Moving my Windows Installation to a new HD

[fwtong]

I need to move Windows and all my apps to a new HD. Can I just copy everything over, or do I have to reinstall everything?

 

[powerMarkymark]

NO!

You need a program to "clone" your drive, MBR and all

I use Acronis MigrateEasy.

Acronis makes wonderful apps.

M@rc

 

[fwtong]

ok, thanks, i'll check it out

 

[tyborg]

DTI Data makes Speedclone 03 which we use in the office (data recovery business) it runs fast, and good.

One thing to remember though, before you wipe out your original HDD, make sure the ammount of data on the drives is the same. Some clones are quirky, and only transfer part of the data.

 

[Nocturnal]

Would Ghost work for this?

 

[powerMarkymark]

No, Ghost retores or copies partitions.

When doing complete drives with OS installed you need a program that will clone (copy) everything incl. MBR or the drive will not boot.

M@rc

 

[sonoma1993]

if you are using an maxtor or western digital hard drives, on there websites they have software you can download that'll setup the harddrive, partition it, copy the files and etc. The software will come with the harrdrive if it an retail edition.

 

[fwtong]

Originally posted by: sonoma1993
if you are using an maxtor or western digital hard drives, on there websites they have software you can download that'll setup the harddrive, partition it, copy the files and etc. The software will come with the harrdrive if it an retail edition.

Would it matter if I'm moving from a western digital to a seagate?

Also, are the demos for speedclone or migrateeasy fully functioning demos?

 

[sonoma1993]

the software will work fine as long as the wdc software sees you have an wdc harddrive it'll work fine.

 

[rh71]

Originally posted by: powerMarkymark
No, Ghost retores or copies partitions.

When doing complete drives with OS installed you need a program that will clone (copy) everything incl. MBR or the drive will not boot.

M@rc

Ghost works fine for this. I've done transfers like this numerous times after I get a new (bigger) harddrive to use as my primary. It does a straight file-for-file copy so it is basically an image.

Just put the new blank drive in as a secondary, then do "from Partition (existing C to Partition (new drive's first partition)" ... then swap the drives after the copy process is over.

 

[xtknight]

Yes you can copy it. You need to copy:

\Documents and Settings\*
\Windows\*
\Program Files\*

Copy those to a new hard disk. Then use WinXP recovery console (load RAID/SATA drivers if needed) and use the search for OSes command (type help and it should be easy to find). Then restore the MBR based on the found OS.

If it's another hard disk in the same PC: Just boot normally.

If it's another PC: Boot in to safe mode, right click on every component in Device Manager and click remove. Reboot normally and let Windows detect everything. I believe your Windows will still be intact.

Nothing to lose, right? If you have any problems during this procedure don't hesitate to ask. I'm not 100% sure this will work but if it does it will save you a lot of reinstalls.

 

[powerMarkymark]

Tell us what method you try and how it went.

M@rc

 

[fwtong]

Took care of my HD today. I just downloaded the demo of Migrate Easy. It was a fully functional demo for 15 days, but I only needed it for 1 day. Used it to transfer everything over without a hitch.

 

[powerMarkymark]

Originally posted by: fwtong
Took care of my HD today. I just downloaded the demo of Migrate Easy. It was a fully functional demo for 15 days, but I only needed it for 1 day. Used it to transfer everything over without a hitch.

There you go, told you it works like a charm.

M@rc