How to migrate program configuration settings?

  • Thread starter Thread starter Joe Samangitak
  • Start date Start date
J

Joe Samangitak

I simply wish to copy the contents of one drive to another, and will
reinstall Windows XP Pro on the new drive. I'm wondering if its
possible through Windows or a 3rd party program to avoid having to
reinstall every program from scratch, and its configuration settings.
I'd like to at least find a way to transfer the configuration settings
of all of my programs. I've looked at XP's File and Transfer Wizard,
and found it to be useless, because all it does is allow you to
transfer Windows program settings. Like everyone else, most of the
programs installed on my system are not Windows programs, they are 3rd
party apps.

(Lastly, I can't cheat and just clone the first drive on to the
second, because I'm reinstalling Windows to avoid a STOP error that
occurred after I installed a new motherboard and CPU. Cloning the
original registry and all will simply recreate the error on the new
drive).
 
Whenever you make a major hardware change you have to perform a
repair installation of XP. That's why you got the STOP error.

You might want to take a look at these articles:

http://www.michaelstevenstech.com/XPrepairinstall.htm

http://michaelstevenstech.com/moving_xp.html#4

http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=KB;EN-US;Q315341&ID=KB;EN-US;Q315341

If you didn't backup you're data I'd suggest you do so before
trying the repair install. Either put your old MB and CPU back in
or put your hard drive into another machine as a slave and access
your files that way.

Your only other alternative is to reinstall all your programs on
a fresh installation of XP. That means losing all your data and
configuration settings.

Good luck.

Nepatsfan
 
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