Change XP Harddrive from one computer to another

  • Thread starter Thread starter Thomas V. Nielsen
  • Start date Start date
T

Thomas V. Nielsen

Previuosly, it was an easy taskt if one compyter went down, the take the
harddrive (asuming this wasn't the problem) and through it into anothwe
computer.

This still works fine, IF am am doing it with and Windows 2000
Proffesional, a Windows XP Professional on the other hand....

I'll guess it is beacuse of the way the serial ID is generated, but
switching harddrives between computers, doesn't work that easy.

After installation Windows XP boot up, and the reboots imediatly. Not
even safe mode or last good known helps.

The only thing that worked was a complete re-installation (fix) of the
OS.
There mus be a smarter way, otherwise you can't have a high uptime for
the PC'sm and you will not be able to use a disk clone tool (like Ghost
og DriveImage), as you could with 2000.

BTW. The File and settings wizard transfer utility isn't at much help
here.

/Thomas
 
http://www.michaelstevenstech.com/moving_xp.html
Click to expand...

Even though he is MVP he must be joking right?

Can it really be that you need to go throgh the steps og a repair
installation, just to change hard drive??

I can't believe there isn't a small script or util that can fix this

I'll just guess we won't upgrade our PC's to XP, Win2K provides us with a
far better uptime gurantee than XP does.

/Thomas
 
Unless the hardware is the EXACT same, such as the motherboard chipset then
yes.

As for "uptime" Windows XP is the most stable OS Microsoft has NEVER made.
It's based on Win2K but provide more feautres.
 
Even though he is MVP he must be joking right?

Can it really be that you need to go throgh the steps og a repair
installation, just to change hard drive??

I can't believe there isn't a small script or util that can fix this

I'll just guess we won't upgrade our PC's to XP, Win2K provides us
with a far better uptime gurantee than XP does.

/Thomas
Click to expand...

Unless the Motherboard is exactly the same. It will have different
drivers that need to be registered with the OS. I've run into this even
on Win9x machines

--

David

Programmers write "Help Files" for a reason. use them.

"Due to Viewer dicretion...
Graphic violence is advised"

http://www.HeroicStories.com/
http://www.thisistrue.com/
 
Thomas said:
Even though he is MVP he must be joking right?

Can it really be that you need to go throgh the steps og a repair
installation, just to change hard drive??

I can't believe there isn't a small script or util that can fix this

I'll just guess we won't upgrade our PC's to XP, Win2K provides us
with a far better uptime gurantee than XP does.

/Thomas
Click to expand...

You pretty much confirmed it isn't a joke. LOL I guess you could remove all
your hardware in device manager prior to shutting down the hard drive before
the move to the new computer, but I don't see this as much of an
improvement. It was the same with previous versions of Windows; the
recommended method was to remove hardware; boot to Windows, then reinstall.
I find the repair install cleaner and if you create a slipstreamed CD, you
can add all the current updates and hot fixes at the same time as the repair
install. If you want to boot without doing the repair install, it does
sometimes work, but when it doesn't, it is fatal. Kinda like Russian
Roulette. 8-) I personally wouldn't try it unless I have a current image I
could use to restore.
But if you do come up with anything better, please let the community know.
 
Greetings --

Normally, unless the new motherboard is virtually identical to the
old one (same chipset, same IDE controllers, same BIOS version, etc.),
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

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

This will probably also require re-activation. 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
 
Back
Top