How to ghost Windows from hard drive, applies Win 11, 10, 8, 7

If you don't have time to install Windows 10, 8, 7 or even the latest Win 11 operating system, using Ghost Windows (Clone of Windows) is also a reasonable solution. Especially when you can Ghost Windows 11, 10, 8.1, 7 directly from the hard drive without needing USB or other devices, so it is much more convenient and faster than the normal way of installing Windows.

And in the article below TipsMake will guide you on a way to ghost Windows 11, 10, 8, 7 from the HDD directly with super light and very easy to use software. Please follow below with our detailed instructions.

 

1. Prepare supporting software

- Download USBHDDBOOT - software that helps you create extremely fast boot on Windows.

Step 1: After downloading USBHDDBOOT to your computer, click on the installation file, the software interface will appear as shown with 2 options.
Click Create BOOT MENU for Windows to create ghost Windows directly from the hard drive.

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Step 2: Then a notification panel will appear to begin the installation. This step happens quite quickly, so you just need to click Start .

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A completion message appears, click the OK button to move to the next step.

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3. Ghost Windows steps

Step 1: You just need to Restart your computer .

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Step 2: When restarting your computer, the system will appear another Windows option called USB-HDD BOOT that we just installed. Click to run Ghost Windows 11, 10, 8.1, 7 from your hard drive.

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Step 3: At the software working interface, select Start Auto Ghost 11.5 to continue.

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Step 4: Another DOS interface will appear, press number 1 . The system will automatically transfer you to the GHOST software interface.

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Step 5: The familiar interface of Ghost software appears, click OK to start using it.

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Step 6: To Ghost Windows 11, 10, 8.1, 7 from your hard drive, right-click on the screen, select Local > Partition > From Image .

Note: If the system does not recognize the mouse, you can use the navigation keys to move. Press the Tab key to change tables and press Enter to select.

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Step 7: Select the hard drive containing the Ghost file that you downloaded to your computer previously.

Note: Do not leave ghost files in the drive you need to re-ghost your computer.

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Step 8: Find the folder containing the Ghost file and click Open to open.

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Step 9: The system asks you to select the hard drive. This step is nothing special, so click OK .

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Step 10: Finally, select the drive partition you want to Ghost back to Windows, usually drive C (ie the 2nd drive in the article), click on it and confirm OK .

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Step 11: Another message appears warning you that this will lose all old data on the Ghosted drive, click Yes to proceed.

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This process is fast or slow depending on the size of the ghost file. At this point, you just have to sit and wait.

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Step 12: When the message Clone completed successfully appears , click Reset Computer and let the Windows installation process via the Ghost file continue.

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1. Ghost lost its partition, leaving only the partition containing Windows.
The reason may be that you selected the wrong partition when Ghost or an error occurred that caused other partitions to be hidden.
- In case of wrong partition: You divide the hard drive and Ghost again from the beginning.
- In case of hidden partition: You can use a rescue disk or USB to access Mini Windows to turn on the display.

2. After Ghost only has some partitions A, B,. and loses partitions C, D, E (HDD drive).
This error often occurs due to hardware problems. First, check to see if the connection cable is securely attached, if the hard drive is still working, or if the BIOS recognizes the hard drive? If not, you need to buy a new hard drive.

3. Disk error, incompatible boot USB

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During the Ghost process, if the screen appears with a message such as "Boot files not found", "Loading failed" or "A:GHOSTERR. TXT", you have encountered a hardware incompatibility error or the Ghost disk is scratched and cannot be read. data. To fix it, you need to create a new boot disk or USB.

4. Ghost file not found
- Check if the Ghost file name has the correct name in *.GHO format .
- Does the folder containing the Ghost file contain Vietnamese accents?
- Is the Ghost file in a hidden state?
If the Ghost file is hidden, open Windows Explore (shortcut Windows + E), select the View tab and uncheck Hidden items .

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5. Ghost reports an error when running halfway.
Normally, Ghost runs halfway and then reports an error because the RAM is small or the RAM is too full. Sometimes when Ghost users are successful, the blue screen of death often appears while using Windows.
Users should try changing another RAM stick, or add more RAM to the device.

6. Ghost partition is blurred, does not allow Ghost
This error is quite rare, mainly occurs when you buy a new hard drive and have not yet partitioned or activated the hard drive. To fix it, you just need to use Boot USB partition and set active hard drive.

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7. After Ghosting, the screen goes black and only a blink appears.
This Ghost error is quite serious, mostly caused by loss of MBR. Now you need to use a CD or USB Boot to reload the MBR for the device.

With the following method to ghost Windows 11, 10, 8.1, 7 from the HDD, you will quickly have a new operating system without the need for any peripheral devices such as drives or USBs. Let's explore with TipsMake how to use Windows extremely conveniently in the article below.

To the question of whether SSD drives can have Ghost, Taimienphi would like to answer: SSD drives can completely Ghost normally like HDD drives.
However, due to different operating principles, users should limit Ghost on this hard drive format. In addition, when performing Ghost on an SSD hard drive, you need to turn off the TRIM command to avoid errors, refer to the article How to use the Trim command on Windows .

So we have finished ghosting Windows 11, 10, 8, 7 from the hard drive without needing USB or any peripheral devices, it's really simple and easy, isn't it?

So we have finished guiding you on how to Ghost Windows from your hard drive without using a disk. You can also refer to some Ghost Windows methods using different methods: Ghost Win from USB using HP USB Disk Storage Format Tool or ghost Windows using software. Also, if you don't want a disk bulky boot can create usb boot to make it more convenient to carry, creating a usb boot is quite simple, you can do it yourself

Lesley Montoya

Update 18 June 2024