duckstandard later adds...
For many reason, one just to see if it can be done. Another is to have
an install ready to work on and with whatever computer it's put in.
Lets say another computer doesn't have a working cd drive, can one
start the install where it merely copies files and stop it just before
it reboots, and then put it in the other computer without the working
cd drive to finish installing and setup on 'that' computer.
Ronin said:
I realize this isn't exactly what you want, but this I'm pretty sure this
works (I haven't done it in a few years.) Take the HD you're going to
install to, place it into a functioning machine, copy the i386 folder to
it, put the HD back into the machine you're installing, use a bootable
floppy or CD startup disk (from Bootdisk.com for example), then navigate to
the i386 folder and run SETUP. I'm sure it's not nearly so simple, but I
can't remember any of the hitches I must have run into.
That Dell CD may be a simple, generic, OEM disk. If so, it will probably
work fine for other systems. I only recall seeing those OEM discs or a
"recovery partition" solution coming from Dell.
Paul Randall said:
I'm guessing that there is more going on than "merely copies files" before
that reboot. I'm thinking the only way to find out for sure would be for
someone to use a Dell branded OEM CD to get to that reboot point, on both
a Dell and a Compaq, and then use a binary file/folder tree compare of the
two disks to find the differences. I'm thinking that for sure there will
at least be differences in the registry files and the drivers being used
on that reboot.
-Paul Randall
Ronin, Paul, and possible the OP...
Some years ago we did work with a process the objective of which was to
directly move/transfer a HDD containing the OS from one PC to another PC in
order to avoid the need to run a Repair install of the OS on the recipient
machine. For the most part it was a hit or miss proposition (at least based
on the process we used as detailed below) - sometimes it worked, other times
it didn't. I do recall that we had very little (if any) success where OEM
machines were involved. We nearly always used this process on "generic"
(non-proprietary hardware/systems) PCs. I don't recall using a process
similar to the one Ronin described so that might be a more effective way to
achieve the objective. (Ronin: Note the OP indicates that the recipient PC
does *not* have a working optical drive). The process I describe obviously
required both involved machines to be equipped with working optical drives.
(It's hard to imagine a user would be interested in installing a system/boot
drive in a machine that did not contain an optical drive, but I guess
there's always a reason.)
Here are some notes (slightly edited) that I prepared a number of years ago
for members of a local computer club who were interested in this issue...
BEGIN
The following comments pertain to a situation where both the "source" &
"destination" PCs are non-OEM machines so that we're dealing with
non-proprietary components and systems.
The most direct way to accomplish this objective is to simply move the HDD
from one PC to another PC. In a surprising number of cases (in our
experience) the HDD will boot without incident and basically function in the
new machine. Naturally it will be then necessary to install the
"destination" motherboard's drivers and any other necessary drivers
following such a successful transfer. Nearly needless to say this "process"
doesn't always work (to put it mildly). But (again, in our experience) it's
frequently worth a try. Interestingly, the fact that an AMD-based system &
an Intel-based system are the involved systems in the move does not
automatically negate the possible success of such a transfer of the HDD.
In any event, unless you are willing to accept the distinct possibility of
substantial data corruption/data loss caused by an unsuccessful move of the
involved HDD resulting in an unbootable/dysfunctional drive should the HDD
be returned to the "old" machine, under no circumstances should you work
with the original HDD. Using a disk-cloning program, *always* clone the
contents of the HDD before proceeding, then work with the clone.
I'll outline another process that (from time-to-time) we've successfully
used in the past, but with some important cautionary notes...
1. In no way is this process guaranteed to work. While it has been
successful for us in the past working with PATA (IDE) HDDs the rate of
success was considerably less than 100%. As I recall we had a considerably
poorer rate of success when we undertook this process involving SATA HDDs
although at times it did work as well with those types of drives.
2. I can't remember the last time we used this procedure but it's been a
long, long while. Obviously we use the more-or-less usual "tried & true"
procedures for transferring the data from a boot/system HDD from one machine
to another.
3. Before undertaking this process we (wherever possible) *always* cloned
the subject HDD to another HDD and worked with the clone. At the very
minimum important/critical files were first copied off the subject HDD
before proceeding. If you do decide to undertake this process I would
strongly advise you to do the same. Unless all the data on your HDD is
unimportant and dispensable to you, under no circumstances would I advise
you to work with the original drive along the lines I will detail unless you
maintain a comprehensive backup of its contents. It's *always* best to work
with a clone if at all possible.
Here are the steps:
1. With the HDD to be moved still in its source machine, boot up normally.
2. Insert the XP OS installation CD in your CD/DVD drive. (It's important
that the installation CD contain the same SP included on the installed
system. If, for example, your system contains SP3 the installation CD should
be "slipstreamed" to include SP3).
3. At the "Welcome to Microsoft Windows XP" screen, click on "Install
Windows XP".
4. At the next "Welcome to Windows Setup" screen, make sure the "Upgrade
(Recommended)" option is shown as the "Installation Type" (it should be the
default). Click Next.
5. Accept the End-User License Agreement and click Next.
6. Enter your "Product key" and click Next.
7. On the "Get Updated Setup Files" window, select the "No." option and
click Next. (If the "Getting Updated Setup Files" window does open, select
the "Skip this step." option and click Next.)
8. The installation program will begin - "Copying Installation Files", after
which the "Restarting Computer" message will appear. AT THIS POINT,
IMMEDIATELY REMOVE THE XP INSTALLATION CD AND SHUT DOWN (POWER OFF) THE
COMPUTER.
9. Remove the HDD from the source machine and install it in your destination
computer. Ensure that the HDD to be transferred is the *only* storage device
connected to the destination computer.
10. Power up the computer, IMMEDIATELY installing the XP installation CD in
your CD/DVD drive as the system boots. (Actually it's probably a better idea
to have the XP installation CD inserted in your optical drive *before*
beginning the bootup process.)
11. When the "Press any key to boot from CD" appears on the screen, do so.
12. An onscreen message will appear to the effect that "This computer is
already in the process of being upgraded to Microsoft Windows. What do you
want to do?" Press Enter "To continue the current upgrade."
NOTE: If the transferred HDD is a SATA HDD, you may have to go through the
F6 routine for the system to recognize the SATA drive. It depends upon the
motherboard's BIOS - some will detect the SATA drive without further user
intervention, others will not, necessitating the user to install the SATA
controller driver during the installation of the operating system. So have
your SATA HDD controller driver on a floppy disk handy should you need it.
13. The installation of the operating system will continue and the
transferred HDD should (hopefully!) subsequently boot without problems.
14. You will, of course, need to install whatever motherboard & other
drivers, e.g., video, sound, etc., that are needed by your destination
system.
15. You'll also receive a message about the need to activate the system
within (usually) three days.
NOTE: Re step 12. - If after pressing Enter to continue the installation a
message appears that this or that file is invalid and setup cannot continue,
power off the machine (with the installation CD still inserted) and then
power on the machine to repeat step 12. Hopefully the process will continue
notwithstanding the system's detection of an "invalid" file.
On a number of occasions where we used this process the system froze at the
XP splash screen following the final auto reboot. Usually a reboot resolved
the problem and the system thereafter booted without any problems.
And again, should the transfer of the HDD prove successful, ensure that you
create current comprehensive backups of your data immediately following the
transfer.
END
Let me again emphasize that it has been a very long time since I've
undertaken the process described above.
Anna
