Using WHS2011 to move to SSD

[cbrunny]

I can't decide if this is a stupid question or not. My gut tells me it is, but I don't want to gamble on the dough without a better idea.

I want to put an SSD in my laptop. I have a Sony VAIO that would definitely benefit from an SSD, but I have no win7 install disks. It receives a nightly backup from my WHS 2011 server. My question is simple - can I use a full system backup from WHS 2011 to "restore" my computer onto an SSD drive in its entirety?

Seems to me that it should work just fine, but I'm nervous about win7 operating properly afterwards.

Any ideas?

 

[Slugbait]

No, what you want to do is clone your current drive using something like True Image. You clone it to the SSD, then swap it in.

Just be sure to completely clean up your drive before cloning: turn off auto-defrag, get rid of bloatware, do disc cleanup, remove garbage from the Download folder in windows\softwaredistribution, etc.

You should be nervous, tho'. There are scattered complaints about cloning completely failing and you lose it all, although that can sometimes be attributed to user error.

 

[Chiefcrowe]

I think the SSD complicates things and from what I know I doubt that will work.

 

[Binky]

It *should* work fine to restore from WHS. Whether the new SSD partitions are aligned is the real question. I would have multiple backups before I did this (i.e. make at least one more image with another program).

 

[BTA]

I did not restore to an SSD but on my WHSv1, restoring a Win7 install to a new hard drive, I had to start the Win7 installer from DVD first and let it partition and format the new drive first so it had that 100mb hidden partition. Then I was able to do a good restore from WHS.

That may or may not be the case wih WHS2011 and I don't know if the SSD complicates things.