Can I copy all c: drive info incl. XP to another hard drive?

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Guest

I have several different hard drives in my computer setup. If I want to use
a different hard drive as my main drive, can I just copy every file on my
existing c: to the intended one, disconnect my original one and boot as if I
did nothing? Or will XP give me some sort of problem?
 
Hello Steve,

It will give you many errors, and it probably wont let you copy everything.
The easiest way to do this is get a third party program to do it for you
either Partition Magic or Norton Ghost.
 
Steve P. said:
I have several different hard drives in my computer setup. If I want to use
a different hard drive as my main drive, can I just copy every file on my
existing c: to the intended one, disconnect my original one and boot as if I
did nothing? Or will XP give me some sort of problem?
Click to expand...

No, you will get two problems:
- The new disk won't boot
- You won't be able to copy numerous system files

You have several options to do this:
1. Use an imaging program, as suggested by Michael
2. Use the cloning program provided by many hard disk manufacturers
3. Perform the copy process while the disk is installed as a slave
disk in some other Win2000/XP PC.
4. Perform the copy process after booting with a Bart PE CD
(www.bootdisk.com).

Options 3. and 4. require you to use the correct switches for
xcopy.exe, to pull in the hidden files. You will also need to
restore the boot environment, using the Recovery Console.
 
To put it succintly, the answers are yes and no. They can all be made easier
dependant upon the method / software used to duplicate your C Drive and also
the drive to which it is duplicated.

If one uses the simplest method; it will be available from a disk
manufacturers tools CD; so with a new Maxtor or Seagate Disk [retail version]
you get a CD that does what you want. If not retail, then you may find the
software as a download on the website for the manufacturer.

Without the tools CD, you need something like Norton Ghost. Ghost allows
you to create a compressed file image one drive [or partition] to another
drive [or partition]: you then need to restore that image file to a drive or
partition.

So C Drive image onto E Drive, then E Drive restored to D Drive.

You can then reconfigure your Jumper and Cable settings to reboot from D
Drive as Primary Master [and it is now C Drive].

If the D Drive is the same model / type [size] as the C Drive you may find
that the system boots up without any drama. If not it will require you to
perform a Repair Installation of XP.

Perform a Repair Install by following the step by step below.

Set BIOS to boot from CD, insert the XP installation CD into the drive.

When you see the "Welcome To Setup" screen, you will see the options below:

This portion of the Setup program prepares Microsoft Windows XP to run on
your computer:

To setup Windows XP now, press ENTER.

To repair a Windows XP installation using Recovery Console, press R.

To quit Setup without installing Windows XP, press F3.

Press Enter to start the Windows Setup.

Accept the License Agreement and Windows will search for existing Windows
installations.

Select the XP installation you want to repair from the list and press R to
start the repair.

Setup will copy the necessary files to the hard drive and reboot. Do not
press any key to boot from CD when the message appears. Setup will continue
as if it were doing a clean install, but your applications and settings will
remain intact.
 
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