Will Vista import settings from XP drive in same machine?

[AndyTampa]

My problem is so complex, I don't even know which thread to post it in. My
computer's motherboard died so I was forced to buy a new machine. The new
machine runs Vista. The old machine ran XP. I've added the old hard drive
with the XP O/S to the new computer as a secondary drive. I'm trying to get
all my old settings, desktop, favorites, etc. to the Vista environment. How
do I do this?

Here's what I've tried to do and failed:

1) Boot from old drive. Get's BSOD.
2) Add old drive to working XP machine on network in order to transfer
settings and file. Drive won't boot computer. Gets hung up on AGP driver
that temp machine doesn't use.
3) Copied old XP OS to new partition on new machine to run a repair XP
install. XP disks won't install on newer version.

Here's what I have to work with: Vista OS on main HDD, XP OS on old drive
installed on new machine, XP OS copied onto new drive partition within same
machine, and a newly formatted external hard drive.

I understand the need to reinstall the programs. What can I do to save all
that information that was hidden in the XP registry?

 

[AndyTampa]

I'm sorry to bump this, but I need to fix this ASAP and I've already spent
days working on it. If my question can't be answered, then maybe someone can
direct me to a list of XP files I can look for to find what I'm after. In
what files are my favorites, settings, etc. kept?

 

[Malke]

I'm sorry to bump this, but I need to fix this ASAP and I've already spent
days working on it. If my question can't be answered, then maybe someone
can
direct me to a list of XP files I can look for to find what I'm after. In
what files are my favorites, settings, etc. kept?

What settings are you talking about? Just save your favorites and data and
move on.

Slave the drive in a working computer. Make sure you can see all hidden
files/folders. Find your data and favorites in:

C:\Documents and Settins\your-user-name [various folders]

Don't forget to look inside the Desktop folder in case you save stuff there
and don't forget to look in Documents and Settings\Shared [various
folders]. As for the rest of it, it really depends on what programs you
were using and where you like to save things. For ex., if you used
QuickBooks you need to look in Intuit's folder (Program
Files/Intuit/QuickBooks) for your company files.

If you want email, then it depends on what email program you used. For
Outlook, you're looking for your .pst file. For OE, look at
www.insideoe.com for tips.

Since none of us knows what programs you were using, I'm not sure how we can
help you. Maybe you can explain what settings you mean.

Malke

 

[AndyTampa]

Thanks to both of you for responding. I'm finding it difficult to explain
what I want.

I'm aware of the need to reinstall individual programs. But in XP, changes
and settings were made to those programs that, I'm guessing, were stored in
the registry. The same goes for Windows. I've changed icon sizes on the
desktop, start menu items, etc. but I just didn't memorize the way I had
them. I'd like to get the computer back to a state that I'm somewhat
familiar with.

In regard to email, I've found out how to import my address book by
importing the *.wab file. I imported my emails by importing the *.dbx files
(there is another file that's required to be with them). I was looking for
that same type of information for folders, favorites, desktop configuration,
etc. so I'd know which files were for which function. I could analyze the
files and figure out (mostly) what to do with each one so that I could
recreate the look and feel I wanted.

Better than that, I was hoping some expert here would have a simple but
hidden way to make Vista recognize the XP registry or the old XP drive and
grab the settings from it. Microsoft doesn't seem to put any thought into
how we're going to change over, only that we will eventually have to change
over.

I'm sorry to bump this, but I need to fix this ASAP and I've already spent
days working on it. If my question can't be answered, then maybe someone
can
direct me to a list of XP files I can look for to find what I'm after. In
what files are my favorites, settings, etc. kept?

What settings are you talking about? Just save your favorites and data and
move on.

Slave the drive in a working computer. Make sure you can see all hidden
files/folders. Find your data and favorites in:

C:\Documents and Settins\your-user-name [various folders]

Don't forget to look inside the Desktop folder in case you save stuff there
and don't forget to look in Documents and Settings\Shared [various
folders]. As for the rest of it, it really depends on what programs you
were using and where you like to save things. For ex., if you used
QuickBooks you need to look in Intuit's folder (Program
Files/Intuit/QuickBooks) for your company files.

If you want email, then it depends on what email program you used. For
Outlook, you're looking for your .pst file. For OE, look at
www.insideoe.com for tips.

Since none of us knows what programs you were using, I'm not sure how we can
help you. Maybe you can explain what settings you mean.

Malke
--
MS-MVP
Elephant Boy Computers
www.elephantboycomputers.com
Don't Panic!

 

[Malke]

Thanks to both of you for responding. I'm finding it difficult to explain
what I want.

I'm aware of the need to reinstall individual programs. But in XP,
changes and settings were made to those programs that, I'm guessing, were
stored in
the registry. The same goes for Windows. I've changed icon sizes on the
desktop, start menu items, etc. but I just didn't memorize the way I had
them. I'd like to get the computer back to a state that I'm somewhat
familiar with.

In regard to email, I've found out how to import my address book by
importing the *.wab file. I imported my emails by importing the *.dbx
files
(there is another file that's required to be with them). I was looking
for that same type of information for folders, favorites, desktop
configuration,
etc. so I'd know which files were for which function. I could analyze the
files and figure out (mostly) what to do with each one so that I could
recreate the look and feel I wanted.

Better than that, I was hoping some expert here would have a simple but
hidden way to make Vista recognize the XP registry or the old XP drive and
grab the settings from it. Microsoft doesn't seem to put any thought into
how we're going to change over, only that we will eventually have to
change over.

Unfortunately, the transfer system from XP to Vista - which would have
transferred settings after you'd installed the individual programs -
requires a working XP box. At this point, I don't think you're going to be
able to get that. The reason you couldn't boot XP when you put the drive in
the working machine is that XP wasn't originally installed on that
hardware. You would have needed to do a Repair Install (at the very least;
sometimes a clean install is necessary if the hardware is quite different).
This would have removed a lot of your settings anyway.

There is no seekret and hidden way. No "expert" can tell you how to do
something impossible. Sorry. At this point you'll just need to bite the
bullet and grab your data, install your programs, and move on. I'm sorry
this isn't what you want to hear, but that's my honest opinion. Of course,
someone more expert than I may have a different solution for you.

Malke

 

[AndyTampa]

Thanks again. I was expecting that answer and hoping for something
different. I've always gone by the premise "You never know until you ask."

Bob, as far as it not taking too long, it just depends on how much you want
to keep.