I have acquired a refurbished Windows 7 Pro PC from Morgan computers. The hard drive is too small for my needs and I would like to fit a larger one instead. I have poked about inside the (Small Form ?) case and I can't fit a second drive, there's no room - I need to replace it.
I've pondered about using an external hard drive but don't want to go down that route either.
Much googling tells me it's easy. The mechanical and plugs part of switching over the drives is not an issue as I've fiddled about inside machines before. But, I know that in theory I need to transfer the entire contents of the original drive to an external disc drive, fit the new internal disc and reverse the process.
This is the point that google gets a bit flakey for me. Do I need some extra software to do it ? Or can I click in the right places and do it? Will it take all day or more using a USB connection ? Is it easy enough to restart it all when I've done.
Your kind assistance would be appreciated.
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...if you're expecting to replace the existing drive and not re-install the OS, then you need to "clone" the drive (this will provide you an immediately bootable new disc, with more space on it), not simply "copy" it (which will not create a bootable drive).
To do this, you will need "special" software (some free stuff is available) and also some way of running two drives simultaneously from your new machine (probably an external interface) during the clone process.
If it is a newly acquired machine, with only the OS installed and no other data/programs you need to retain, then an easier way might well be to simply replace the existing drive with a larger one and reinstall Windows 7 Pro to the new drive.
The Windows software is readily available for (legal) download from Microsoft, and you can create a bootable USB drive to install from, BUT, for Win 7 you will need a valid product key at installation time (Your existing installation *should* have a valid key, which will/should be on a COA attached to the m/c, but running a, free, key-extraction program to reveal the installed key is well worthwhile for a validity check.
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I know I need the OS on the new drive. It's a fully legitimate machine and I have the product key but no OS discs.
"If it is a newly acquired machine, with only the OS installed and no other data/programs you need to retain, then an easier way might well be to simply replace the existing drive with a larger one and reinstall Windows 7 Pro to the new drive." This sounds the right way to go for me.
I now just need to know how.
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...if you want to install a new (blank) hard-drive and (re-)install an up-to-date copy of Win7, then starting here (I'd suggest with a USB drive to download to) and progressively following the instructions, page-by-page, should take you there. (there is some satisfaction in starting with a pristine up-to-date installation).
www.microsoft.com/en-gb/software-download/windows7
I've not done this for Win7, but I've used the similar route for Win10 a good few times.
If you decide that instead you want to "clone" the existing installation, I can provide some more/different pointers.
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Cloning is the best and easiest way, if one of the drives (old or new) is either a Western Digital or Seagate then you can use the Western Digital or Seagate version of Acronis True Image free of charge.
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Another option is to use a Linux bootable system like Clonezilla... Not that difficult to use especially if it's a full clone to a bigger (or smaller) drive. But both drives need to be attached to the system.
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...some (valid) product keys aren't recognised by Microsoft for the download site I referenced. It's been a work in progress for some years, but it appears they haven't yet "caught up".
If you can't get an OS image that way, then it's a fall back to cloning.
I think you envisaged a 2-stage process in your original post, but that is not the best way (and, depending on configuration, BIOs, etc. you may get a few issues.)
By far the easiest way of cloning is to attach the new drive (temporarily if necessary) to your m/c, and clone directly in one step.
You've said that you haven't got space to mount a second drive, but, if you have a spare header and power connection on the motherboard/power supply, it is quite easy (working carefully) to temporarily attach the new drive with the case open, using an extra power and data cable, for the purposes of cloning.
If you haven't got the spare connections, then a USB (worth paying the little extra for USB3) 3.5" disk caddy is probably the best idea (c£17 from eBay). Once the cloning is complete, you can switch disks and you have a decent, usable external disk.
As already mentioned, if one of the discs is WD or Seagate, then you can download tools from their support site (Acronis True Image and Seagate Discwizard respectively) to carry out the cloning under Windows. They are "tied" versions, and will only work if one of the respective manufacturer's drives is in the m/c.
Aoemei Backupper Standard will clone disks regardless of manufacturer, and is free for download and use from:
www.aomeitech.com/
(Though I've not cloned with this, I use it daily for full and incremental backups, and I've used Aoemei Partition Assistant to resize partitions - the software is simple and user-friendly to use).
Whatever software, you will have to nominate the source and destination disk, AND, I suspect you will have to select (or check that it is the default) an option to extend a partition to the new disk size limit (otherwise, you will end up with a logical disk the same size as your current one).
Once cloned, it is simply a matter of putting the cloned disk permanently into your m/c, and it should boot without issue.
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>> ...some (valid) product keys aren't recognised by Microsoft for the download site I referenced.
>> It's been a work in progress for some years, but it appears they haven't yet "caught up".
That's probably because the PC shipped with an OEM version of Windows and therefore was installed of OEM media (well cloned). So the standard Windows installation disks are not going to work with an OEM licence key.
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If you cannot connect both drives but have access to another USB or network shared drive that's big enough, using something like Clonezilla will allow you to write the cloned drive contents to files on the other drive/share. Then swap the new drive in and clone it back.
