Transfering xp to a new hard drive?

[Zeretul1]

So, a kid at the computer store told me that norton ghost
only makes me able do all my installs from one disk, and
not transfer a complete set of files from on hdd to
another. To be clear, this is what I want to do.

1. Transfer xp home to another hdd with all updates and
service packs intact. This new hdd would have a 3-7gb
partition set up for xp alone.
2. Tranfer all my data files(movies,pictures,etc.) onto
the the new hard drive in a seperate partion, but only
long enough to format the original hdd. Then I would
tranfer them back.
3. The second, larger partion on the new hdd would serve
as a cache for all my program files and system type files.

So, I want xp on the new hdd in it's own partion, my
program files on the new hdd in the second partion, and
all my data files on the original, re-formatted hdd.

So, any suggestions?

Much love!

 

[R. McCarty]

Yes, Ghost will do what you are describing. One thing
about imaging. Be absolutely sure that you use the verify
option. Just because a backup/image indicates that it
completed successfully is no guarantee. Verifying an
images contents greatly increases it's reliability. I also
recommend that once the image is done you use the tool
that most programs provide to explore the image contents.
This again ensures that your data is safely backed up.
The only caveat about images is that they are only good if
they are stored off the PC itself (CD-R, DVD-R,etc).

 

[Ronnie Vernon MVP]

So, a kid at the computer store told me that norton ghost
only makes me able do all my installs from one disk, and
not transfer a complete set of files from on hdd to
another. To be clear, this is what I want to do.

1. Transfer xp home to another hdd with all updates and
service packs intact. This new hdd would have a 3-7gb
partition set up for xp alone.
2. Tranfer all my data files(movies,pictures,etc.) onto
the the new hard drive in a seperate partion, but only
long enough to format the original hdd. Then I would
tranfer them back.
3. The second, larger partion on the new hdd would serve
as a cache for all my program files and system type files.

So, I want xp on the new hdd in it's own partion, my
program files on the new hdd in the second partion, and
all my data files on the original, re-formatted hdd.

So, any suggestions?

Much love!

The only problem I see with this scenario is that when you say "program
files" and "system type files" you mean the files for all of the installed
programs that currently reside in the default Program Files folder on the XP
partition, this may not work.

XP will not be aware of the location of these installed programs if they are
moved to another partition. This would result in these programs not working
properly. When you start an installed program, XP depends on the path to the
program which is defined in the registry to locate the proper files to
initiate and run the program.

--
Ronnie Vernon
Microsoft MVP
Windows Shell/User

Please reply to the newsgroup so all may benefit.

 

[Zeretul1]

So, if I uninstall all my programs, will it work with
norton ghost? I would have to re-install all my programs
later, but what about my xp home updates and system files?

 

[Zeretul1]

So, how do I do it? Do I make an image of just the
windows folder? How do I tranfer the xp updates and
system files without making a copy of my whole drive?

 

[Ronnie Vernon MVP]

So, if I uninstall all my programs, will it work with
norton ghost? I would have to re-install all my programs
later, but what about my xp home updates and system files?

As difficult as it may sound, I would recommend reinstalling XP, clean, on
the new drive in this situation where you want to separate the program files
from the OS partition. Uninstalling all of the programs will still leave
remnants in the registry and other places. The clean install and reinstall
of the programs will give you a much more pristine, optimized system and
will avoid some pitfalls.

--
Ronnie Vernon
Microsoft MVP
Windows Shell/User

Please reply to the newsgroup so all may benefit.

 

[Michael Stevens]

So, a kid at the computer store told me that norton ghost
only makes me able do all my installs from one disk, and
not transfer a complete set of files from on hdd to
another. To be clear, this is what I want to do.

1. Transfer xp home to another hdd with all updates and
service packs intact. This new hdd would have a 3-7gb
partition set up for xp alone.
2. Tranfer all my data files(movies,pictures,etc.) onto
the the new hard drive in a seperate partion, but only
long enough to format the original hdd. Then I would
tranfer them back.
3. The second, larger partion on the new hdd would serve
as a cache for all my program files and system type files.

So, I want xp on the new hdd in it's own partion, my
program files on the new hdd in the second partion, and
all my data files on the original, re-formatted hdd.

So, any suggestions?

Much love!

You would need to either clone the old drive intact to the new hard drive,
or clean install and reinstall all your applications to the new location.
Applications that have registry references will need to be reinstalled so
Windows will know their location.
If you have purchased Ghost, refer to the very through user guide, or
download it from the Symantec web site.
http://www.symantec.com/servsupp.html
--

Michael Stevens MS-MVP XP
(e-mail address removed)
http://michaelstevenstech.com
For a better newsgroup experience. Setup a newsreader.
http://michaelstevenstech.com/outlookexpressnewreader.htm

 

[Zeretul1]

Everyone has been very helpful with this question, and I
only have one more. I have an OEM xp home disk, so if I
re-install xp home, do I need to re-activate it? What do
I do if I see the little "activation" icon on the system
tray?

 

[Ronnie Vernon MVP]

Everyone has been very helpful with this question, and I
only have one more. I have an OEM xp home disk, so if I
re-install xp home, do I need to re-activate it? What do
I do if I see the little "activation" icon on the system
tray?

The clean install will force an activation, but it will not be a problem. If
it has been 120 days since the last activation, it will activate over the
internet, if not, you will need to activate by telephone which is very easy
and only takes a couple of minutes.
--
Ronnie Vernon
Microsoft MVP
Windows Shell/User

Please reply to the newsgroup so all may benefit.

 

[helpdesk]

So, how do I do it? Do I make an image of just the
windows folder? How do I tranfer the xp updates and
system files without making a copy of my whole drive?

groan