Back up critical application

[Paul H]

I have a laptop with XP w/SP3. One application, that is absolutely critical
for me, is only on this computer. I no longer have the install CD. The
company won't support my 6 year old version, and wants me to upgrade to
their current version for over $4,000. Is there a way I can make an exact
copy of the hard drive, so if it crashes, or the laptop dies, I can put the
new hard drive into a newer laptop and continue to work? Could the new
back-up disk be larger the the one I'm copying?

 

[Bob I]

Having the cloned operating system from an old laptop working in a new
laptop would likely never fly. Perhaps get a couple of spare identical
ones to what you now have and then your plan would work.

 

[meerkat]

I have a laptop with XP w/SP3. One application, that is absolutely
critical
for me, is only on this computer. I no longer have the install CD.
The
company won't support my 6 year old version, and wants me to upgrade
to
their current version for over $4,000. Is there a way I can make an
exact
copy of the hard drive, so if it crashes, or the laptop dies, I can
put the
new hard drive into a newer laptop and continue to work? Could the
new
back-up disk be larger the the one I'm copying?

There are a couple of decent options here...
http://www.acronis.com/homecomputing/

Either Home or Migrate would do the job.
And $30 - $40 dollars is cheap, for $4,000 dollars
worth of software.
Yes to your second question.

 

[Big_Al]

Paul H said this on 1/22/2009 11:53 AM:

I have a laptop with XP w/SP3. One application, that is absolutely critical
for me, is only on this computer. I no longer have the install CD. The
company won't support my 6 year old version, and wants me to upgrade to
their current version for over $4,000. Is there a way I can make an exact
copy of the hard drive, so if it crashes, or the laptop dies, I can put the
new hard drive into a newer laptop and continue to work? Could the new
back-up disk be larger the the one I'm copying?

Imaging software like Acronis True Image Home or Norton Ghost will do
what you want. There are others of course, google for 'imaging
software'. It makes an exact copy of everything on any HD or partition
of an HD and then you can later extract not only single files/folders
but you can restore the whole drive/partition. Its great for
replacement drives too since it will adjust for the size changes if you
do upgrade the size.

I personally use Acronis. But both have been mentioned in these
groups. Normally you save the image to an external USB drive (or 2nd
internal drive), and it just makes a file, so you can save several
copies like monthlies/weeklies. And yes, its saves everything, so
when you restore, XP is licensed and runs without reactivation etc etc.
But remember, it also saves viruses and malware etc. It just takes a
snapshot of your drive. So make sure its clean before you do any
backups and make several so that if one is infected you have an earlier
one to fall back on. (this is just good ole backup logic).

 

[Paul H]

Bob, I wouldn't want another of my old loud heavy Acer laptop - would
another laptop capable of running XP work? Maybe a Dell that came with XP?

Having the cloned operating system from an old laptop working in a new
laptop would likely never fly. Perhaps get a couple of spare identical
ones to what you now have and then your plan would work.

 

[Paul H]

Thanks, Big Al - Can I use Acronis 8 as a good backup program, onto a 500
gig USB drive? Probably weekly? Can I back up another laptop with Vista
Home Premium as well? I'm very careful about virus software (Avast) and
spy-ware (Ad-Aware and Spybot). I understand that I won't have to buy a
replacement drive until I have a disaster with my current laptop. Will I
have trouble putting the new drive into a newer laptop? Replacing it's
operating system. Maybe even one that's cheaper because it comes with
something other than Windows?

Paul H said this on 1/22/2009 11:53 AM:

I have a laptop with XP w/SP3. One application, that is absolutely
critical
for me, is only on this computer. I no longer have the install CD. The
company won't support my 6 year old version, and wants me to upgrade to
their current version for over $4,000. Is there a way I can make an exact
copy of the hard drive, so if it crashes, or the laptop dies, I can put
the
new hard drive into a newer laptop and continue to work? Could the new
back-up disk be larger the the one I'm copying?

Imaging software like Acronis True Image Home or Norton Ghost will do
what you want. There are others of course, google for 'imaging
software'. It makes an exact copy of everything on any HD or partition
of an HD and then you can later extract not only single files/folders
but you can restore the whole drive/partition. Its great for
replacement drives too since it will adjust for the size changes if you
do upgrade the size.