And you keep the old drive and a copy of it too on the other drive. So if you have problems with the new drive you can try again.
Last edited by: rtj70 on Thu 21 Dec 17 at 13:05
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tyrednemotional - thank you and of course others too.
Plenty to think about, but I will go ahead. My next step is to open the case again, check the drive physical size, brand and number of cables. I'll order a new one (1TB I think) and move on to the actual process after it's delivered, after Christmas now.
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You will probably find that you can temporarily replace your cd/dvd drive, if you have one, with a hard disk.
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...or just unclip and use the power/data cables, if they're the same format (which, I suspect, is what Mark was really suggesting).
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There was another thing that occurred to me.
Whilst an SFF case may lack the space to mount a second 3.5" drive, it is not unknown for them to have a location (sometimes oddly placed) to mount a 2.5" (laptop sized) drive. I have an HTPC here running a 2.5" SSD and a 3.5"HDD in an SFF case.
If there is such a location, and you have spare power and data headers, then an additional 2.5" drive might be an easy option. (You might pay around £10 premium for a 2.5" drive vs 3.5" at the 1TB capacity level).
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That's all more interesting stuff. I've got to open up the case soon, but Christmas taxi duties start in the morning . . . . . yawn.
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If you lived near me (I know you're down south) I'd have offered to help. Maybe you're near someone else on here with time and willing to help?
It's pretty straightforward to clone a disk to another if you're even only slightly technical.
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>> ...or just unclip and use the power/data cables, if they're the same format (which, I
>> suspect, is what Mark was really suggesting).
>
Thank you, yes. I could have been clearer.
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Well, Christmas and its associated workload are well and truly over and I must report on progress so far.
I'm ever so grateful for your all your guidance and assistance for fitting a new replacement HDD. But, I have made a big mistake and led you all astray - sorry. With all this knowledge gained I poked around inside the box properly and only then realised just how physically small a HDD can actually be. I have a caddy for the existing drive and already have an extra power connection in place.
Plenty of YouTubing has shown me I just need a SATA data cable and that I have a spare socket for it on the motherboard. So, a 2TB hard drive has been ordered and also a data cable.
I think with a few screws and / or experience gained from years of watching Blue Peter I'm going to be able to install a second drive without all the hassles of cloning, data transfer, OS downloading and so on.
The next episode will follow in due course.
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If you are hoping that the new drive will be your C drive, with Windows on and all that, then you still need to clone the current drive - or re-install Windows - onto the new drive. You can't simply copy the old one.
Easy peasy if both disks are connected at the same time. I'd recommend Macrium Reflect.
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I was hoping that the existing drive would stay as it is and the new drive would act as storage akin to an external drive.
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....which, if you fit the new drive and connect to the "spare" connector, and then format it (the new drive only) correctly, is exactly what should result.
You should find that the new drive does not show up in Windows (File Explorer/My Computer) before formatting, and you may need help with that, but it is relatively simple.
Whilst the tutorial here is headlined for external disks, the steps are entirely the same, simply make sure you skip step 2 (as you won't be deleting anything), and select the appropriate "unallocated" disk for formatting.
www.7dayshop.com/blog/how-to-format-a-new-drive-for-use-with-windows-7-8-or-10/
Last edited by: tyrednemotional on Wed 10 Jan 18 at 16:58
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Just as a thought - would it be a good idea to mirror the OS to the new drive, in case the old one goes down?
Brighter people tha I will probably be queuing to let me know thats b** - oops- nonsense.
Neil
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The new drive, imaginatively called New Volume (E:), is installed, up and running and I'm slowly filling it with photos.
Easy Peasy when you know how.
Thanks all.
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>>. I have poked about inside the (Small Form ?) case and I can't fit a second drive, there's no room
Just as a matter of interest, how did you install it in the end? -usb caddy?
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The existing hard drive was fixed in a blue plastic caddy. The caddy itself was fitted such that its top was maybe 15mm from the lid of the metal computer casing. Poking about on the net I summoned up the courage to remove the caddy from its mounting.
The gap under the caddy was a good 40mm or so and the bottom of the plastic caddy even had screw holes ready made for fitting a second 2.5 inch drive. A 3.5 inch wouldn't have fitted, but £72 worth of 2TB 2.5 drive did.
Obviously, in hindsight I should have had a better and informed look. On the plus side, I've since learned a fair bit more about the insides of these mysterious black boxes.
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Ah! - a 2.5 HD fits ! - very interesting - thanks!
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Another question.
My anti-virus software is on the C drive. If I do a virus scan does it scan new drive E automatically?
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>> Another question.
>>
>> My anti-virus software is on the C drive. If I do a virus scan does
>> it scan new drive E automatically?
If you can see it in windows file manger, so does your AV software
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For realtime scanning it should check everything. For scheduled scans or a manual full scan you might need to add it to the scan job.
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Fitting new hard drive - tyrednemotional
