Copy hard drive partition

[chrisgonzalez1992]

Okay, I want to install Windows XP Pro on my laptop, but the CD drive
won't recognize the disc. So I installed it again on a new partition on
my desktop, and I want to transfer it from the desktop onto the laptop
via an external hard drive. Both the external and the laptop hard drive
have sufficient space for the partition, and I've created partitions on
both of them so I can transfer the desktop partition. I've tried to
copy the files directly but that didn't work.

I tried to copy it over with Norton Ghost 9.0, but that didn't work. I
tried to use the copy feature (failed), and then created a backup
image, saved it on the external hard drive, and then tried to restore
the image to the laptop (that didn't work either).

Can you guys help?

 

[Carey Frisch [MVP]]

You can't install Windows XP on your desktop and then
transfer it to a laptop....the hardware configurations are
entirely different. You should be able to boot from the
Windows XP CD by opening the laptop's BIOS and setting
the CD Drive as the first bootable drive. See the following:

Clean Install Windows XP
http://www.michaelstevenstech.com/cleanxpinstall.html

===> Accessing Motherboard BIOS
===> http://www.michaelstevenstech.com/bios_manufacturer.htm


--
Carey Frisch
Microsoft MVP
Windows - Shell/User

Enjoy all the benefits of genuine Microsoft software:
http://www.microsoft.com/genuine/default.mspx

---------------------------------------------------------------------------­---------------------------------

:

| Okay, I want to install Windows XP Pro on my laptop, but the CD drive
| won't recognize the disc. So I installed it again on a new partition on
| my desktop, and I want to transfer it from the desktop onto the laptop
| via an external hard drive. Both the external and the laptop hard drive
| have sufficient space for the partition, and I've created partitions on
| both of them so I can transfer the desktop partition. I've tried to
| copy the files directly but that didn't work.
|
| I tried to copy it over with Norton Ghost 9.0, but that didn't work. I
| tried to use the copy feature (failed), and then created a backup
| image, saved it on the external hard drive, and then tried to restore
| the image to the laptop (that didn't work either).
|
| Can you guys help?
|

 

[chrisgonzalez1992]

Can't do that. For some reason, the CD drive on the laptop won't read
the CD (but it can still read everything else I've put in, and it still
burns CDs). The desktop CD drive reads it without a problem, though.
That's why I'm trying to transfer the partition over.

Tried to burn the files to another CD, but that didn't work.

Any suggestions?

 

[Carey Frisch [MVP]]

If you have a floppy drive installed in the laptop:

How to obtain Windows XP Setup boot disks
http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;[LN];310994

Note: Be sure to only download the set of setup disks based on the Service Pack
level of your Windows XP CD.

--
Carey Frisch
Microsoft MVP
Windows - Shell/User

Enjoy all the benefits of genuine Microsoft software:
http://www.microsoft.com/genuine/default.mspx

---------------------------------------------------------------------------­---------------------------------

:

| Can't do that. For some reason, the CD drive on the laptop won't read
| the CD (but it can still read everything else I've put in, and it still
| burns CDs). The desktop CD drive reads it without a problem, though.
| That's why I'm trying to transfer the partition over.
|
| Tried to burn the files to another CD, but that didn't work.
|
| Any suggestions?

 

[chrisgonzalez1992]

No floppy drive on my laptop, and the external floppy drive my dad has
has an IBM connection (freaking old. Years before the invention of
USB).

I'm in the middle of the File and Settings Transfer Process, maybe
that'll work. Or maybe not.

Any more suggestions? I might try network boot, but I dunno how it
works.

I guess I'll just give you my hard drive specs:

Desktop: 80gig with 2 partitions, 1 15 gig (the one I want to
transfer), the other roughly 65 gigs.

Laptop: 60 gigs with 2 30 gig partitions (one for my current windows,
another for XP Pro)

External: 120 gigs (one partition)

All are NTFS partitions.

 

[Ron Sommer]

Are you saying that you can't read the files on the CD from My Computer or
that the laptop doesn't boot to the CD?

 

[chrisgonzalez1992]

Both. In My Computer, it says that there is "0 bytes free of 0 bytes",
and it won't boot from the CD either. Yet it works perfectly on the
desktop.

