Hi Anna,
My box runs sweet!
My reply to the OP was just my take on where the user may end up going.
Using the repair install option in W2k hasn't done a lot of good for me
over the years, probably because I rebuild a lot of ancient computers
for giveaway and the hardware in them is too old for W2K to deal with
properly.
...........you shouldn't have that degree of trouble. There are some
variables here (aren't there always?), but by & large, moving a HD to
another HD in an XP environment can be safely & effectively done.
The variable for me has been the vintage of the hardware I'm playing
with. Usually, I can get things going again, but it's not an easily
traveled road expecting your OS to move in and be happy right off
without jumping through some hoops first.
Some of the hard drives I encounter have been "scrambled" by the people
parting with them thinking they were destroying their info. Occasionally
they just delete folders until they won't boot any more. I actually like
the challenges I run into getting these things running again. As long as
OSes are cheap (
http://www.pricewatch.com/prc.aspx?i=182&a=11599 )it's
easy to replace when necessary, but saving things before the no brainer
reformat route is good to know too.
.........So I guess you're asking whether you would have similar
problems, i.e., a high failure rate, in an XP environment. Is that it?
I don't fool around with XP except on my daughters machine. I've never
had the need to "call home" and sort of like that aspect of W2K over XP.
The 20% may have been a tad too pessimistic, but the user I responded to
should be aware that things can, and often do, get worse before they get
better.
..........BTW, one of your responses recommended that you should consider
cloning the HD........Always a wise & prudent thing to do.
Saved me more than a few times. Rebuilding these old boxes often
requires taking steps backwards and having a clone makes it almost
painless and about a ten minute process.
When's the last time you booted a clean install of Windows 3.1 and
played with it? It's blindingly fast, even with only 8 MB of ram!
---==X={}=X==---
Jim Self
AVIATION ANIMATION, the internet's largest depository.
http://avanimation.avsupport.com
Your only internet source for spiral staircase plans.
http://jself.com/stair/Stair.htm
Experimental Aircraft Association (EAA)
Technical Counselor