Will this way work to image ssd?

I'm getting an ssd, and I don't want to clone, due to the offset alignment. (I know it can be fixed with g parted) I have read that a windows system restore won't create an offset. So here's my way. Create a system image via the windows 7 utility onto a separate partition on my existing hdd in my laptop. Then turn on ahci and install my ssd. Boot my installation disk, do a system restore. plug my old hdd via sata/usb cable, and find the image. I really don't want to do a fresh install, and if this way doesn't work I guess I'll clone and fix alignment. I don't have an external hdd or usb drive. So will creating the image on my same hdd to restore to the ssd work? Thanks.

 

It should work and I think the alignment will be fixed automatically. Windows 7 will prompt you to create a system repair CD when you create a system image but I'm not sure if you need to create one or if the installation disks can be used. I made the system repair CD and used it to restore the system to the SSD, then when I checked the alignment I found it was already aligned.

Edit: One thing I'm not sure about is if the hdd partition you're backing up is bigger than the SSD whether Windows will automatically shrink the partition to fit the SSD (assuming there is enough free space in the original that can be deleted). I think maybe Windows will not resize the partition because I went from a smaller hdd (80Gb) to a larger SSD (120Gb) and ended up with an 80 Gb partition on the SSD after the restore. I had to expand the partition manually in Computer Management to get back the unused space.

 

Thanks for the reply. I just need some clarification. If i create a partition in my original hard drive, and create a restore system image on the new partition. Will the windows restore repair disk find the image that is on the same drive, but a different partition? Its like using the same drive as an external back up. I don't have an external

 

I think it should work. If it doesn't you can still boot to the existing Windows installation on your original hdd and try something else.

 

In theory, what you aim to do, can be done. Just pray the moon phase doesn't change just before you start. Seriously, the oddest things can and do happen with when working with image files. FYI, *never* defrag or move a disk image file, or you're inviting gremlins to your party.

You seem comfortable handling the worse that can happen, i.e. it doesn't work. So, odds are it WILL work!

Another option I've wondered about is: Plug in an unformatted SSD and boot to a DVD/USB drive with Windows Installation files. Choose a Custom Installation and continue up until, and just after, it partitions the bare drive. Then, as gracefully as possible, exit the installation process. At that point you should have a properly aligned primary partition on the drive. Then, you can use any option to clone, copy or restore a backup with confidence that the partition is aligned, no? (And, yes, that's a question. I'm not 100% sure it would work, because I've never tried it, but it *seems* like it would work, no?)

 

Thanks dude, I might try that if my way doesn't work, my ssd is about to come in like a half hour so I'll try. Already have my hard drive in the enclosure, just have to pop in the ssd. Plus Rep.
Newegg.com - Corsair Force Series GT CSSD-F180GBGT-BK 2.5" 180GB SATA III Internal Solid State Drive (SSD)

 

UPDATE- The restore kind of didn't go how I wanted it to. I had two partitions on my external drive, one for the restore image, and the other was my default os which my image was made from. The recovery software basically imaged to that os partition, leaving my ssd out of the picture. I wondered that before the restoration, but I didn't see any options for a destination drive, so I thought all was good. Frustrated, I just did a clean install, and it worked out great, getting 555mb read and 515 write speeds in ATTO benchmark, so i guess i can confirm I'm running at sata 3 6gb/s speeds, which is a common problem with my alienware not running at that speed, so I'm happy. Thanks for the help guys.