 

[chrisgonzalez1992]

I left out that it won't boot from the CD.

Maybe if I copy the files on the CD to an Fat32 partition on the
external hard drive. That way my computer might be able to boot from it.

 

[Ron Sommer]

Computers don't boot from USB drives.

 

[Frank]

Ron Sommer wrote:
|| Computers don't boot from USB drives.
|| --
|| Ron Sommer
||
|| ||| I left out that it won't boot from the CD.
|||
||| Maybe if I copy the files on the CD to an Fat32 partition on the
||| external hard drive. That way my computer might be able to boot
||| from it.

Computers will boot from USB drives. USB floppy, USB enclosure
with a CD/DVD ROM. An OS will boot from a USB drive if the
USB is a C drive.

 

[Anna]

|| ||| I left out that it won't boot from the CD.
|||
||| Maybe if I copy the files on the CD to an Fat32 partition on the
||| external hard drive. That way my computer might be able to boot
||| from it.

Ron Sommer wrote:
|| Computers don't boot from USB drives.
|| --
|| Ron Sommer

Computers will boot from USB drives. USB floppy, USB enclosure
with a CD/DVD ROM. An OS will boot from a USB drive if the
USB is a C drive.

Ron:
I can hardly wait to see how this thread evolves, but I have a suspicion I
really *do* know...

We've found it interesting over the years how the proponents of the "Sure
you can boot from a USB external HD in an XP environment as long as your
motherboard's BIOS supports it" have taken on what comes close to a
religious fervor re this issue. Much like partitioning, activation, memory
allocation and a few other issues.

What I've found particularly interesting is that in dealing with a fair
amount of computer technicians in this business how so many of them hold the
same view. When pressed about whether they have personally or have directly
witnessed such a delightful experience the answer is invariably "Well, no,
but I know it can be done". Ah, if were only so.

You're probably aware of a number of fairly recent reports indicating this
capability can be achieved through one hack or another. While I must admit I
haven't really tried them in the recent past, I have talked to my former
colleagues about this and their inevitable response is a shrug of the
shoulders and a roll of the eyes. It speaks volumes, does it not?

Anyway, it will be interesting to hear from Frank if he has personally
achieved the capability of which we speak, and if so, specific details as to
how he did so.
Anna

 

[Ron Sommer]

Ron:
I can hardly wait to see how this thread evolves, but I have a suspicion I
really *do* know...

We've found it interesting over the years how the proponents of the "Sure
you can boot from a USB external HD in an XP environment as long as your
motherboard's BIOS supports it" have taken on what comes close to a
religious fervor re this issue. Much like partitioning, activation, memory
allocation and a few other issues.

What I've found particularly interesting is that in dealing with a fair
amount of computer technicians in this business how so many of them hold
the same view. When pressed about whether they have personally or have
directly witnessed such a delightful experience the answer is invariably
"Well, no, but I know it can be done". Ah, if were only so.

You're probably aware of a number of fairly recent reports indicating this
capability can be achieved through one hack or another. While I must admit
I haven't really tried them in the recent past, I have talked to my former
colleagues about this and their inevitable response is a shrug of the
shoulders and a roll of the eyes. It speaks volumes, does it not?

Anyway, it will be interesting to hear from Frank if he has personally
achieved the capability of which we speak, and if so, specific details as
to how he did so.
Anna

I won't wait for directions on how to boot XP from a USB drive.

I tried to Google for installing XP from a hard drive.
This is on of the results.
http://ask-leo.com/can_i_install_windows_xp_over_my_wireless_connection.html
What I would try:
copy the XP installation files to a Fat32 partition on the USB drive.
create a bootable CD with drivers to access the USB drive.

