Moving to a new computer

  • Thread starter Thread starter Brian Westcott
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Brian Westcott

I've finally got a new computer that is faster and with more memory. I would
like to move my old windows XP SP2 system to the new computer so I don't
have to locate and reload many years worth of programs, etc. I can use a
product like the one Acronis has to copy the old disk to the new one, But I
was told that some programs (including XP?) will not run because the system
ID has changed. Is this true? If so, what can I do about it?
Thanks for any information you can provide.
Brian
 
The problem comes in because usually the new system uses different hardware
drivers than the old system.
So usually a "repair" installation is required which corrects that
situation.Another problem is if you only have the original XP CD without
SP2..........you would need to create a Slipstreamed CD which incorporates
SP2 into the original XP and creates a bootable CD.Of course if your version
of XP came preinstalled(OEM) on the old systemit is tied to that system and
cannot be moved.
Acronis True Image can clone your old HD to your new HD...but you would
still need to do a repair installation to correct the driver problem.
Do a Google on "slipstream XP" and you will find instructions on how to do
that.
peter
 
Brian said:
I've finally got a new computer that is faster and with more memory. I would
like to move my old windows XP SP2 system to the new computer so I don't
have to locate and reload many years worth of programs, etc. I can use a
product like the one Acronis has to copy the old disk to the new one, But I
was told that some programs (including XP?) will not run because the system
ID has changed. Is this true?
Click to expand...


Well, it's especially true for WinXP, not because of any "system ID,"
but because of the radical hardware changes involved. However, most
applications wouldn't be affected.

If so, what can I do about it?
Thanks for any information you can provide.
Brian
Click to expand...


Normally, and assuming a retail license (many factory-installed OEM
installations are BIOS-locked to a specific chipset and therefore 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

Changing a Motherboard or Moving a Hard Drive with WinXP Installed
http://www.michaelstevenstech.com/moving_xp.html

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

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My new computer has MS Media Center(i.e. Win XP) preinstalled on it. When I
do the repair intallation can I just use the bootable CD that comes with the
new system? Would this mean that the steps I must use would be:
1) copy old system to new disk using acronis or whatever.
2) Boot with CD that comes with new system and run a repair install.

Brian
 
Do you have a copy of your Windows XP CD? Not a restore disc that comes with
some computers that simply revert the system back to it's original state but
an actual Windows XP CD. If you have one of those you can simply move the
Hard drive tot eh new system or clone it to the drive on the new system then
BEFORE you start the new system to the desktop run a Repair Install as
outlined here http://www.webtree.ca/windowsxp/repair_xp.htm
 
I have a CD for the OEM Windows XP, which I can't use with the new computer.
However, the new computer comes with Media Center preinstalled so I guess I
can use the CD that comes with that?
Harry Ohrn said:
Do you have a copy of your Windows XP CD? Not a restore disc that comes
with some computers that simply revert the system back to it's original
state but an actual Windows XP CD. If you have one of those you can simply
move the Hard drive tot eh new system or clone it to the drive on the new
system then BEFORE you start the new system to the desktop run a Repair
Install as outlined here http://www.webtree.ca/windowsxp/repair_xp.htm

--


Harry Ohrn MS MVP [Shell\User]
www.webtree.ca/windowsxp


Brian Westcott said:
I've finally got a new computer that is faster and with more memory. I
would like to move my old windows XP SP2 system to the new computer so I
don't have to locate and reload many years worth of programs, etc. I can
use a product like the one Acronis has to copy the old disk to the new
one, But I was told that some programs (including XP?) will not run
because the system ID has changed. Is this true? If so, what can I do
about it?
Thanks for any information you can provide.
Brian
Click to expand...
Click to expand...
 
You will know if it works or not by trying to start a Repair Install. After
you press the F8 key to accept the license agreement a message will be
displayed saying that it is looking to see if a previous version of Windows
is installed. If so you will have the option to try to Repair it by pressing
R. This is not the same as the option to press R to access the Recovery
Console that is displayed before the License Agreement. So if you have that
option then you should be able to do the Repair Install and hopefully it
will work. You should ensure you have made a backup of all you important
data before you try it though.

--


Harry Ohrn MS MVP [Shell\User]
www.webtree.ca/windowsxp


Brian Westcott said:
I have a CD for the OEM Windows XP, which I can't use with the new
computer. However, the new computer comes with Media Center preinstalled so
I guess I can use the CD that comes with that?
Harry Ohrn said:
Do you have a copy of your Windows XP CD? Not a restore disc that comes
with some computers that simply revert the system back to it's original
state but an actual Windows XP CD. If you have one of those you can
simply move the Hard drive tot eh new system or clone it to the drive on
the new system then BEFORE you start the new system to the desktop run a
Repair Install as outlined here
http://www.webtree.ca/windowsxp/repair_xp.htm

--


Harry Ohrn MS MVP [Shell\User]
www.webtree.ca/windowsxp


Brian Westcott said:
I've finally got a new computer that is faster and with more memory. I
would like to move my old windows XP SP2 system to the new computer so I
don't have to locate and reload many years worth of programs, etc. I can
use a product like the one Acronis has to copy the old disk to the new
one, But I was told that some programs (including XP?) will not run
because the system ID has changed. Is this true? If so, what can I do
about it?
Thanks for any information you can provide.
Brian
Click to expand...
Click to expand...
Click to expand...
 
