How to install XP on an external USB tray/enclosure before using Ghost to clone?

  • Thread starter Thread starter Paul Soderman
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Paul Soderman

I understand that in cloning an old drive to a new drive, using Norton
Ghost, it may be necessary to install XP on the new drive before the
Ghost clone is performed, using the original recovery or installation
CD. I've tried this, but so far have been unable to get the XP
installer to recognize the new drive, which I have in an external tray
via USB connection. The installer apparently looks only to the current
drive in the C drive and notes, correctly, that because of the SP2 I
have on it, XP would be installing an older version over the new.

I'd like to try the XP install on the new drive, via the USB hookup,
before giving Ghost another try. Hopefully, that will enable the
cloned, new drive to be able to boot up the system when it replaces the
old drive. Is there a way to have the XP CD installer "see" the
external, new drive (shown in "My Computer" as being the E drive) so as
to install the operating system there? Or would it be necessary instead
to yank the old drive, install the new one, and then do the install via
the XP installer on the CD before putting the old drive back in the
Dell to make the clone to the USB drive containing the new drive?

Thanks for any help!
Paul
 
Paul said:
I understand that in cloning an old drive to a new drive, using Norton
Ghost, it may be necessary to install XP on the new drive before the
Ghost clone is performed, using the original recovery or installation
CD. I've tried this, but so far have been unable to get the XP
installer to recognize the new drive, which I have in an external tray
via USB connection. The installer apparently looks only to the current
drive in the C drive and notes, correctly, that because of the SP2 I
have on it, XP would be installing an older version over the new.

I'd like to try the XP install on the new drive, via the USB hookup,
before giving Ghost another try. Hopefully, that will enable the
cloned, new drive to be able to boot up the system when it replaces the
old drive. Is there a way to have the XP CD installer "see" the
external, new drive (shown in "My Computer" as being the E drive) so as
to install the operating system there? Or would it be necessary instead
to yank the old drive, install the new one, and then do the install via
the XP installer on the CD before putting the old drive back in the
Dell to make the clone to the USB drive containing the new drive?

Thanks for any help!
Paul
Click to expand...

You cannot install XP to an external drive
 
It is not necessary to install XP on the new drive, the old drive will completely overwrite it
during the ghosting operation. Add the new drive as an internal drive and boot with ghost CD or
floppies. Run ghost to clone new drive, remove old drive and set up new one in its place and then
boot off of it.
 
"Add the new drive as an internal drive and boot with ghost CD or
floppies. Run ghost to clone new drive, remove old drive and set up
new one in its place and then
boot off of it. "

My problem with this was that I tried doing just that a week or so ago,
after using Ghost to clone the old disc to the new one which was in the
USB external. I figured that after creating a perfect clone of the old
disc, I'd just install it in place of the old one and boot away. This,
however, didn't work out, as I kept getting the message "Windows could
not start because of a computer disk hardware configuration problem.
Could not read from the selected boot disk. Check boot path and disk
hardware. Please check the Windows documentation about hardware disk
configuration and your hardware reference manuals for additional
information."

I don't know why anything more would be needed to get the disk, which
supposedly is a clone of what was being used to boot the Dell in the
first place, to start up the computer this way! Someone had suggested
using the XP disc on the new drive before Ghost, that is why I tried
this.
 
Did you go into the bios and check that it was seeing the new drive, some of those Dells are finicky
about drive changes. You may have to set up the new size for your drive in the BIOS.
 
Just adding a short note. Most, if not all, hard drive manufacturers offer
free software plus detailed instructions to accomplish what Paul seems to
want to do. Basicly, you mount the new drive as a slave first then image the
old drive [master] to the new. After that, you shut down and disconnect all
the exterior stuff plus the power cable. You then open the case and switch
the drive connectors so that the new drive is the master and the old drives
becomes the slave. Sounds easier than it probably will be to accomplish. As
I recall, the XP boot files [three] MUST be present in an uncorrupted state
on the drive/partition recognized as the "C" drive in order to boot.
Gene
 
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