Swap harddisk

t_andersen

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Hi Folks,
I have a Windows 7 computer with Blue Iris and some home automation software. The system has run perfectly for five years. Considering that the 2.5" harddisk has been spinning non-stop for five years (and was used when I installed it), I suspect that it could fail any day. I have bought a new HDD and want to swap the old one with the new one. I know that the best would be to install Windows 10 but for now, I would like to avoid the extra cost and trouble of reinstalling all of the software and settings, so I plan to clone the old HDD onto the new one using "Macrium", and then replace the old HDD with the new one asap.
Will the system run with the new HDD or will I get license issues from Windows or BI due to the swap? Any feedback would be highly appreciated.
t_andersen
 

fenderman

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Hi Folks,
I have a Windows 7 computer with Blue Iris and some home automation software. The system has run perfectly for five years. Considering that the 2.5" harddisk has been spinning non-stop for five years (and was used when I installed it), I suspect that it could fail any day. I have bought a new HDD and want to swap the old one with the new one. I know that the best would be to install Windows 10 but for now, I would like to avoid the extra cost and trouble of reinstalling all of the software and settings, so I plan to clone the old HDD onto the new one using "Macrium", and then replace the old HDD with the new one asap.
Will the system run with the new HDD or will I get license issues from Windows or BI due to the swap? Any feedback would be highly appreciated.
t_andersen
If your system has room I would suggest using an SSD for the OS BI and database. Makes world of a difference. The change should no affect BI but keep the license key handy.
 

t_andersen

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I have read somewhere that an SSD is not good with BI because it keeps writing over and over again, and SSDs don't like repeated writing. Am I wrong?
 

TonyR

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I have read somewhere that an SSD is not good with BI because it keeps writing over and over again, and SSDs don't like repeated writing. Am I wrong?
I suggest put the Windows O/S, the BI program and BI's "db" folder on the SSD; put video clips on a surveillance-rated (like WD Purple) hard disk drive.
 

t_andersen

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Here's a report on how it went. Macrium couldn't clone the HDD, it threw an error. I then tried with AOMEI (another free backup program) and the cloning went well. After having swapped the old and the new HDDs, the computer started right away with no license issues. Very easy, and it feels good to have a new HDD.
 
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