Cloning XP Home with new COA

[Willie]

I have two systems with almost the same hardware, one still on Win98,
other on XP Home edition. I have a new XP Home COA for the Win98
system, but rather then going through the entire XP and app install with
all the updates, I would like to copy my one XP system to another disk,
put that disk in the Win98 CPU, and then be able to re-authenticate with
the new user name and COA.
Is there any way of doing this?

Willie

 

[Raymond J. Johnson Jr.]

| I have two systems with almost the same hardware, one still on Win98,
| other on XP Home edition. I have a new XP Home COA for the Win98
| system, but rather then going through the entire XP and app install with
| all the updates, I would like to copy my one XP system to another disk,
| put that disk in the Win98 CPU, and then be able to re-authenticate with
| the new user name and COA.
| Is there any way of doing this?
|
| Willie

Are you talking about "ghosting" one install and moving it to the other
PC? What do you mean by "almost the same hardware"? What's different? An XP
install for one configuration probably isn't going to like a different one.
Also, if you can find a way to fit a CD into a CPU I'd like to see a picture
of it.

 

[JJ]

It should be possible to do what you want and afterwards do a repair install
with the new XP COA number. JJ

 

[JJ]

And of course using the new XP disk. JJ

 

[Bruce Chambers]

I have two systems with almost the same hardware, one still on Win98,
other on XP Home edition. I have a new XP Home COA for the Win98
system, but rather then going through the entire XP and app install with
all the updates, I would like to copy my one XP system to another disk,
put that disk in the Win98 CPU, and then be able to re-authenticate with
the new user name and COA.
Is there any way of doing this?

Willie

Not really.

Normally, and assuming a retail license (many OEM installations and
licenses 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

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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[Willie]

The second CPU has the exact same MB, CPU, video adapter, LAN adapter.
I know that XP does not mind changes to CD-ROM drives and disk sizes/models.
What I didn't know was if I did a repair install whether or not XP would
ask me for name and license number. If so, that would do exactly what I
want, since the second PC is for a different person and I have a
different license for it.

Willia