I personally use Acronis. But both have been mentioned in these
groups. Normally you save the image to an external USB drive (or 2nd
internal drive), and it just makes a file, so you can save several
copies like monthlies/weeklies. And yes, its saves everything, so
when you restore, XP is licensed and runs without reactivation etc etc.
But remember, it also saves viruses and malware etc. It just takes a
snapshot of your drive. So make sure its clean before you do any
backups and make several so that if one is infected you have an earlier
one to fall back on. (this is just good ole backup logic).

 

[Twayne]

Bob, I wouldn't want another of my old loud

heavy Acer
laptop - would another laptop capable of running
XP work?
Maybe a Dell that came with XP?

No, it would not work on any other computer but
the one you currently have, Paul. XP per sae isn't
the problem.
The problem is that the registry is never the
same from computer to computer, especially with
laptops, and whether the machine would even boot
up using another's registry is very unlikely.
It's not your program, it's the registry issues.
AFAIK there is no way, 3rd party or otherwise that
can accomplish what you are trying to do
automacitally.
You need to relocate the original CD the
application came on, or a copy of it, or upgrade;
those are about your only options.
Since you don't even have a copy of that/those
CD/CDs I suspect you have no backup process in
place either. The program could be the least of
your worries.
I have to wonder how one would not backup a $4000
program.

Twayne

 

[Twayne]

message

There are a couple of decent options here...
http://www.acronis.com/homecomputing/

Either Home or Migrate would do the job.
And $30 - $40 dollars is cheap, for $4,000
dollars
worth of software.
Yes to your second question.

Won't work for taking an os image and installing
it into a different computer.

 

[Twayne]

Paul H said this on 1/22/2009 11:53 AM:

Imaging software like Acronis True Image Home or
Norton
Ghost will do what you want. There are others
of course,
google for 'imaging software'. It makes an
exact copy
of everything on any HD or partition of an HD
and then
you can later extract not only single
files/folders but
you can restore the whole drive/partition. Its
great
for replacement drives too since it will adjust
for the
size changes if you do upgrade the size.
I personally use Acronis. But both have been
mentioned
in these groups. Normally you save the image
to an
external USB drive (or 2nd internal drive), and
it just
makes a file, so you can save several copies
like
monthlies/weeklies. And yes, its saves
everything, so
when you restore, XP is licensed and runs
without
reactivation etc etc. But remember, it also
saves viruses
and malware etc. It just takes a snapshot of
your drive.
So make sure its clean before you do any backups
and make
several so that if one is infected you have an
earlier
one to fall back on. (this is just good ole
backup
logic).

All true, but ... it is NOT going to address the
differences between machines and since the
registry of the old machine will follow along to
the new machine. You're trying to sell the OP
somethign that isn't going to help him with his
stated issue.

When you restore an OS it to a different
machine, for which the registry will be looking
for all the hardware in the original machine, and
when one is expecting an application to also
transfer with it, simply isn't going to work.
Also, the first time an update access or whatever
happens, it's going to notice that the OS is
installed on a machine than it was originally
activated on, and in the overall things are going
to start failing, if the new machine ever actually
managed to get booted.
Acronis cannot "fix" all the bad registry calls
of a move from one machine to another. I am
assuming of courese that this so far un-named
$4000 application actually needs/uses the
registry, which is about 99.99% surely the case
with that sort of app.
These things only work when you Restore things,
make a new disk, whatever, and place it back into
the SAME machine it originated from! You backup
THAT OS and its installs, NOT every install for
every machine/drive that exists.

 

[Twayne]

Thanks, Big Al - Can I use Acronis 8 as a good

backup
program, onto a 500 gig USB drive? Probably
weekly? Can
I back up another laptop with Vista Home Premium
as well?
I'm very careful about virus software (Avast)
and
spy-ware (Ad-Aware and Spybot). I understand
that I
won't have to buy a replacement drive until I
have a
disaster with my current laptop. Will I have
trouble
putting the new drive into a newer laptop?
Replacing
it's operating system. Maybe even one that's
cheaper
because it comes with something other than
Windows?

Yes, you will have problems; it won't work.
Acronis et al are only for backing up data for the
SAME machine it will be restored to. If your
unnamed program uses any system files/hardware at
all, it's going to fail. It amazes me that people
are indicating that you can move your OS from one
piece of hardware to a different set of hardware
and expect it to just start working. Acronis,
Ghost, etc., are great at what they do, but they
are not for the $4,000 issue you have. Any
application must be INSTALLED on the computer it
is going to work on. It can't be simply copied
with a file or imaging process.

