That would be the desired end-result, anyway.
Here's the setup:
On one hard drive, I have the following partitions (lettered in the order that they appear, not necessarily how their drive letters appear in Windows Explorer):
C: Office Boot
D: DAW Boot
Both boots currently run Windows 7, 64 bit, full retail version.
F: Office Programs
G: DAW Programs
H, I, J, K, etc... : Office Data, VST sample data, Photos, MP3s, etcetera
Question 1:
Is it possible to merge partitions C and D together into a new consolidated "C:" which would be a single Windows 7 system/boot partition, containing applications and boot-drive data for use on a new motherboard/CPU? And then upgrading that system to Windows 8?
The new consolidated C: might exist on an SSD or on an HDD, I haven't decided on that just yet.
Question 2:
Alternatively, would it be possible to consolidate C: and D: into a consolidated, cocooned system that's no longer Win 7 but could be deployed as a new Windows 8 system with all software apps, data, and common settings intact? I'm willing to buy the full Windows 8 license if necessary, and if the process works correctly, I would retire the original Windows 7 systems. I have neither the time nor interest to try to keep multiple images with multiple versions of Windows alive.
I have all of my application installation discs, keys, and hard drives for all software, but man oh man, I do not relish the idea of reinstalling all that stuff one-by-one. And I think I want to get back to one single OS image to maintain, for simplicity. I was wondering if I could do this in a way that would not require weeks of software reinstallation tedium.