Hello. I just want to thank you guys for making an awesome forum. I found my answer to this question fast in another thread but unfortunately i don't know enough about computers to know exactly what i have to do. FACTS: I have 3 drives: C:/ is an internal 50GB SATA hard drive with WINDOWS 7 installed (80% full) E:/ is an internal 1tb "normal" or "NON-SATA" hard drive with the programs i used installed such as ADOBE MASTER COLLECTION (15% full) (i don't remember the letter):/Is a 500 gb external hard drive with personal data on it (25% full) I also own a copy of WINDOWS XP however it's been installed on an older computer if this make any difference. What is the most basic way to migrate Windows 7 onto the E drive while making sure it still boots properly? Thank you so much. Jonathan EDIT: I am using a 64 bit system too if that matters. Also i'm fine if i have to uninstall and re install all my programs... That's a small price to pay to know windows won't freeze!
WOW! thank you so much! this helps greatly. I'll look into those software... Can i use a trial? If not i may just purchase them. I'm acutally away from that computer for a week and i won't be able to mess around with it until May 3. I'll update you then as to what "Normal hard drive" and "non sata" mean. heh heh heh. Again this is fantastic. I'll let you know how it goes. Jonathan
If C: is getting filled because of user data (docs, photos and etc.) you can free up space by changing the default location of all your user's folders. When finished, C: will contain only Windows and Programs. One good side effect of doing this is restoring an image of C: will have no effect on your saved documents, will be very quick and [for me at least] totally painless. You have to backup your documents separately but that's a simple thing. Changing the default for user docs will automatically move the docs for you when the process is done by changing the default path on the "Location" tab under "Properties" of each user's folders. Given the size of your C: drive you might want to consider repartitioning it to have two partitions: System and User Documents. Default your data files to the User Docs partition and back them up to a different physical drive. On six machines, the largest Windows installation I have (Windows + Programs only) is about 16GB; others are all around 13GB. My C: partitions are all 30GB. Whatever you do, be certain to backup all your data first; a system image saved to one of you other HDDs would be a very good idea.
If C is a SATA drive and E is ATA/IDE, I predict that after your success with this project you will come back here asking why Windows boots and runs so slowly as compared to before.
I think i may go with this option ... Because Myrrh makes a good point: If i leave windows on the sata and delete all the programs, documents etc from that drive and redirect every other file away from C: then it should be great. I like this option. also after everything is off of c: (except windows 7)i could do a shrink volume on the drive explained on ehow "How to Partition a Hard Drive Without Data Loss" (it's a video) Thanks guys! You really know your stuff.