HTH,

Twayne

 

[Big_Al]

Paul H said this on 1/22/2009 12:39 PM:

Thanks, Big Al - Can I use Acronis 8 as a good backup program, onto a 500
gig USB drive? Probably weekly? Can I back up another laptop with Vista
Home Premium as well? I'm very careful about virus software (Avast) and
spy-ware (Ad-Aware and Spybot). I understand that I won't have to buy a
replacement drive until I have a disaster with my current laptop. Will I
have trouble putting the new drive into a newer laptop? Replacing it's
operating system. Maybe even one that's cheaper because it comes with
something other than Windows?

Paul H said this on 1/22/2009 11:53 AM:

Imaging software like Acronis True Image Home or Norton Ghost will do
what you want. There are others of course, google for 'imaging
software'. It makes an exact copy of everything on any HD or partition
of an HD and then you can later extract not only single files/folders
but you can restore the whole drive/partition. Its great for
replacement drives too since it will adjust for the size changes if you
do upgrade the size.

I personally use Acronis. But both have been mentioned in these
groups. Normally you save the image to an external USB drive (or 2nd
internal drive), and it just makes a file, so you can save several
copies like monthlies/weeklies. And yes, its saves everything, so
when you restore, XP is licensed and runs without reactivation etc etc.
But remember, it also saves viruses and malware etc. It just takes a
snapshot of your drive. So make sure its clean before you do any
backups and make several so that if one is infected you have an earlier
one to fall back on. (this is just good ole backup logic).

As others say, Acronis is great for working on one PC. But moving
software to another PC is usually a no-no. Hardware is diff, OS is
diff, all sorts of problems pop up. But it will allow you to keep with
XP as long as you can. I'm afraid if you upgrade to Vista etc, you're
going to have to byte the bullet and re-buy the software, and learn to
write down keys.
PS. Have you run software like SIW? or Belarc? They seem to show
licenses for installed applications like windows and MS Office. Might
work on your software?

 

[Frank Slootweg]

I have a laptop with XP w/SP3. One application, that is absolutely critical
for me, is only on this computer. I no longer have the install CD. The
company won't support my 6 year old version, and wants me to upgrade to
their current version for over $4,000. Is there a way I can make an exact
copy of the hard drive, so if it crashes, or the laptop dies, I can put the
new hard drive into a newer laptop and continue to work? Could the new
back-up disk be larger the the one I'm copying?

As several people have explained, you can use imaging software (*and*
normal backup), to protect against a *hard drive* failure, but *not*
against the *laptop* failing and needing a replacement.

Having said that, a few questions:

1. Is the application/software listed under (start -> Control Panel ->)
Add or Remove Programs? If so, which options are listed (besides
Uninstall)? Does it have options like Repair/Re-install/<whatever>?
If so, which one(s)?
Note: Do *NOT* click on those options.

2. Do you know in which directories/folders the application/software is
stored, i.e. the software itself, the configuration files, the data
files, etc.?

If these points - preferably both - give useful information, you can
try to move (read: *copy*) the software to another laptop and try to get
it to work there. I.e. you *test* this procedure *before* your laptop
actually dies.

Of course you need to be able to recover/re-install the test laptop,
in case something goes wrong. So make sure you have recovery/
re-installation media for the test laptop! If it's not a new laptop,
you'll also need *backup* of the test laptop.

If moving (only) the application does not work. You can move more
directories/files to the test laptop, without moving stuff which is
obviously not_needed/wrong, i.e. for example other software, Windows
itself and basic Windows stuff, etc..

If that still does not work, you can *try* to clone (with the imaging
software) the old laptop to the test laptop. If the type of disk
interface (IDE, SATA, etc.) is the same and the display has a VGA mode,
it is likely that you can get the test laptop at least to boot and
login. After that, you probably will have to fix the test laptop, but
you can probably do that with the drivers, etc. from the installation/
recovery discs, i.e. you do *NOT* do a full re-installation/recovery,
but use the discs to add the missing stuff.

I hope this helps.

