M
Mouse	Cooler Master MM710 53G
Keyboard	Logitech 920-009300 G512 SE
Software	Windows 10 Pro // Windows 10 Pro