JohnN
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| posted on 8/2/08 at 03:33 PM |
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New PC transfer software etc
Quick question,
Brain can't remember last time I did this, but.....
It's time to build a new PC (new motherboard, faster processor more memory etc)
If I transfer the existing HD (the one my existing PC boots from) to the newly built jobby will it just run from there, or is it a more complex
issue.
I think previously I've always gone for a faster, bigger HD and reinstalled software. But this time my existing one is still plenty big and fast
enough (SATA etc)
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britishtrident
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| posted on 8/2/08 at 03:45 PM |
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If it is Windows it almost certainly won't boot after you transfer the disk however
Assuming you have a proper Windows CD not just a system restore disk.
Delete win.com (or rename it something like win.bak) file from the windows directory and you can run windows setup without destroying the whole
installation.
The best way is to copy the windows installion directory off the CD on to the hard disk, boot from cd and run the windows setup from the hard
disk.
[Edited on 8/2/08 by britishtrident]
[I] “ What use our work, Bennet, if we cannot care for those we love? .”
― From BBC TV/Amazon's Ripper Street.
[/I]
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Mr Whippy
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| posted on 8/2/08 at 04:33 PM |
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I got a 800gb external hard disk thing, it's mad. I only realised how big it was when I transferred two full computers worth of files over to it
and noticed that the scale had moved 1%!!  it’s so fast at accessing files, and much faster that the computer can access it’s own hard drive despite
using a USB connection. Cost just 70 quid, amazing how fast technology moves.
I remember the old days when I'd wait over an hour for a tape to load a pathetic game into my C64
[Edited on 8/2/08 by Mr Whippy]
Fame is when your old car is plastered all over the internet
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BenB
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| posted on 8/2/08 at 05:22 PM |
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You could use something like Ghost to transfer across the data. But it might not work properly afterwards- Windows is notoriously fragile and appears
to balls up a the slightest chance.
Personally what I'd do is put the second HD in the computer, leave the old hard disk for the operating system and transfer all documents (inc
the My Documents folder- be careful how you do this though) onto the new hard disc. Having a separate disc for the OS also makes it easier should you
ever need to re-install windows and it might make the computer run a bit faster....
Then again, I've taken this to extremes and now have 3 hard discs 
c: 40Gb OS
d: 80Gb data
e: 320Gb huge video files, adobe premiere swap files etc etc...
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onzarob
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| posted on 8/2/08 at 08:40 PM |
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I would backup your important files to a USB drive and reinstall OS.
This is the recommend way by Microsoft when changing the motherboard of a PC.
The reason is that when you install XP/2000/2003 OS creates the HAL (Hardware abstraction layer) this holds the Definition for the OS to talk to the
bios and other motherboard resources.
If you just move the HD its could be incompatible and then causes problems 
I don't think that is a flaky OS as Linux based systems would also have issues.
[Edited on 8-2-2008 by onzarob]
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JohnN
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| posted on 8/2/08 at 10:43 PM |
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Thanks for the replies.
There's probably a lot to be said for a fresh install, but the thought of reinstalling software from original discs, then all the downloaded
upgrades, patches etc, then all the configuration..............
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iank
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| posted on 8/2/08 at 11:43 PM |
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quote:
Originally posted by onzarob
....
I don't think that is a flaky OS as Linux based systems would also have issues.
[Edited on 8-2-2008 by onzarob]
Bzzzzt Linux can swap hard drives quite happily with no issues (that's the way Knoopix et.al. do their CDROM systems). Reason being that Linux
identifies your hardware at boot time and loads the appropriate drivers.
Windows stashes it away and only lets you change hardware through the control panel for two reasons. Firstly an attempt to shave a few seconds off
the boot time, and secondly as part of the product activation anti-piracy architecture.
I agree that you need to backup everything before doing anything major hardware change/software re-install. You should be doing regular backups
anyway Sore point in our house as the PSU in the missus's machine has just gone phut. If it's taken out the hard disk she'll
have the last testical as all the photos and school lesson plans from the last couple of months will be lost
--
Never argue with an idiot. They drag you down to their level, then beat you with experience.
Anonymous
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David Jenkins
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| posted on 9/2/08 at 08:19 AM |
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I can recommend one of these:
LINKY
You just plug it into the back of your hard disk (or CD-ROM/DVD drive) and it looks like a USB storage device to the PC. I've used mine on
Windoze and Linux.
You can set up your new PC from scratch, then transfer your data at a later date.
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britishtrident
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| posted on 9/2/08 at 09:53 AM |
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Deleting win.com and running windows setup in repair mode creates a new HAL, the only thing it won't fix is the clutter of unwanted files that
old windows installations accumulate.
It can also be just possible to run windows without a re-install however windows finger prints the computers IDE controller and records the info in
registry, to circumvent this it is necessary to run a program called MergeIDE written for the German c't computer magazine link
http://www.virtualbox.org/attachment/wiki/Migrate_Windows/MergeIDE.zip
Also if the old computer had a AGP bus graphics card and the new motherboard dosen't the file agp440.sys should be deleted.
see http://support.microsoft.com/kb/324764
Using the above tricks a Windows installation can also be transfered to a new hard disk without running a full install by cloning the hard disk.
[Edited on 9/2/08 by britishtrident]
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britishtrident
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| posted on 9/2/08 at 10:01 AM |
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This also works -- used to use it to create NT4+sp6 boot cds.
http://www.howtohaven.com/system/createwindowssetupdisk.shtml
[I] “ What use our work, Bennet, if we cannot care for those we love? .”
― From BBC TV/Amazon's Ripper Street.
[/I]
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