Moving Windows 7 to a secondary drive

[francois]

Dear all,

I just ordered a T420s with Windows 7 64bits professional and a 160Gb
SSD drive. Since I am planning to use this machine mostly under Linux,
and to keep Window only to play, I also ordered a 500Gb HD and a
enclosure (ref. 43N3412) to put it in place of the optical drive.

What would be the most simple procedure to move Windows fully to this
secondary drive ?

- Is it possible from either the recovery partition, or recovery
disks made from that partition ?

- If not, is it possible to use a standard install iso for Windows
professional 64bits ? Will the registration key for windows 7
provided with the machine work ? And will specific drivers be
necessary ?

Thanks in advance.

--
Francois

[ozzymud]

Your prolly gonna have to re-install, You can create your own backup dvd from what you have. You can find the LENOVO.XRM-MS from the recovery disc/partition then make a new 7 dvd with that file in the proper folder. Then just enter your key currently installed in 7. You can even automate that as well.

Check out this thread over at digitallife... http://forums.mydigitallife.info/thread ... -etc/page2

[francois]

Thanks for the information.

There is still one point unclear: When you say "then make a new 7 dvd", you mean that I have to start from a standard win7 install dvd, and simply add that Lenovo-specific file (what is it btw ? cryptographic certificate ? information on where to fetch drivers ? Something else?) in the adequate directory ? Or I can build that win7 dvd fully from Lenovo's recovery dvd ?

Regards,

--
Francois

[ozzymud]

If you cant find the XRM-MS on the factory restore media, you can extract it from tokens.dat I believe.

This is a grey area to talk about, as it is the same methods used for piracy... but you can prolly google for the correct xrm-ms file for lenovo... there are plenty of guides on how to get the one you already have installed though.

And yes, you need to build your own custom DVD using an original and the certificate and if you like a pre-installed key... you can make/open an iso image of the dvd then simply inject the files and reburn. There are several non-free windows tools to edit or image cd/dvd iso files... in linux you can image it with dd.... cat /dev/dvd1 /iso/win7dvd.iso ... change paths accordingly, then mount it with: sudo mount -v -o rw,loop,uid=$UID /iso/win7dvd.iso /media/virtual ,,, inject the files then use your favorite app to burn it.

[francois]

Thanks! The last information I am missing: in which folder of the DVD should this file be copied ?

[GomJabbar]

You don't have to do any of that. Since this is a brand new ThinkPad with none of your files or software on it yet, you can boot it up when you get it and create the Product Recovery Media. You can use the Product Recovery Media to install Windows and all the factory software to your new hard drive (I would remove the SSD drive while doing this to avoid problems).

I started out with DVD's and used 4 total (one boot media disk and three data media disks). I have a Lite-On external DVD writer which I used for this. I just checked the boot media disk in 'My Computer' and it reports 242 MB used (I could have used a CD/R instead). Disk 1 of the data media is 3.79 GB. Disk 2 of the data media is 4.11 GB. Disk 3 of the data media is 233 MB. As before, you can only create one set of Product Recovery Disks - I checked.

Alternatively, if you have a retail Windows install DVD, you can use the Windows Product Key on the bottom of your ThinkPad with it. I would recommend using the Product Recovery Media though, as this will give you all the Lenovo drivers and software.

[francois]

@GomJabbar

Are you sure that the recovery disk allows to install Win7 on any disk, like a standard install disk ? I have heard horror stories about it only being able to put the machine in its "out of factory" state, including erasing the partition table ...

[GomJabbar]

@GomJabbar

Are you sure that the recovery disk allows to install Win7 on any disk, like a standard install disk ? I have heard horror stories about it only being able to put the machine in its "out of factory" state, including erasing the partition table ...

The Product Recovery Disks work with any hard disk drive - Lenovo or aftermarket. I have used them several times with my T42 on aftermarket drives and once with my X220 on a brand new blank hard drive from Lenovo. I have heard they work with SSD's, but I haven't verified that.

A new blank hard drive does not have a partition table. The partition table is created when you install your OS.

It is true that the Product Recovery Disks in the past erased every partition on the hard drive before installing their software. IIRC the new Product Recovery Disks give the option to erase only the C:\ partition, but don't quote me on that.

EDIT: Yes, the Product Recovery Disks install all factory drivers and software including Windows. You do not get the option for a clean Windows install. However many report that the factory install runs faster than a clean install because of Lenovo optimizations. I see no reason not to use the factory install. You can always uninstall any unwanted software after the fact.

[ozzymud]

Thanks! The last information I am missing: in which folder of the DVD should this file be copied ?

the post i linked to tells you @ http://forums.mydigitallife.info/thread ... #post97183

If you want to type the key in after setup, you just have to put the Certificate to the OEM folder:

[SOURCES][$OEM$][$$][SYSTEM32][OEM]

If you dont want to write the key, PID.TXT is not working with Windows7, but you could create an autounattend.xml in the root and just put the key in:

Code: Select all

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>
<unattend xmlns="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:unattend">
    <settings pass="windowsPE">
        <component name="Microsoft-Windows-Setup" processorArchitecture="x86" publicKeyToken="31bf3856ad364e35" language="neutral" versionScope="nonSxS">
            <UserData>
		<ProductKey>
			<Key>xxxxx-xxxxx-xxxxx-xxxxx-xxxxx</Key>
			<WillShowUI>OnError</WillShowUI>
		</ProductKey>
            </UserData>
            <UseConfigurationSet>true</UseConfigurationSet>
        </component>
    </settings>
</unattend>

so... DVD:\sources\$oem$\$$\system32\oem

[francois]

Thanks!

You all have been very helpful!

--
Francois