 

[Paul H]

Hi Frank. I'm always surprised how readers misunderstand questions. I
asked 2 very separate questions about Acronis. The 2nd one 1st:

Can I use it as a routine way to back-up my laptop? And can I use it to
back up two different laptops - one is XP and one is Vista? If that
violates their policy, I'd just like to at least back up my XP laptop
weekly. Is that an appropriate use of Acronis? I would think so, because
if a recovery is needed, one would want to recover recent work.

The other, primary concern is that the laptop my application is on is an old
obsolete, obnoxious Acer. Loud, heavy, hot, large power transformer, etc.
I want to stay with XP. I'm willing to struggle with drivers if that lets
me move to a better laptop. I'm avoiding disclosing the software because I
don't want to drag the vendor into the discussion. They aggressively want
me to upgrade - I don't want to - the newest version is not only expensive,
but has drawbacks that my old version does not, and mine works just fine for
my purpose. I originally paid about $4,000 for it, and it did not have a
time limit, so I should be able to use it until XP can no longer be used.
So I should have a few more years.

I don't need a powerful computer. A Celeron would probably suffice, but I'm
probably better off with a real CPU. Maybe I'll go to Fry's and get a cheap
computer to try.

Wish me luck!

I have a laptop with XP w/SP3. One application, that is absolutely
critical
for me, is only on this computer. I no longer have the install CD. The
company won't support my 6 year old version, and wants me to upgrade to
their current version for over $4,000. Is there a way I can make an exact
copy of the hard drive, so if it crashes, or the laptop dies, I can put
the
new hard drive into a newer laptop and continue to work? Could the new
back-up disk be larger the the one I'm copying?

As several people have explained, you can use imaging software (*and*
normal backup), to protect against a *hard drive* failure, but *not*
against the *laptop* failing and needing a replacement.

Having said that, a few questions:

1. Is the application/software listed under (start -> Control Panel ->)
Add or Remove Programs? If so, which options are listed (besides
Uninstall)? Does it have options like Repair/Re-install/<whatever>?
If so, which one(s)?
Note: Do *NOT* click on those options.

2. Do you know in which directories/folders the application/software is
stored, i.e. the software itself, the configuration files, the data
files, etc.?

If these points - preferably both - give useful information, you can
try to move (read: *copy*) the software to another laptop and try to get
it to work there. I.e. you *test* this procedure *before* your laptop
actually dies.

Of course you need to be able to recover/re-install the test laptop,
in case something goes wrong. So make sure you have recovery/
re-installation media for the test laptop! If it's not a new laptop,
you'll also need *backup* of the test laptop.

If moving (only) the application does not work. You can move more
directories/files to the test laptop, without moving stuff which is
obviously not_needed/wrong, i.e. for example other software, Windows
itself and basic Windows stuff, etc..

If that still does not work, you can *try* to clone (with the imaging
software) the old laptop to the test laptop. If the type of disk
interface (IDE, SATA, etc.) is the same and the display has a VGA mode,
it is likely that you can get the test laptop at least to boot and
login. After that, you probably will have to fix the test laptop, but
you can probably do that with the drivers, etc. from the installation/
recovery discs, i.e. you do *NOT* do a full re-installation/recovery,
but use the discs to add the missing stuff.

I hope this helps.

 

[Lem]

See responses in-line

Hi Frank. I'm always surprised how readers misunderstand questions. I
asked 2 very separate questions about Acronis. The 2nd one 1st:

Can I use it as a routine way to back-up my laptop?
Yes
And can I use it to back up two different laptops - one is XP and one is Vista?

I firmly believe that getting legal advice from a technical support
group, particularly a group comprised of the general public, like this
newsgroup, is a bad idea. You can read the EULA for yourself here:
http://www.acronis.com/homecomputing/download/docs/

If that violates their policy, I'd just like to at least back up my XP laptop
weekly. Is that an appropriate use of Acronis?
Yes
I would think so, because if a recovery is needed, one would want to recover recent work.
Yes.

The other, primary concern is that the laptop my application is on is an old
obsolete, obnoxious Acer. Loud, heavy, hot, large power transformer, etc.
I want to stay with XP. I'm willing to struggle with drivers if that lets
me move to a better laptop. I'm avoiding disclosing the software because I
don't want to drag the vendor into the discussion. They aggressively want
me to upgrade - I don't want to - the newest version is not only expensive,
but has drawbacks that my old version does not, and mine works just fine for
my purpose. I originally paid about $4,000 for it, and it did not have a
time limit, so I should be able to use it until XP can no longer be used.
So I should have a few more years.

