How do I move files from my Windows 98 PC?

[Michael T]

A dear friend just purchased a new computer running Windows XP for his
business.

As an experienced software engineer he asked me to help him 'everything'
from his old computer running Windows 98.

Unfortunately he does not have all of his installation CD-ROMs.

So is it correct to assume that going to Start > All Programs > Accessories

System Tools > Files and Settings Transfer Wizard is of little help. It is

my understanding that this is used primarily (if not exclusively) for
transferring settings/data for Windows applications only like IE, OE and
perhaps Word & Excel.

So I have to wonder how do I transfer non-Windows applications (including
Registry settings)?

Aren't there some kind of programs out there for 'ghosting' the hard drive
from one PC to another?

If so, will they work for the scenario I have just described? And if they
do, is there a problem if the NEW hard drive is partitioned for ONE drive
only (i.e. drive C?

Thank you for your time.

Michael T.

 

[Ted Zieglar]

Did you say you were an "experienced software engineer"?

For information on what the File and Settings Transfer Wizard does and how
to use it, query the MSKB. Here, I've already done it for you:
http://tinyurl.com/5g5am

A ghosting tool will clone the old disk to the new, erasing the new disk in
the process.

To find software tools that help to move applications from an old computer
to a new one, search the Internet. Or Staples.

Ted Zieglar

 

[Michael T]

A ghosting tool will clone the old disk to the new, erasing the new disk
in the process.

But Ted, the destination PC is running Windows XP and the source PC is
running Windows 98!!!!

What am I missing here?

 

[Michael T]

Did you say you were an "experienced software engineer"?

Cute. But don't underestimate me my friend.

Even though I have never had to do this procedure, I know it is fraught with
potential problems. Not the least of which is some applications are OS
dependent and this alone gives me pause.

I have a lot of experience developing cross-platform applications and
consider myself more experienced than most at having some awareness of
certain issues. For example, Windows NT and Windows XP sometimes put user
settings for a custom applications in different places in the Registry.

 

[joust in jest]

1.) Yes: Files and Settings Transfer Wizard only transfers data files,
not applications.

2.) You can not transfer "Registry" settings from Win 98 to Win XP any
more than you can transfer Registry settings from Win XP to Linux -- their
Registries are completely different.

3.) "Ghosting" programs "clone", or make an exact copy of, an existing
hard drive and transfer it to another hard drive. They transfer not just
data, settings, and applications -- they transfer the Operating System also.
The result is exactly the same as removing the hard drive from the Win XP
machine and replacing it with the hard drive from the Win 98 machine -- a
new computer with Windows 98 as an operating system.

4.) As Ted suggested, search the Internet or Staples to find software
tools that claim to be able to move applications from an old computer to a
new one without rendering the new computer useless.

 

[PA Bear]

Using WinXP's FAST Wizard, by MVP Gary Woodruff
(Please read the caveats about Outlook Express)
http://aumha.org/win5/a/fast.htm

 

[Michael T]

Using WinXP's FAST Wizard, by MVP Gary Woodruff
(Please read the caveats about Outlook Express)
http://aumha.org/win5/a/fast.htm

Thanks. I especially like the part about the new option in Service Pack 2
and F.A.S.T.

Namely, "Home or small office network" as opposed to using a CD-ROM. I
believe my friend may have a network in his office.

 

[Michael T]

2.) You can not transfer "Registry" settings from Win 98 to Win XP any
more than you can transfer Registry settings from Win XP to Linux -- their
Registries are completely different.

That's great to know. Thanks.

 

[Wislu Plethora]

But Ted, the destination PC is running Windows XP and the source PC is
running Windows 98!!!!

What am I missing here?

A brain?

 

[Michael T]

A brain?

Obviously my subtlties are lost on you <g>.

What I am trying to find out is if using a ghosting tool to copy a hard
drive from a PC running Win98 to a PC running WinXP are there any unexpected
(and irretrievable) problems.

Consider the following e-mail I received on this subject.

"While it is possible to Ghost an image over - care should be taken as the
'Ghost' image will retain hardware settings from whatever machine you are
moving from and you are still left with a Win 98 install. Your best bet is
to replace the older software."