Brian said:
I've finally got a new computer that is faster and with more memory.
I would like to move my old windows XP SP2 system to the new computer
so I don't have to locate and reload many years worth of programs,
etc. I can use a product like the one Acronis has to copy the old
disk to the new one, But I was told that some programs (including
XP?) will not run because the system ID has changed. Is this true? If
so, what can I do about it? Thanks for any information you can provide.
Click to expand...


At the very least you will need to do a Repair Installation. See "How to
Perform a Windows XP Repair Install" at
http://www.michaelstevenstech.com/XPrepairinstall.htm

That usually works, but If the new motherboard is different enough, it may
not, and you will need to reinstall cleanly, losing all your data and
everything else on the drive.

So make sure you have a backup of anything you can't afford to lose before
starting.
 
Brian said:
My new computer has MS Media Center(i.e. Win XP) preinstalled on it. When
I do the repair intallation can I just use the bootable CD that
comes with the new system? Would this mean that the steps I must use
would be: 1) copy old system to new disk using acronis or whatever.
2) Boot with CD that comes with new system and run a repair install.
Click to expand...


If your computer came with Windows preinstalled, it's an OEM version, and
that means that different rules come into play. The biggest restriction of
an an OEM version (and the reason I always recommend *against* OEM versions)
is that its license ties it permanently to the first computer it is
installed on. So you may *not* do what you want to do.
 
Now your talking apples and oranges,,,,,,
,you have an old system that came with XP installed
You are buying a new system that will come with XP Media Edition
installed....both will be OEM versions...tied to their machine unmovable
If you wish to save your Files and settings and transfer to another computer
use the Files&Settings transfer Wizard.
If you are trying to move programs over you are SOL.......you will need to
reinstall thos programs from scratch onto your new system.
If you move your old HD with that OEM XP to the new Computer and try to do a
"repair"installation with the new OEM XP media center..I believe it will get
stuck.These Type of CD's are usually meant to be installed onto a
blank/empty HD
I Tried this a while back with a friends system which had become corrupted
and failed to start,The XP directory still existed.
Using an OEM XP and his Authentification number it failed to do a
repair...using an OEM XP and the authentification number from that CD it
still failed.
but that just my opinion
peter
Brian Westcott said:
I have a CD for the OEM Windows XP, which I can't use with the new
computer. However, the new computer comes with Media Center preinstalled so
I guess I can use the CD that comes with that?
Harry Ohrn said:
Do you have a copy of your Windows XP CD? Not a restore disc that comes
with some computers that simply revert the system back to it's original
state but an actual Windows XP CD. If you have one of those you can
simply move the Hard drive tot eh new system or clone it to the drive on
the new system then BEFORE you start the new system to the desktop run a
Repair Install as outlined here
http://www.webtree.ca/windowsxp/repair_xp.htm

--


Harry Ohrn MS MVP [Shell\User]
www.webtree.ca/windowsxp


Brian Westcott said:
I've finally got a new computer that is faster and with more memory. I
would like to move my old windows XP SP2 system to the new computer so I
don't have to locate and reload many years worth of programs, etc. I can
use a product like the one Acronis has to copy the old disk to the new
one, But I was told that some programs (including XP?) will not run
because the system ID has changed. Is this true? If so, what can I do
about it?
Thanks for any information you can provide.
Brian
Click to expand...
Click to expand...
Click to expand...
 
I finally completed the move. Here's what I had to do:
My old computer was a Dell with OEM version of WinXP.
My new computer is an MDG, with Win XP Media Center
I had about 30 GB of files to move over, so I used Acronis TrueImage to do
the transfer.
I moved the C Drive from the old computer and installed in the new computer
as the secondary drive.
I booted TrueImage on the new computer and copied the old drive to the new
drive. his worked OK.
I booted the new computer from the MDG MediaCenter CD and did a repair. I
was asked several times to provide files that were on the Dell boot CD. When
the system finally came up, I had to authorize it from MS by telephone since
I had no Ethernet access.
The new system came up , but without Ethernet access. It turned out that the
Ethernet hardware was on the Intel motherboard, but the driver was not on
the MDG provided CD. I had to load the driver from the Intel provided CD.
When the system came up again, I had to re-authorize the XP Media Center OS
again.
Even though I did a repair, the system says that it is running XP
professional (from the old system) and not Media Center.
I had to re-install NAV before it would work, but everything else seems to
have moved OK.
I had planned to use my old C Drive on the new computer, but windows will
not boot if it is installed. I made sure that the BIOS is not trying to boot
from the old drive.
My conclusion is that upgrading hardware in preparation for Windows Vista is
not an easy thing to do. MS does not appear to have addressed this problem,
at least as far I know.
 
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