There are several issues involved with restoring your backup to a new
computer. Acronis has something they call "Acronis Universal Restore"
which permits restoration to pretty much any type of a physical or
virtual machine as long as it utilizes an x-86 architecture (32 or 64
bit), but AFAIK, this is only available with the Enterprise version
(Echo Workstation: http://www.acronis.com/enterprise/products/ATICW/) of
Acronis products. Although this s/w costs a little more than the average
home user wants to spend, if it will save you $4000, it's probably worth
it. I suggest you contact Acronis tech support, and ask them how to do
what you want and which of their products will do it for you.

Acronis Universal Restore
http://www.acronis.com/enterprise/products/ATICW/addons.html

You might be able to get things working with a Windows XP Repair
Install, which is *supposed to* keep applications and data intact while
re-installing the OS.

In either case, you should test your procedure before your current
laptop dies.

With respect to just replacing the drive in your current laptop, if you
think that there is even a remote possibility that you might do this, I
suggest that you go and buy a compatible drive now. It seems more and
more difficult to find drives that are compatible with older laptops.

I don't need a powerful computer. A Celeron would probably suffice, but I'm
probably better off with a real CPU. Maybe I'll go to Fry's and get a cheap
computer to try.

Wish me luck!




As several people have explained, you can use imaging software (*and*
normal backup), to protect against a *hard drive* failure, but *not*
against the *laptop* failing and needing a replacement.

Having said that, a few questions:

1. Is the application/software listed under (start -> Control Panel ->)
Add or Remove Programs? If so, which options are listed (besides
Uninstall)? Does it have options like Repair/Re-install/<whatever>?
If so, which one(s)?
Note: Do *NOT* click on those options.

2. Do you know in which directories/folders the application/software is
stored, i.e. the software itself, the configuration files, the data
files, etc.?

If these points - preferably both - give useful information, you can
try to move (read: *copy*) the software to another laptop and try to get
it to work there. I.e. you *test* this procedure *before* your laptop
actually dies.

Of course you need to be able to recover/re-install the test laptop,
in case something goes wrong. So make sure you have recovery/
re-installation media for the test laptop! If it's not a new laptop,
you'll also need *backup* of the test laptop.

If moving (only) the application does not work. You can move more
directories/files to the test laptop, without moving stuff which is
obviously not_needed/wrong, i.e. for example other software, Windows
itself and basic Windows stuff, etc..

If that still does not work, you can *try* to clone (with the imaging
software) the old laptop to the test laptop. If the type of disk
interface (IDE, SATA, etc.) is the same and the display has a VGA mode,
it is likely that you can get the test laptop at least to boot and
login. After that, you probably will have to fix the test laptop, but
you can probably do that with the drivers, etc. from the installation/
recovery discs, i.e. you do *NOT* do a full re-installation/recovery,
but use the discs to add the missing stuff.

I hope this helps.

--
Lem -- MS-MVP

To the moon and back with 2K words of RAM and 36K words of ROM.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apollo_Guidance_Computer
http://history.nasa.gov/afj/compessay.htm

 

[Daave]

The other, primary concern is that the laptop my application is on is
an old
obsolete, obnoxious Acer. Loud, heavy, hot, large power transformer,
etc.
I want to stay with XP. I'm willing to struggle with drivers if that
lets
me move to a better laptop. I'm avoiding disclosing the software
because I
don't want to drag the vendor into the discussion. They aggressively
want
me to upgrade - I don't want to - the newest version is not only
expensive,
but has drawbacks that my old version does not, and mine works just
fine for
my purpose. I originally paid about $4,000 for it, and it did not
have a
time limit, so I should be able to use it until XP can no longer be
used.
So I should have a few more years.

If you paid $4,000 for a particular program, surely you should have its
installation file/CD! You have the license to run this program, no? Then
the company should be able to provide you with replacement installation
media. Then you can install it on a clean system. I have a hard time
believing that the EULA is like the Windows OEM EULA (that is, that
program is tied to that one laptop and may never be transferred to any
other PC). Perhaps you are not to run this program on two or more PCs
*simultaneously*. But surely you should be able to transfer it from one
PC to another! And as long as you choose not to disclose the name of the
software, others reading who may have actual experience with it won't be
able to share their experiences with you.

