Moving current XP Pro configuration to new computer

  • Thread starter Thread starter Barry G. Sumpter
  • Start date Start date
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Barry G. Sumpter

Hi all,

I've got a developers computer.
Which I've been developing on for the last 3 years.

So I've got the desktop and heaps of software already setup to my liking.

I've just invested in a faster computer with a larger hard drive.

I'd like to transfer my current XP Pro setup/configurations to the new
computer.

I'll use my current developers computer for exchange server or something
else later.
So I DON'T want to remove the hard drive and use it as a primary in the new
computer.

Can this be done?

Thanks,
baz
 
Use your preferred partition imaging application (I assume you
have such a product; I can't imagine using a machine for development
without having a quick way to recover from the occasional mistake.) to
clone an image of your current installation onto the hard drive of the
new computer, and then perform a repair installation.

Normally, and assuming a retail license (many OEM installations
and licenses are not transferable to a new motherboard - check yours
before starting), unless the new motherboard is virtually identical
(same chipset, same IDE controllers, same BIOS version, etc.) to the
one on which the WinXP installation was originally performed, you'll
need to perform a repair (a.k.a. in-place upgrade) installation, at
the very least:

How to Perform an In-Place Upgrade of Windows XP
http://support.microsoft.com/directory/article.asp?ID=KB;EN-US;Q315341

The "why" is quite simple, really, and has nothing to do with
licensing issues, per se; it's a purely technical matter, at this
point. You've pulled the proverbial hardware rug out from under the
OS. (If you don't like -- or get -- the rug analogy, think of it as
picking up a Cape Cod style home and then setting it down onto a Ranch
style foundation. It just isn't going to fit.) WinXP, like Win2K
before it, is not nearly as "promiscuous" as Win9x when it comes to
accepting any old hardware configuration you throw at it. On
installation it "tailors" itself to the specific hardware found. This
is one of the reasons that the entire WinNT/2K/XP OS family is so much
more stable than the Win9x group.

As always when undertaking such a significant change, back up any
important data before starting.

This will also probably require re-activation, unless you have a
Volume Licensed version of WinXP Pro installed. If it's been more
than 120 days since you last activated that specific Product Key,
you'll most likely be able to activate via the internet without
problem. If it's been less, you might have to make a 5 minute phone
call.


--

Bruce Chambers

Help us help you:



You can have peace. Or you can have freedom. Don't ever count on
having both at once. - RAH
 
Thanks for the expanded reply.

Could have sworn I moved an XP system hard drive to another computer and
booted successfully with only a few "found new hardware issues".

A colleague said he had read something somewhere telling him how to do what
I ask but like all reference material its hard to remember where it was.

Thanks anyway.

If I find a solution I'll post it.

baz
 
You're welcome.

That might work if the two motherboards happened to have used two
similar chipsets from the same manufacturer. Most times, you won't be
so lucky.

--

Bruce Chambers

Help us help you:



You can have peace. Or you can have freedom. Don't ever count on
having both at once. - RAH
 
I got heaps of luck.

All bad. ;)

I must have gotten lucky and didn't even realize it!

I hate it when that happens.

baz
 
A colleague said he had read something somewhere telling him how to do what
I ask but like all reference material its hard to remember where it was.
Click to expand...

What your friend might have been referring to: With Win9x, you could delete
the enumeration keys in the registry. On first boot with the new system,
the keys would be recreated for the hardware on the new machine. I liked
having the Windows CD in the drive while this took place. If different
drivers were needed, they got picked up smoothly. Most of them anyhow.

The same technique does *NOT* work in XP. Bruce has already explained the
needed procedure.
 
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