Want to moveXP Home.ed. to a new computer any advice?

[cal_tony]

I've finally gotten around to getting a new computer(Barebones Kit actually). After about 10 years with the old box I've accumulated about 40 gb of programs on my hard disk and if possible I don't want to do a "clean install" on the new box. There are articles online about how to convert everything over to the new computer all at once and that's what I'd like to do.

Since my old 1.6 GHz P-4 box has IDE connectors only and my new box has only Sata connectors I thought I would start by cloning my old IDE hard disk to a new Sata drive and go from there. I figure if I make a mistake I'll just re-clone it and begin again, until hopefully, I get it right.

I've been avoiding this for so long because I have so much stuff and I just don't want to do the step by step re- installation of all my programs.

Any easy ways of doing it?

Tony

[jman98]

If you have Norton Ghost or something similar you can clone the old drive to the new one. You could buy an external drive box that has a USB connector and can hold either a SATA drive or an IDE drive (choose because you'll only get one or the other). Plug in the drive to the box and connect the box to the other computer and clone away. If you have Unix/Linux skills it is possible to clone the disk using dd, but I'm not going to describe that as the only people who should be doing that should already know how it works and there's a potential for unrecoverable disaster (ie. wiping your original drive) if you make a mistake in the syntax and accidentally copy in the wrong direction.

One bit of advice I do have for your new box is try to have a 2nd drive and do regular backups to it. Backups can save your bacon if something goes horribly horribly wrong under Windows and you need to return your PC to a previously backed up state quickly. You can use the Windows backup program to do backups of just your critical Windows stuff to the 2nd drive on a regular basis.

[titigrom]

It's highly unlikely possible as XP won't recognize your new hardware. XP will stop booting within the few seconds and will show an hardware error or a BSOD message like "Windows XP has been stopped due to hardware changes or modifications to prevent damages, etc."
Either, if you're lucky. I managed one time to do it in that case : no complex or generic hardware. I just changed the motherboard and processor (Intel PIII vs AMD XP+ don't remember exactly), Windows XP CD for some drivers and OK. You aren't in that case. Good Luck Man.

[cal_tony]

Thanks for the inputs. I'd like to mention that I also have Win Millennium[used prior to XP install] Acronis for cloning, a number of external hard drives and also a Thermaltake external dock that accepts Sata drives. That's why I haven't had to do a XP re-install since the initial install 10 years ago.

After spending hours online it seems that it is possible to switch over but Microsoft support doesn't provide much help. They tell you how to transfer their stuff over but thats all.

In the meantime, I'll keep trying to find a solution. I've tried to avoid this change over for 10 years so it's worth the trouble to see if I can change over without loosing anything.

If all else fails, I have multiple backups of everything so I can do a re-installation of all my programs one at a time.

Tony

[Seeker47]

Thanks for the inputs. I'd like to mention that I also have Win Millennium[used prior to XP install] Acronis for cloning, a number of external hard drives and also a Thermaltake external dock that accepts Sata drives. That's why I haven't had to do a XP re-install since the initial install 10 years ago.

After spending hours online it seems that it is possible to switch over but Microsoft support doesn't provide much help. They tell you how to transfer their stuff over but thats all.

In the meantime, I'll keep trying to find a solution. I've tried to avoid this change over for 10 years so it's worth the trouble to see if I can change over without loosing anything.

If all else fails, I have multiple backups of everything so I can do a re-installation of all my programs one at a time.

Tony

Acronis TI ver. 9 and later have a "Migration" module included. Opinions differ as to how effective it is, with many comments posted that you may still run into Win authorization issues over hardware changes. I myself have had some limited success with this (and avoiding the necessity for re-installs or MS re-authorization), but within particular HW change scenarios. This was a while ago, however. I'm not far from attempting some more difficult migrations. (To Be Continued . . . . )

[ranchhand]

I have a couple of suggestions, bear in mind I haven't sat down and thought this out in detail, but something might help you. First, an IDE to SATA adapter might come in handy, I use them all the time and they work great.
Example: http://www.newegg.com/Product/ProductList.aspx?Submit=ENE&DEPA=0&Order=BESTMATCH&Descr...sata+converter

There is a free utility that might do what you want; I have been using this for backups and so far it's bulletproof. It is a bare-metal backup, but I haven't used it to restore to a different drive. I can't think of any reason why it wouldn't work, but it's free and dead easy to use. Just make sure that the hard drive that you are restoring to is the same or larger size than your old one that has your XP OS.
REDO backup: http://redobackup.org/

[Nelson37]

This was Extensively covered in a recent post.

Ghost the original, get SATA drivers on Floppy, do a repair install.

A complete fresh OS install plus all needed software and drivers is BY FAR the better way to go. Hopefully you have a full retail XP and not an OEM disk.

[ranchhand]

I have Windows XP/SP2 on one older machine and I am running SATA drives on it with no problem at all. Didn't have to install SATA drivers from a floppy. Just plugged 'em in and let 'er rip.

