Windows Server 2008 R2 bare metal restore to different hardware

system-restorewindows-server-2008-r2

Scenario:

I have a Windows Server 2008 R2 x64 installation whose main disk drive is now 7 years old and showing signs of age. For the last couple of months it's been displaying increased errors and requirements to run checkdisk. I have successfully created a bare metal restore (BMR) image on a separate data drive on the server, which can be seen from the Windows Recovery console; I tested it by booting to and using the Windows Server installation DVD's recovery utilities.

The BMR image includes the system drive with boot partition, system state, and the D:\ drive of the server, which is where I have followed the practice of installing any program that does not require a C:\ installation path. Therefore, the BMR includes both the C:\ and D:\ drives, system state and boot partition.

The C:\ drive is a 7-year old Seagate 160GB. The D:\ drive is a rather newer 120GB Western Digital. I have purchased a 128GB solid state Samsung 830 that I want to restore these partitions to, using the BMR.

Questions:

  1. In the above-referenced article, Microsoft seems to be indicating that I am only able to restore to like-kind hardware, which doesn't help at all and is difficult to believe. Is this really true?

  2. I've cleaned these drives up and minimized the size of partition they require. C:\ will need about a 70GB partition, and the data on D:\ will need about 50GB. Will Windows Server backup allow me to restore the BMR to newly-created partitions on the SSD, discarding extra space?

I don't need a "how-to": I just need an "is it possible".

Justification:

Before posting this question, I checked ServerFault articles with the following titles, but none of them were about this exact scenario:

  • Restore SBS 2008 Backup to Same Hardware but Different Disk Configuration
  • Restoring Windows Server 2008 to different hardware – OEM License
  • Restoring II6 server after a hardware failure
  • windows 2008 r2 fail to restore
  • Domain controller failed to restore using windows backup tools
  • How does restore to dissimilar hardware work?
  • Migrating Windows 2008 R2 from a PC to a different PC
  • TFS 2005 Server restore from one hardware to another

I also researched Microsoft but only received an oblique answer which was not precisely aimed at my question, at the following URL: http://support.microsoft.com/kb/249694#method3

Best Answer

I suggest using acronis or symantec backup exec system recovery and migrating to a new server. These apps will let you migrate to different hardware.

Use the paid versions.

They will save you a ton of time.

For the backup, use either a super fast network share, or a local eSATA or USB3 drive (that is then attached to the new server for restore)

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