How to Backup Windows 7 and Restore on Another Computer?

When will you backup Windows 7 and restore on another computer?

“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?”

That is a question quoted from one forum asked by one of Windows 7 users. It would seem familiar if you ever considered doing Windows 7 backup and restoring to another PC with dissimilar hardware or drives to avoid reinstalling. Maybe you got other different reasons.

The Windows OS of your wife's computer is dead and you want to backup your well-worked Windows 7 to restore it to your wife’s PC? Try to layout intact duplication of Windows 7 to bare machine? Any of them will lead you to learn how to backup Windows 7 and restore on different computer. Always remember to backup files that matter a lot before you take any measures.

How to realize Windows 7 backup restore on different PC?

Whichever path you plan to take, you need to first backup Windows 7 operating system. You can complete this job with the help of Backup and Restore in Windows 7. Optionally, you can refer to alternative to Windows 7 Backup and Restore if the built-in utility fails.

Windows 7’s system image contains a copy of your Windows drive, which includes Windows, your programs, and all your data. Sometimes, Windows can recover from system image created on different computer, depending on the version and how different the new machine is from the old. However, Microsoft doesn’t support moving a system image from one PC to another most time. Here is a warning from Microsoft about transferring Windows 7:

“You must use the Sysprep/generalize Command to generalize a complete Windows installation before you can use the installation for deployment to a new computer, whether you are use imaging, hard disk duplication, or another method. Moving or copying a Windows image to a different computer without running the Sysprep/generalize Command is not supported.”

It also mentioned that an upgraded Windows cannot be sysprepped for a repair install. You can Google to learn how to use Sysprep/generalize command.

Alternative solution to backup Windows 7 and restore to different PC

Other than using complex command line to backup Windows 7 and restore to different computer, you have another solution—using professional backup and restore software to complete this task. So many software you will get when you search on the website, yet AOMEI Backupper Standard is recommended for reasons as follows:

To be first, AOMEI Backupper Standard is technical software that supports Dissimilar Hardware Restore, which will detect missing drives and install them automatically for HAL. In addition, it has no bundled adware, resulting in small installation package. Furthermore, it has a user-friendly interface that suits for Windows users of every level. Several clicks help you backup windows 7 and restore to another computer. Download this software and go for it now.

Restore Windows 7 backup image on another computer with AOMEI Backupper

Preparation: you need to prepare a backup image of Windows 7 with AOMEI Backupper. If the target computer cannot boot normally, you need to create bootable media, place the backup image into it, and then boot the computer with it. If the target computer can boot normally, first copy Windows 7 backup image to the target computer and then follow steps below.

Step 1. Install and launch AOMEI Backupper Standard. Click Restore and Select Task. This software will auto detect backup image, so you can choose the backup image directly. Or you can click Select Image File to find the image file and restore data from the file to choose another Windows 7 system backup image.

Step 3. Tick Restore this system backup, and then click Next.

Step 4. Confirm the operation summary. Click Start Restore.

Tips:

• The Enable Universal Restore option is ticked by default if the program detects any hardware of target computer is different from the source computer.

• The destination disk/partition will be overwritten. Be sure to backup disk/partition if any important information exists.

• Some drivers, such as video/sound card drivers, NIC drivers, display driver etc, are not installed by AOMEI Universal Restore, but they doesn’t affect system startup and can be installed manually in Windows after the successful restore.

• Universal Restore will be achieved in AOMEI Backupper Professional and its higher edition after new version released. Give it a shot and you will experience more advanced functions.

Is it possible to backup Windows 7 and restore on another computer? The answer to the question is Yes. With AOMEI Backupper, you can restore Windows 10 backup to dissimilar hardware as well. Actually, other than dissimilar hardware restore, AOMEI Backupper Standard has many other helpful features, such as system backup, disk backup, file sync and disk clone. The most important thing is you can backup data from corrupted hard drive with this software.