Set up XP on one HD then transfer to another inquiry

[Rock]

HI,

I already have XP Pro running but it is getting slower and I want to start
again with a clean install however I want to keep this current install until I
have all my programs set up on the new one.

My question is..

Can I install a new XP Pro on say HD 3(Eon a primary partition, then move it
to HD 0 which would then become my C drive and my final OS.

I do not want 2 XPs, just the one on the new HD I now have.

I do have Ghost and True Image so can clone if that is the best way.

Thanks

rock

 

[peter]

If you clone your present installation the problems will be cloned as well.
I would disconnect the HD that has XP presently installed on and connect the
HD3 to that connector.
I would then do a new install to HD3 ....it should now be the C(HD-0)
drive....do what you need to do to set up your programs...
I would then hook up the old XP drive as a slave.....and transfer what I
needed before formatting it and using it as just another drive.
peter

 

[Ron Martell]

HI,

I already have XP Pro running but it is getting slower and I want to start
again with a clean install however I want to keep this current install until I
have all my programs set up on the new one.

My question is..

Can I install a new XP Pro on say HD 3(Eon a primary partition, then move it
to HD 0 which would then become my C drive and my final OS.

I do not want 2 XPs, just the one on the new HD I now have.

I do have Ghost and True Image so can clone if that is the best way.

Thanks

rock

No.

If you do this your new XP Install will be built using drive letter E:
and you cannot then change the drive configuration so that drive
becomes C:. at least not without making the Windows XP install
unusable.

What you need to do is to install a 3rd party Boot Manager utility, of
which there are several to choose from such as BootItNG
(www.bootitng.com), install this and then configure the Boot Manager
so the non-booting O/S partitions are hidden. Ensure that drive E:
is identified as an Operating System partition in the Boot Manager
even though it is currently empty. Also ensure that your computer
has the boot drive priorities set so that the CDROM drive comes before
the hard drive.

When this is done, turn on the computer and choose the new Windows
partition (your old drive E as the boot item. It will, of course
fail to boot. However that drive/partition will be configured as the
primary boot partition. Now insert your Windows XP installation,
reboot the computer, and boot from the CD. You can now do a new
Windows XP install and the new install will use drive letter C:

You will end up with two Windows installations, both of which will use
drive letter C: when they are booted, and neither of which will be
visible when the other one is booted.

When you are ready to wipe out original installed XP you can boot with
a disk copying/cloning application on a bootable CD (Acronis does
this, for example) and copy the new XP to the partition where the old
XP was installed. You could then uninstall the boot manager and
revert to your old configuration, except that now your new copy of XP
would be on drive C: and also on E:, at least until you
erased/reformatted E:

Good luck

Ron Martell Duncan B.C. Canada
--
Microsoft MVP (1997 - 2008)
On-Line Help Computer Service
http://onlinehelp.bc.ca

"Anyone who thinks that they are too small to make a difference
has never been in bed with a mosquito."

 

[Rock]

No.

If you do this your new XP Install will be built using drive letter E:
and you cannot then change the drive configuration so that drive
becomes C:. at least not without making the Windows XP install
unusable.

What you need to do is to install a 3rd party Boot Manager utility, of
which there are several to choose from such as BootItNG
(www.bootitng.com), install this and then configure the Boot Manager
so the non-booting O/S partitions are hidden. Ensure that drive E:
is identified as an Operating System partition in the Boot Manager
even though it is currently empty. Also ensure that your computer
has the boot drive priorities set so that the CDROM drive comes before
the hard drive.

When this is done, turn on the computer and choose the new Windows
partition (your old drive E as the boot item. It will, of course
fail to boot. However that drive/partition will be configured as the
primary boot partition. Now insert your Windows XP installation,
reboot the computer, and boot from the CD. You can now do a new
Windows XP install and the new install will use drive letter C:

You will end up with two Windows installations, both of which will use
drive letter C: when they are booted, and neither of which will be
visible when the other one is booted.

When you are ready to wipe out original installed XP you can boot with
a disk copying/cloning application on a bootable CD (Acronis does
this, for example) and copy the new XP to the partition where the old
XP was installed. You could then uninstall the boot manager and
revert to your old configuration, except that now your new copy of XP
would be on drive C: and also on E:, at least until you
erased/reformatted E:

Good luck

Ron Martell Duncan B.C. Canada

Wow..

Never thought there would be that much to it however many thanks for the help
to both of you.

I will go and get the programs you mentioned first Ron, then proceed on the
journey.

Thanks again


rock