| Author |
Message |
wtehooper
Guest
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 Posted:
Wed May 18, 2005 11:50 pm Post subject:
Restoring to a New computer? |
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I am writing this on the world's most reliable P III, a machine I am loathe
to part with but so much has changed in the last few years (er, months) that
I believe the time has come to purchase a new desktop.
I regularly back up my entire hard drive with a package that makes a bit
image copy of its contents. As a WinXP Pro user I'm thinking the activation
routines may go bananas if I attempt to restore the PIII backup onto a brand
new system where virtually every piece of hardware, from the processor to the
hard disk (SATA versus EIDE), has changed.
I SO do not want to have to rebuild this system from scratch. It's working
exactly the way I want it to now. Has anyone done this? If so, how, and is
there anything I should watch out for?
Thanks |
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Carey Frisch [MVP]
Guest
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Ron Martell
Guest
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| Posted:
Thu May 19, 2005 12:25 am Post subject:
Re: Restoring to a New computer? |
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wtehooper <wtehooper@discussions.microsoft.com> wrote:
| Quote: | I am writing this on the world's most reliable P III, a machine I am loathe
to part with but so much has changed in the last few years (er, months) that
I believe the time has come to purchase a new desktop.
I regularly back up my entire hard drive with a package that makes a bit
image copy of its contents. As a WinXP Pro user I'm thinking the activation
routines may go bananas if I attempt to restore the PIII backup onto a brand
new system where virtually every piece of hardware, from the processor to the
hard disk (SATA versus EIDE), has changed.
I SO do not want to have to rebuild this system from scratch. It's working
exactly the way I want it to now. Has anyone done this? If so, how, and is
there anything I should watch out for?
|
Make sure you keep the old PIII intact until you have the machine
fully set up and running.
Is your current XP Pro a retail upgrade version? If so are you
planning on using this license on the new system or are you also
getting a new Windows XP license with the new system?
Has your PIII been upgraded to Windows XP Service Pack2?
There are licensing and hardware compatibility concerns as well as
activation that need to be considered, and your answers to the above
questions will help to identify the best options for you to follow.
Good luck
Ron Martell Duncan B.C. Canada
--
Microsoft MVP
On-Line Help Computer Service
http://onlinehelp.bc.ca
In memory of a dear friend Alex Nichol MVP
http://aumha.org/alex.htm |
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GTS
Guest
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| Posted:
Thu May 19, 2005 12:26 am Post subject:
Re: Restoring to a New computer? |
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Activation is the least concern. The system won't be able to boot to
Windows. (This is a common issue with motherboard replacements, etc. unless
the chip set of the new hardware is identical or nearly so.) You can clone
the drive and do a repair Windows installation. You will need to have the
SATA driver available for use when the install gets to the Press F6 prompt
for drivers. You will need to update other drivers as well. Reactivation
will be necessary, but isn't a problem with a legal standard copy of
Windows. There could be issues if the source is an OEM version. Other
issues could involve loss of preinstalled software, vendor support, etc.
--
"wtehooper" <wtehooper@discussions.microsoft.com> wrote in message
news:BE4EED23-0914-4F1F-9DC2-F33DBF53A29F@microsoft.com...
| Quote: | I am writing this on the world's most reliable P III, a machine I am loathe
to part with but so much has changed in the last few years (er, months)
that
I believe the time has come to purchase a new desktop.
I regularly back up my entire hard drive with a package that makes a bit
image copy of its contents. As a WinXP Pro user I'm thinking the
activation
routines may go bananas if I attempt to restore the PIII backup onto a
brand
new system where virtually every piece of hardware, from the processor to
the
hard disk (SATA versus EIDE), has changed.
I SO do not want to have to rebuild this system from scratch. It's working
exactly the way I want it to now. Has anyone done this? If so, how, and is
there anything I should watch out for?
Thanks |
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Bruce Chambers
Guest
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| Posted:
Thu May 19, 2005 6:29 am Post subject:
Re: Restoring to a New computer? |
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wtehooper wrote:
| Quote: | I am writing this on the world's most reliable P III, a machine I am loathe
to part with but so much has changed in the last few years (er, months) that
I believe the time has come to purchase a new desktop.
I regularly back up my entire hard drive with a package that makes a bit
image copy of its contents. As a WinXP Pro user I'm thinking the activation
routines may go bananas if I attempt to restore the PIII backup onto a brand
new system where virtually every piece of hardware, from the processor to the
hard disk (SATA versus EIDE), has changed.
I SO do not want to have to rebuild this system from scratch. It's working
exactly the way I want it to now. Has anyone done this? If so, how, and is
there anything I should watch out for?
Thanks
|
Normally, and assuming a retail license (many OEM installations are
not transferable to a new motherboard - check yours before starting),
unless the new motherboard is virtually identical (same chipset, same
IDE controllers, same BIOS version, etc.) to the one on which the WinXP
installation was originally performed, you'll need to perform a repair
(a.k.a. in-place upgrade) installation, at the very least:
How to Perform an In-Place Upgrade of Windows XP
http://support.microsoft.com/directory/article.asp?ID=KB;EN-US;Q315341
The "why" is quite simple, really, and has nothing to do with
licensing issues, per se; it's a purely technical matter, at this point.
You've pulled the proverbial hardware rug out from under the OS. (If
you don't like -- or get -- the rug analogy, think of it as picking up a
Cape Cod style home and then setting it down onto a Ranch style
foundation. It just isn't going to fit.) WinXP, like Win2K before it,
is not nearly as "promiscuous" as Win9x when it comes to accepting any
old hardware configuration you throw at it. On installation it
"tailors" itself to the specific hardware found. This is one of the
reasons that the entire WinNT/2K/XP OS family is so much more stable
than the Win9x group.
As always when undertaking such a significant change, back up any
important data before starting.
This will also probably require re-activation, unless you have a
Volume Licensed version of WinXP Pro installed. If it's been more than
120 days since you last activated that specific Product Key, you'll most
likely be able to activate via the Internet without problem. If it's
been less, you might have to make a 5 minute phone call.
--
Bruce Chambers
Help us help you:
http://dts-l.org/goodpost.htm
http://www.catb.org/~esr/faqs/smart-questions.html
You can have peace. Or you can have freedom. Don't ever count on having
both at once. - RAH |
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