[Cornucopia]

I would suggest the Acronis/Ghost option first (saving the original HD & box). What should happen, if XP doesn't baulk at the extensive hardware changes, is that XP should go through recognizing new hardware and DL'ing drivers for it (or you might need to have them on-disc beforehand and at the ready). This will probably entail MULTIPLE stages & reboots. (Can't hurt, except the time involved)

If it works, and you should TEST everything including all your apps, then you should be good to go. If not, you'll need to wipe the HD and do a full clean install of each and every app as well as the OS (but then you'll know it's working correctly). This is the preferred method, as Nelson37 says.

Scott

[titigrom]

Try this : before doing anything, always make a backup, a clone, a ghost...
Old machine : uninstall some drivers bound to your motherboard, chipset drivers (intel, via, nForce, sis, etc.), inboard audio drivers, hardware drivers. If possible don't reboot the sytem, otherwise reboot in safe mode and do it again (system properties, hardware materiel) delete all possible entries.

Then clone the old drive to the new (with USB-SATA adapter), get SATA drivers on Floppy if needed.
Boot the new machine and see what happens, do a repair with the original XP CD.

Another way is to reset the hardware config within XP, I don't know how to do it and if it can be easy to achieve that.

Regards.

[redwudz]

I'm going to assume your new MB has a IDE connector, though not all of them do these days. If so, just try temporarily plugging that old drive into the new PC, turn it on and see what happens. I probably would back it up first, though.

If that works, be ready with your new MB drivers and add them. From there, install your SATA drive and use Acronis or similar to transfer the contents of the IDE drive to the SATA drive. Unplug the IDE drive and set the SATA drive as boot.

That seems a lot easier than stringing cables all around.

You may still have activation problems and driver problems, though.

EDIT: One other suggestion. After you back up the old drive, defrag it and check it for errors before you try to transfer the files. You can do that in your old PC by R clicking on the drive on going to 'Properties'. For a boot drive, some of that will happen after a reboot.

[cal_tony]

I haven't read all the above posts but I will read each one and try what ever suggestions are made. In response to ranchhand I do have IDE to Sata as well as Sate to IDE converters. I have Ide external drives as well as sata externals.

In response to redwudz..my new MB does not have an IDE connector but I can clone everything over to a Sata drive and I also have a PCI sata card.

So what ever I have to do I think I already all the peripherals I need.

Again thanks
And I will start to follow your above suggestions tonight.

edited comment:
when I said I have everything backed up..I do..... however, for many of the programs that are backed up I do not have the original install diskets or CD roms or the original serial #s to re-install them. So that is a problem.

Tony

[Arnold_Layne]

A few things to keep in mind:

There may not be XP drivers for the new barebones set up. You will be limited to 4GB's of RAMM even if the PC has more than that. Using the IDE drive as a the boot drive will be a huge bottleneck.

I'm not saying it can't be done, but you are really limiting the potential of the your new PC by using old legacy hardware/software on it.

A_L

[bevills1]

Simply connecting the hard drive to the new system should boot as long as both systems have either Intel or AMD cpu, but some problems are encountered if going from Intel to AMD cpu system or visa versa. Once system boots install all motherboard drivers with CD that comes with it. I've done this a number of times with no problems except once when I went from Intel to AMD cpu system, and I even learned a way around that problem and got everything running normally.

[cal_tony]

@ ARNOLD_LAYNE

I didn't have any intention of using an IDE drive as a boot device. My intention was to clone my IDE boot to a Sata boot with Acronis and go from there.

I had wanted to ask the question of upgrading my O.S. but forgot to include it my previous questions. My new board will come today and it will come with 8gb of ram so your comment has given me thought.

I would like to avoid having to reinstall my programs if possible and if XP will not provide all the advantages that the new board can provide.. so be it. Whatever the limitations, I'm sure this new computer will still be much better than my 10 year old
1.6 P4. I'm really not upgrading for more speed or increased processing power. I have converted all my DVDs and BRs to external hard disks and since I really never re-encode any of my disks to a lessor quality having a new processor really wont make anything any faster. Converting one of my BRs to a MKV on an Esata hard disk now takes me about 30-45 min. I don't how much quicker this new computer will make the process take but 45 min. is fine with me.


However, if I have to do go through the trouble of a fresh XP instal, I would rather just upgrade the software to something new as you suggested.

As I haven't even thought about that until now, any suggestions on what to switch to?

Tony

[cal_tony]

Since I have received so many suggestions, I thought I would make just one post indicating what I intended to do and nothing else.

I'm going to clone my 250 gb Bootup IDE drive to a 1.5tb Sata drive(I have 3 empty ones). takes about 30 min.

next I will try the above suggestions with this Bootup Sata disk installed as well as other suggestions from google.

