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I've got a Windows 7 machine that's about to die and I want to transfer my data to another machine, or possibly to a disk image that I would then run inside of Parallels on my Mac. I could of course install Windows 7 from scratch, but then I'd have to reinstall dozens of programs and transfer many gigabytes of data, all of which takes a huge amount of time. So I'm wondering if it's possible to make an image of my Windows installation and just ghost it onto another machine, or into a new virtual machine in Parallels. Can this be done?
Joshua Frank
Posted 2012-12-28T23:34:30.620
Reputation: 1 431
You may need to reactivate it because it will see Parallels as different hardware, and Windows keys are tied to the motherboard. If you have Windows 7 retail, that will be no problem, but you cannot re-license OEM versions without paying full price for another key. http://tinyurl.com/ca97z47
– ChrisN – 2012-12-29T00:23:30.867Be aware that some software is device-specific and will not work if it is simply copied from one machine to another. Watch out for applications that require specific drivers or come packaged with hardware. – Dour High Arch – 2012-12-29T01:42:07.320
Both of these comments convinced me that my idea isn't worth doing, since it would still cost a chunk of cash to get new software, and it sounds like a huge hassle too. If someone reposts as an answer, I would accept it as answering my question. – Joshua Frank – 2013-01-01T13:13:58.730