Clone to a new machine

  • Thread starter Thread starter Alex Permit
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A

Alex Permit

I want to clone an existing copy of XP (with installed software) onto a new
machine. The machine will have a different motherboard, cpu, etc. Can I do
so by cloning the hard drive, installing it in the new machine (using a
"repair install") and entering in a new product key when prompted?

The old and new licenses are "generic" OEM licenses. The new key has, of
course, never been used.
 
In most cases, yes. You may need to do a repair install, especially if the
IDE/SATA disk driver differs.

The need for a repair install can sometimes be avoided by setting the IDE
driver to "Standard PCI IDE Controller" on the old hardware.

Once running you will need to change the product key, as an OEM key cannot
be activated twice of differeng hardware. This is done on the "Phone a
representative" option of Product Activation.

Obviously make sure your installation is SP2 before cloning, as SP1 won't
support some modern hardware.
 
The new key is it a OEM one or a Retail key. Trying to image an OEM setup with a Retail key ??
 
At worst you'll have to perform a repair install, there are a couple tricks
that may prevent the need for that, Anteaus mentioned one of them.
 
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