I know that in your original post, you stated that "[t]he company won't
support my 6 year old version." Are you absolutely sure that means they
will not provide you with the installation media? If the license is
still in effect, that just doesn't make any sense. What if you were to
obtain the installation media from a friend or colleague?

 

[sgopus]

One cravat, you are not guranteed that your os will boot on a new system,
once restored. There is a possibility you can do a repair install before you
boot to the newly restored hd, but you must have the install cd (hopefully
slipstreamed with the latest service packs and updates) of XP, good luck with
that.

 

[V Green]

It is possible, though not likely, that copying the directory
with the app in it across to a new box and putting it in the
same EXACT place (drive, directory) and then running the .EXE that
starts it up will work. Some apps put NO info (or no critical
info) in the directory and NO support files in other places (or else
they only use DLL's that are part of the OS base install).
Some will re-create missing registry info if it can't find it.

I have several older apps that I have tried this with - with some
there was an initial complaint about not finding the User Name,
(which was probably in the Registry or a file in the OS directory)
then they all ran fine. Others were not so easy (see below).

Note that I would NOT try this on a production machine in
case it fouls up royally. I have a multi-boot "sandbox" machine
I have for stuff like this.

If it DOESN'T run due to missing DLL's, the writers of the program
may have considerately written error handling that will complain about
the missing DLL's by name. Just keep copying them across and restarting
the .EXE until it runs (or doesn't).

I believe there are progamming tools that can tell you what DLL's an
app "touches" or depends on when it runs - that might be another way
to get your list of what to copy. I haven't coded for awhile, but I think
the dependencies are embedded in the main .EXE.

And another way is to check the date on the pieces of the program
in its install directory - often most of them will have the same date
and time. You can use Explorer to search for other bits of the program
on your HD using this date. This is how I move around my old
VB3 install - almost ALL of it's pieces have the same date.

Be aware that if you move to different hardware, and something in
your program is dependent on, say, a specific display, you might
have to hand-edit some .INI files or something. It might keep looking
for hardware you no longer have.

Keep trying. You should be able to beat the miserable SOB of a
vendor who is trying to screw you. I only found out today that
the newest version of a vendor-specific app that I use to view
IR radiometric .JPG images dropped a function I use and I had to
go back to the old one. This sucks, as it locks me in to that version,
and eventually it'll become unsupported unless they add the function
back in.

 

[V Green]

Oops, typo-

"> same EXACT place (drive, directory) and then running the .EXE that

starts it up will work. Some apps put NO info (or no critical
info) in the directory

make that "in the REGISTRY"
sorry about that...

 

[Paul H]

Thanks Lem. I'll contact Acronis support, as you suggested. I'll get the
correct product ASAP. If I have a backup, I can restore to another hard
drive later. I don't want to preserve my old ACER if it has a problem.
Others have mentioned that the application vendor should help me move the
application. They have a scheme that prevents moving it to a different
computer without their help. They want in excess of $5,000 to put me on
maintenance so they will help me. Buying a new copy is cheaper, but
inappropriate for the reasons I've mentioned earlier. Thanks again for the
best suggestion I've received so far.

==============================

See responses in-line

Hi Frank. I'm always surprised how readers misunderstand questions. I
asked 2 very separate questions about Acronis. The 2nd one 1st:

Can I use it as a routine way to back-up my laptop?
Yes
And can I use it to back up two different laptops - one is XP and one is
Vista?

I firmly believe that getting legal advice from a technical support
group, particularly a group comprised of the general public, like this
newsgroup, is a bad idea. You can read the EULA for yourself here:
http://www.acronis.com/homecomputing/download/docs/

If that violates their policy, I'd just like to at least back up my XP
laptop
weekly. Is that an appropriate use of Acronis?
Yes
I would think so, because if a recovery is needed, one would want to
recover recent work.
Yes.

The other, primary concern is that the laptop my application is on is an
old
obsolete, obnoxious Acer. Loud, heavy, hot, large power transformer, etc.
I want to stay with XP. I'm willing to struggle with drivers if that lets
me move to a better laptop. I'm avoiding disclosing the software because
I
don't want to drag the vendor into the discussion. They aggressively want
me to upgrade - I don't want to - the newest version is not only
expensive,
but has drawbacks that my old version does not, and mine works just fine
for
my purpose. I originally paid about $4,000 for it, and it did not have a
time limit, so I should be able to use it until XP can no longer be used.
So I should have a few more years.