Please no smart ass comments. Remember I am doing this for a friend. And
that friend just lost his partner to colon cancer, so I am in no mood for it
OK?

Michael T.

 

[Ted Zieglar]

OK, I'll explain "ghosting" which is also known as "cloning".

When you clone a hard disk, you are making an exact bit-for-bit copy of that
disk. Which is why it's called 'cloning'. You can also clone one or more
partitions, inwhich case you are creating an exact bit-for-bit copy of the
partition(s). A cloned copy of a disk or partition is known as an 'image' or
a 'ghost'.

When you write an image to a disk, the image permanently overwrites what was
there before. So, for example, if you clone the hard disk of a computer
running Windows 98 and write the image to a computer running Windows XP, you
permanently overwrite the destination disk. Of course, the destination
computer won't work, because its hardware is different from the source
computer.

 

[Michael T]

Of course, the destination
computer won't work, because its hardware is different from the source
computer.
--

Thanks Ted.

I am hoping my friend can somehow locate (or purchase) the software for
which he does not have installation CD-ROMs.

As another poster humorously posted "No good deed goes unpunished."

I am having some regrets about volunteering. But how can you say no to
someone that is going through the trauma of having lost a business partner
to cancer.

Having worked with Windows operating systems (remember OS2) since the 1980s
I am sure I can make it all work.

Michael

 

[joust in jest]

Ted:

OS2 was not Windows -- it was an operating system developed by IBM to
compete AGAINST Windows 3.0

 

[Michael T]

OS2 was not Windows -- it was an operating system
developed by IBM to compete AGAINST Windows 3.0

Picky, picky, picky!

I guess that's why we are so often called nerds <g>.

I will concede though that I should have stated "IBM PC".

 

[Mike Hall]

OS/2 was originally a joint development between IBM and Microsoft.. MS
wanted to make OS/2 more advanced than it was, and IBM were worried about
backwards compatibility.. so MS jumped ship (were told to leave the
building) and continued to work on their own backroom baby which they
released as Windows 3.. Bill Gates worried about whether the small Microsoft
company could make it without backing from Big Blue.. history tells whose
face was hit by egg..

In fairness, OS/2 made for reasonable server software.. eventually, IBM gave
every employee a boxed version of OS/2 for home use or whatever (well, they
couldn't sell it).. said employees then tried to resell but to no avail..

 

[Michael T]

OS/2 was originally a joint development between IBM and Microsoft.. MS
wanted to make OS/2 more advanced than it was, and IBM were worried about
backwards compatibility.. so MS jumped ship (were told to leave the
building) and continued to work on their own backroom baby which they
released as Windows 3.. Bill Gates worried about whether the small
Microsoft company could make it without backing from Big Blue.. history
tells whose face was hit by egg..

In fairness, OS/2 made for reasonable server software.. eventually, IBM
gave every employee a boxed version of OS/2 for home use or whatever
(well, they couldn't sell it).. said employees then tried to resell but to
no avail..

I still remember the persistent reports that the weakest aspect of OS/2 was
the relatively small number of "shrink wrap" software packages written
specifically for it.

Personally I think it may be a little more complicated than that. There was
a time I was very pleased writing with it. But then I once felt that way
about that way about Sony's Beta format for VCRs.

 

[Mike Hall]

I was an RS6000 service engineer at the time, so I gotten to hear some
stuff.. OS/2 claimed virtual machine, but if one app crashed, they all did..
rebooting was best done over night, although it required rebooting many
times per day.. it was designed for the PS/2 MCA machines.. on anything
else, it was garbage.. and there were very few apps available.. drop down
menus were short and lacked many of the features of Windows.. it was as slow
as all hell, and deserved to die.. most workstation users were glad to see
the back of it.. some of the diehards complained and many of IBM's internal
functions would run with nothing else.. OS/2 server was kept to the bitter
end.. by the time that I started service on PC servers, desktops and
Thinkpads, it had all but gone.. as of course has the PS/1 and PS/2.. PCI
killed them off..

Now they are goofing with Linux.. history tells IBM nothing..