If I have any problems.. I will just re-clone it again, if needed, and start with a new procedure.

If all of this fails, I intend to upgrade my O.S. rather than re-install xp.

What should I get?


Tony

[redwudz]

I like Windows 7 at the moment. I have both 32 and 64 bit versions. It loads faster than Vista, uses less RAM, and most common drivers are already on the disc, so easy setup. I haven't seen much of any of my commonly used software that won't run on W7. There is also a XP compatibility mode available, just in case.

[cal_tony]

I'd like to take a moment to thank everyone who has responded to my question about moving my hard disk to a new computer.

I did find a fix and was totally surprised by how it worked out. Along with the suggestions above I did a Google search which led me to a 3 min. UTUBE Video from "Harry the fix comp". At the end of the video he suggested that he has additional information on his web site (www.acex.com.au). On his site he had a down loadable zip file that included 4 drivers as well as a program called MergeIDE.Reg. I followed his instructions and stuck a newly cloned bootup in the new computer. To my surprise within a few seconds it booted up and looked like it always did.

However, there were problems with installing new drivers. Windows wanted to install the new hardware and kept interrupting my attempt to install the drivers from the Gigabite DVD. Finally I was able to access the DVD and begin to install the drivers from their install program.

Everything is done now and it seems to all work just fine. I do have the 3 day notice from Microsoft to re-activate my authorization. That shouldn't be a problem it's a legal copy and is not an OEM version.

The only problem I have now is that my new computer doesn't always boot up. The fan for the chip starts up but nothing happens. the memory isn't checked. The monitor doesn't turn on. It just sits there. If I wait 30 second or more and turn it back on it boots up fine. Doesn't seem like it has anything to do with the O.S. though.

Any suggestions .

Anyway, seems like whatever Harry had me do worked just fine.

Tony

[fritzi93]

The only problem I have now is that my new computer doesn't always boot up. The fan for the chip starts up but nothing happens. the memory isn't checked. The monitor doesn't turn on. It just sits there. If I wait 30 second or more and turn it back on it boots up fine. Doesn't seem like it has anything to do with the O.S. though.

Any suggestions .

I'd first try using the jumper pins to clear CMOS (or remove/re-insert the battery). Then re-install mobo drivers. And a repair install if you haven't already done so.

[Nelson37]

If you want to be certain the OS is not involved in the boot-up process, simply disconnect the hard drive, power AND data, and see if the same thing happens.

Then continue removing or disabling items until you Isolate and Identify the problem.
Probably bad power supply or mobo, but could be a bunch of things.

You may very well have wasted a whole bunch of time and have to do everything all over again. You should have booted the board multiple times before any software install.

[cal_tony]

Will do those things.

Thanks

Tony

[cal_tony]

Shorted the CMOS. than started it up a dozen times with and without any drives. Seems like all is well now.

Thanks again
Tony

[redwudz]

The only problem I have now is that my new computer doesn't always boot up. The fan for the chip starts up but nothing happens. the memory isn't checked. The monitor doesn't turn on. It just sits there. If I wait 30 second or more and turn it back on it boots up fine. Doesn't seem like it has anything to do with the O.S. though.

In BIOS, make sure your boot drive is set as first boot device. Do you get any BIOS beeps when the problem happens? If no, then I suspect a power supply problem. But you might want to run a test on the RAM, or at least remove one module and try it, then switch modules and try again.

And also check that all connectors are plugged in properly and re-seat all cards and RAM modules.

I would next unplug any extra cards and drives and just run with the hard drive for a test.

If all this fails, you could substitute a different power supply and see if that makes any difference.

If none of this helps, then maybe a motherboard problem.

EDIT: Looks like you already solved the issue.

[cal_tony]

@Redwudz

Thank you for your continual help on this topic. As I mentioned above I just shorted the CMOS connectors as was suggested
by fritzi93. It set everything back to the default settings and everything is working fine now.

I wish I had known how easy it was to migrate my O.S. Hardisk to a new computer. Now I feel like an idiot for waiting 10 years between computers.

Tony

[redwudz]

I'm happy you solved your problem. But think about a upgrade to W7 in the future. It really does well with the newer MBs and faster CPUs and is much more stable than XP, IMO.

[cal_tony]

@Redwudz

You previously mentioned that and I haven't forgotten your comments.
Right now I am just so enthused that without much effort, thanks to 'Harry the fix', I was able to to move all my stuff (on my original hard disk)over to my new computer. Hopefully, In time, I might find someone who has developed a way to migrate all the XP stuff to Win 7.

In the meantime, I will be ordering Win 7. It is a little confusing as to which version to order. Amazon has home editions, 3 user additions, Professional and what seems to be OEM editions(builders edition) but I'll figure it out.

The important thing to me is I'm up and running with my new box and with my additional future purchase of Win 7 on a separate Bootable ESata hard disk I'll be able to slowly move over the stuff I really want.

Thanks for the help
Tony