 

[Frank]

Anna wrote:
||||| |||||| I left out that it won't boot from the CD.
||||||
|||||| Maybe if I copy the files on the CD to an Fat32 partition on the
|||||| external hard drive. That way my computer might be able to boot
|||||| from it.
||
||
||| Ron Sommer wrote:
||||| Computers don't boot from USB drives.
||||| --
||||| Ron Sommer
||
||
|| ||| Computers will boot from USB drives. USB floppy, USB enclosure
||| with a CD/DVD ROM. An OS will boot from a USB drive.
||
|| Ron:
|| I can hardly wait to see how this thread evolves, but I have a
|| suspicion I really *do* know...
||
|| We've found it interesting over the years how the proponents of the
|| "Sure you can boot from a USB external HD in an XP environment as
|| long as your motherboard's BIOS supports it" have taken on what
|| comes close to a religious fervor re this issue. Much like
|| partitioning, activation, memory allocation and a few other issues.
||
|| What I've found particularly interesting is that in dealing with a
|| fair amount of computer technicians in this business how so many of
|| them hold the same view. When pressed about whether they have
|| personally or have directly witnessed such a delightful experience
|| the answer is invariably "Well, no, but I know it can be done". Ah,
|| if were only so.
||
|| You're probably aware of a number of fairly recent reports
|| indicating this capability can be achieved through one hack or
|| another. While I must admit I haven't really tried them in the
|| recent past, I have talked to my former colleagues about this and
|| their inevitable response is a shrug of the shoulders and a roll of
|| the eyes. It speaks volumes, does it not?
||
|| Anyway, it will be interesting to hear from Frank if he has
|| personally achieved the capability of which we speak, and if so,
|| specific details as to how he did so.
|| Anna

I don't know what capability you are speaking of.

||| Ron Sommer wrote:
||||| Computers don't boot from USB drives.

_All computers_ will not boot from USB drives,
but I have a USB bootable flash drive, and a
USB floppy drive that will boot up on my boxes.
http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&q=bootable+USB+drives
I would not go to the trouble of achieving some of these,
but it can be done, rolling my eyes.

 

[Anna]

||||| |||||| I left out that it won't boot from the CD.
||||||
|||||| Maybe if I copy the files on the CD to an Fat32 partition on the
|||||| external hard drive. That way my computer might be able to boot
|||||| from it.

||| Ron Sommer wrote:
||||| Computers don't boot from USB drives.
||||| --
||||| Ron Sommer
|
|| ||| Computers will boot from USB drives. USB floppy, USB enclosure
||| with a CD/DVD ROM. An OS will boot from a USB drive.

Anna wrote:
|| Ron:
|| I can hardly wait to see how this thread evolves, but I have a
|| suspicion I really *do* know...
||
|| We've found it interesting over the years how the proponents of the
|| "Sure you can boot from a USB external HD in an XP environment as
|| long as your motherboard's BIOS supports it" have taken on what
|| comes close to a religious fervor re this issue. Much like
|| partitioning, activation, memory allocation and a few other issues.
||
|| What I've found particularly interesting is that in dealing with a
|| fair amount of computer technicians in this business how so many of
|| them hold the same view. When pressed about whether they have
|| personally or have directly witnessed such a delightful experience
|| the answer is invariably "Well, no, but I know it can be done". Ah,
|| if were only so.
||
|| You're probably aware of a number of fairly recent reports
|| indicating this capability can be achieved through one hack or
|| another. While I must admit I haven't really tried them in the
|| recent past, I have talked to my former colleagues about this and
|| their inevitable response is a shrug of the shoulders and a roll of
|| the eyes. It speaks volumes, does it not?
||
|| Anyway, it will be interesting to hear from Frank if he has
|| personally achieved the capability of which we speak, and if so,
|| specific details as to how he did so.
|| Anna

I don't know what capability you are speaking of.

||| Ron Sommer wrote:
||||| Computers don't boot from USB drives.

_All computers_ will not boot from USB drives,
but I have a USB bootable flash drive, and a
USB floppy drive that will boot up on my boxes.
http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&q=bootable+USB+drives
I would not go to the trouble of achieving some of these,
but it can be done, rolling my eyes.

Frank:
We are well aware it is possible that under certain conditions one can boot
from a USB flash (pen, thumb, memory, stick, etc.) device as well as an
external USB floppy drive. But what we're talking about is booting from a
USB external hard drive, a completely different device in this context.
That's the capability of which we speak.
Anna

 

[chrisgonzalez1992]

I got fed up with it and reburned the XP CD with Nero. Worked like a
charm this time, don't know why it didn't last time. Oh well....

Oh, continue your discussion. It's getting interesting.