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Restoring image to laptop SSD using ATI 2014

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Hi Everyone:

I may be having to restore an image to my laptop SSD, so I need some advice.  Here's what happened.  The LCD panel died and had to be replaced. I had a tech come out under my warranty service. We also discovered that the USB 2.0 port had died and the systemboard had to be replaced.  He replaced the LCD panel and was about to do the system board but was unable to remove the SSD, which is held in by a single screw that was torqued in so tight he could not remove it without risking stripping the screw head.  The laptop has to be sent in for depot service and I filled out a form authorizing them to reimage the drive with Win 7 Pro, the original operating system, if the SSD cannot be removed.  I am very nervous about this, but I don't have much choice.

Since I've never done an image restore, can someone walk me through the steps or are there places on the forum where I can find this information?  I am concerned about programs that have serial numbers, since from what I understand the image can be restored but at least some of the programs have to be re-registered or activated.  How should I go about recording this information?  I am runnning MS Office 2007 and the information for that. but there are other programs that also have serial numbers, too.  Should I take photos of that information or record it by hand, if I'm forced to do an image restore?  Some of the programs were purchased via download and serial numbers were sent, but hunting that info down won't be easy.

Again, I'm hoping the original SSD can be removed and reinserted into the new system board, but I have to be prepared for restoring the drive image if it cannot.

Any suggestions or advice would be much appreciated.

Thanks!

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Christopher, the main issue that you may face with your laptop situation is not really the SSD but rather is if your system board (aka laptop motherboard) is replaced as this will present a different hardware signature that is commonly used for Windows activation along with that for other software products too.

If your laptop is being reimaged with Windows 7 Pro, then that should come already activated and be eligible for a free upgrade to Windows 10.  Your other software will depend on the licensing rules that accompany it, for Microsoft Office 2007 you would probably need to contact Microsoft to get it activated if your current registration key is rejected.

If your SSD drive cannot be removed and needs to be replaced then if you restore an image from your original drive then you have no guarantee that this will be able to be activated without problems.