Safely Copy Windows 11/10/7 Image to Another Computer  

Safely Copy Windows 11/10/7 Image to Another Computer


Table of Contents
  1. Can you put a system image on another computer?
  2. Transfer system image to new computer via free tool
  3. How to transfer operating system from one computer to another
  4. Summary

Can you put a system image on another computer?

After building or buying a new PC, you may wonder if you can copy Windows image from your old PC to the new PC. Thus, you can enjoy familiar system settings and applications without reconfiguration or reinstallation.

To answer your question shortly, moving Windows installation from one computer to another is possible in some cases, but there's no guarantee. Here are two major problems that may occur:

When you install Windows on a computer, it sets itself up with drivers specific to that computer's motherboard and chipset. As a result, Windows could fail to boot on different hardware because some drivers don't work.

Windows could become deactivated after moving to another computer. If you are using a retail license, you can reactivate Windows by re-entering your product key. If you are using an OEM license purchased by yourself, you may try reactivating it using Microsoft's "Phone Activation". However, if the OEM license is preinstalled on your old computer, Microsoft definitely won't let you reactivate it, so a new license key is needed.

Is there a way to have Windows 11/10/7 system image restored to a different computer without hardware issues?

Transfer system image to new computer via free tool

To avoid boot issues on dissimilar hardware, you can just reinstall Windows or use the preinstalled Windows on your new computer, and then reinstall important programs and transfer files from old PC to new PC.

If you think the whole process is too complicated and time-consuming, it's time to turn to the specialized backup and restore software - Qiling Disk Master Professional.

All Windows PC operating systems are supported, including Windows 11, 10, 8.1/8, 7, Vista and XP. Click the button below to download the free trial of Qiling Disk Master right now.

How to transfer operating system from one computer to another

To transfer Windows 11/10/7 image to new computer, you need to do the following preparations:

Part 1. Create a system image on the old PC

Click Backup and select System Backup. Follow the wizard to complete the process. You are suggested to save the image file in a network location so that it can be accessed easily from your new PC.

System Backup

Part 2. Make a bootable USB drive

Click Tools and select Create Bootable Media. Follow the on-screen instructions to finish the job.

Create Bootable Meida

Part 3. Restore the system image to a new computer

Now you can copy Windows image to your new PC with the following steps:

Step 1. Boot your new computer from the bootable drive you've created.

Step 2. Qiling Disk Master will load automatically. Click Restore and then Select Image File.

Select Image File

Step 3. In the pop-up window, select Share/NAS > Add Share or NAS Devices. Then, type the network path for the system image and click OK.

Add Network Path

Step 4. Navigate to the system image folder, select the right image file, and click OK.

Select System Image

Step 5. Select Restore this system backup, tick Restore system to other location at the bottom, and click Next.

Restore to Other Location

Step 6. Select a destination to restore Windows image to and then click Next.

Select Destination

Step 7. On the "Operation Summary" page, tick Universal Restore to ensure a secure boot. Then, click Proceed to begin.

Universal Restore

Note: If your new PC is using an SSD, it is suggested to tick SSD Alignment to optimize SSD performance.

★ Video tutorial on moving Windows to dissimilar hardware:

Summary

Copying Windows image to another computer may cause boot problems and licensing problems. Luckily, Qiling Disk Master can help restore system image to a different computer while ensuring the system is bootable after recovery. If you want to migrate an old server to a new server, then Qiling Disk Master Server is in your hands.

Related Articles


Is this information helpful?     

What can we do to improve this information? (Optional)
Refresh Please enter the verification code!