There are several issues involved with restoring your backup to a new
computer. Acronis has something they call "Acronis Universal Restore"
which permits restoration to pretty much any type of a physical or
virtual machine as long as it utilizes an x-86 architecture (32 or 64
bit), but AFAIK, this is only available with the Enterprise version
(Echo Workstation: http://www.acronis.com/enterprise/products/ATICW/) of
Acronis products. Although this s/w costs a little more than the average
home user wants to spend, if it will save you $4000, it's probably worth
it. I suggest you contact Acronis tech support, and ask them how to do
what you want and which of their products will do it for you.

Acronis Universal Restore
http://www.acronis.com/enterprise/products/ATICW/addons.html

You might be able to get things working with a Windows XP Repair
Install, which is *supposed to* keep applications and data intact while
re-installing the OS.

In either case, you should test your procedure before your current
laptop dies.

With respect to just replacing the drive in your current laptop, if you
think that there is even a remote possibility that you might do this, I
suggest that you go and buy a compatible drive now. It seems more and
more difficult to find drives that are compatible with older laptops.

I don't need a powerful computer. A Celeron would probably suffice, but
I'm
probably better off with a real CPU. Maybe I'll go to Fry's and get a
cheap
computer to try.

Wish me luck!




As several people have explained, you can use imaging software (*and*
normal backup), to protect against a *hard drive* failure, but *not*
against the *laptop* failing and needing a replacement.

Having said that, a few questions:

1. Is the application/software listed under (start -> Control Panel ->)
Add or Remove Programs? If so, which options are listed (besides
Uninstall)? Does it have options like Repair/Re-install/<whatever>?
If so, which one(s)?
Note: Do *NOT* click on those options.

2. Do you know in which directories/folders the application/software is
stored, i.e. the software itself, the configuration files, the data
files, etc.?

If these points - preferably both - give useful information, you can
try to move (read: *copy*) the software to another laptop and try to get
it to work there. I.e. you *test* this procedure *before* your laptop
actually dies.

Of course you need to be able to recover/re-install the test laptop,
in case something goes wrong. So make sure you have recovery/
re-installation media for the test laptop! If it's not a new laptop,
you'll also need *backup* of the test laptop.

If moving (only) the application does not work. You can move more
directories/files to the test laptop, without moving stuff which is
obviously not_needed/wrong, i.e. for example other software, Windows
itself and basic Windows stuff, etc..

If that still does not work, you can *try* to clone (with the imaging
software) the old laptop to the test laptop. If the type of disk
interface (IDE, SATA, etc.) is the same and the display has a VGA mode,
it is likely that you can get the test laptop at least to boot and
login. After that, you probably will have to fix the test laptop, but
you can probably do that with the drivers, etc. from the installation/
recovery discs, i.e. you do *NOT* do a full re-installation/recovery,
but use the discs to add the missing stuff.

I hope this helps.

--
Lem -- MS-MVP

To the moon and back with 2K words of RAM and 36K words of ROM.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apollo_Guidance_Computer
http://history.nasa.gov/afj/compessay.htm

 

[Daave]

Others have mentioned that the application vendor should help me move
the
application. They have a scheme that prevents moving it to a
different
computer without their help.

I don't know about other posters, but I never suggested that the vendor
should help you move the application. I'm sure you can do it yourself
without their help. In another post, you stated, "I originally paid
about $4,000 for it, and it did not have a time limit." If there is no
time limit *and* if the license does not tie it to only one PC *in
perpetuity*, then you should be able to uninstall it from your laptop
(or format the laptop's hard drive, which would have the same outcome)
and use the correct installation media to install it to the new PC. I am
not sure what you mean by "scheme." Is there some sort of online
activation? If you were to obtain the installation media, what would
happen if you were to install the program to a different PC? The
installation media for that particular version *does* exist! If this
mystery company won't provide it (which is just plain wrong on their
part), then I'm sure you can find it elsewhere.

Keep in mind: the above is accurate as long as this software isn't a
certain type of OEM software that is tied to one specific PC in
perpetuity (similar to the OEM versions of Windows, Office, and Nero).
If it *is* that type of OEM software, then you may not move it to
another PC. Even, if you figure out a way to do it, you would be in
violation of the license agreement you signed onto. For $4,000, that
better be some damned good software to have that limitation!