Move existing XP pro installation

[trevaaaaaaa]

I currently have XP Pro installed with boot files on drive C but
windows installation, progs, etc installed on D drive.

Is it possible to move this installation on to a single drive/partition?

 

[John John]

No.

John

 

[Bruce Chambers]

I currently have XP Pro installed with boot files on drive C but
windows installation, progs, etc installed on D drive.

Is it possible to move this installation on to a single drive/partition?

Only be reinstalling it from scratch.

--

Bruce Chambers

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[ComputerBar®]

I currently have XP Pro installed with boot files on drive C but
windows installation, progs, etc installed on D drive.

Is it possible to move this installation on to a single drive/partition?

Hi Trevaaaaaaaaaaaa

the only way I can see it before reinstalling the Xp again.

*****************ONLY IF YOU WANT AN ADVENTURIST*************

why not try

Partition Magic
http://www.powerquest.com/home_homeoffice/products/overview.jsp?pcid=sp&pvid=pm80
or

Acronis DiskDirectorSuite
http://eu.acronis.com/enterprise/products/diskdirectorsuite/ (Recomended)
I have seccusfully merged partitions with both of them in past and Acronis
was the best in my case.

It allows you (in your case) to merge partitions and data into on partion
and also fix the registry to change the old dirve letter with the new
(changed) one.

Make you usual backups and try it this before reinstalling XP again. Might
work for you and let us know too with the results.

Jay

 

[John John]

Hi Trevaaaaaaaaaaaa

the only way I can see it before reinstalling the Xp again.

*****************ONLY IF YOU WANT AN ADVENTURIST*************

why not try

Partition Magic
http://www.powerquest.com/home_homeoffice/products/overview.jsp?pcid=sp&pvid=pm80
or

Acronis DiskDirectorSuite
http://eu.acronis.com/enterprise/products/diskdirectorsuite/ (Recomended)
I have seccusfully merged partitions with both of them in past and Acronis
was the best in my case.

It allows you (in your case) to merge partitions and data into on partion
and also fix the registry to change the old dirve letter with the new
(changed) one.

Make you usual backups and try it this before reinstalling XP again. Might
work for you and let us know too with the results.

The problem posed by moving or merging the System and Boot
partitions/drives doesn't lie in the actual physical move, it lies in
the drive letter pointers that are scattered about all over the
registry. Once you move or merge the partitions the drive letters will
change. Quite possibly the Windows installation will then go in a
continuous reboot loop upon restart. If you can overcome the reboot
problem, how are you then going to go in the registry and change all the
old entries pointing to the previous drive to reflect the new drive
letter assignment? That is nearly impossible and even the most
knowledgeable Windows expert wouldn't try the procedure unless they were
bored and looking for something to do. You're claim that... "(Acronis)
allows you to merge partitions and data into on partion and also fix the
registry to change the old dirve letter with the new (changed) one" may
apply to data partitions but it will not work for the System or Boot
partitions. If you attempt to move the System or Boot partition or
merge these partitions the integrity of the Windows installation will be
destroyed.

John

 

[Anna]

The problem posed by moving or merging the System and Boot
partitions/drives doesn't lie in the actual physical move, it lies in the
drive letter pointers that are scattered about all over the registry.
Once you move or merge the partitions the drive letters will change.
Quite possibly the Windows installation will then go in a continuous
reboot loop upon restart. If you can overcome the reboot problem, how are
you then going to go in the registry and change all the old entries
pointing to the previous drive to reflect the new drive letter assignment?
That is nearly impossible and even the most knowledgeable Windows expert
wouldn't try the procedure unless they were bored and looking for
something to do. You're claim that... "(Acronis) allows you to merge
partitions and data into on partion and also fix the registry to change
the old dirve letter with the new (changed) one" may apply to data
partitions but it will not work for the System or Boot partitions. If you
attempt to move the System or Boot partition or merge these partitions the
integrity of the Windows installation will be destroyed.

John

John:
The information provided by ComputerBar is essentially correct in that a
competent partition management program can do precisely what he indicates.
We've undertaken this type of partition merging many, many times without any
problems with Partition Magic over the years. Now I've no experience with
the Acronis Disk Director program so I can't speak to that program.

But having said that, ComputerBar's cautionary note is well-taken. It is
prudent for the user to backup what he/she considers important/essential
files before using a partition management program to undertake the partition
merging operation. Admittedly this type of partition merging is not a
trivial process and there's no absolute guarantee of success or the
possibility that data will not be lost. In virtually every case where we're
about to undertake the process, we first use a disk imaging program and
clone the contents of the drive in question to another HDD before
undertaking the merging operation. But in most cases - assuming we're
dealing with a non-defective functional HDD to begin with, the merging
process works just fine without further ado on the user's part.
Anna