Webb Posted September 9, 2006 Share Posted September 9, 2006 I'm thinking of getting a new comp.Can I clone my WinXP/SP2 ATI image (from an external USB drive with an ATI/Bart CD - I don't see a problem there) to the new one and avoid having to reinstall everything?I've heard that I can expect Windows activation issues so let's skip over that.Will the clone reconfigure itself and install appropriate drivers and things for the new hardware? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gary Posted September 9, 2006 Share Posted September 9, 2006 (edited) Yes I have done it many times.Are you going to build it? Edited September 9, 2006 by Gary Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Webb Posted September 9, 2006 Author Share Posted September 9, 2006 Are you going to build it?Nah, not worth the trouble. Newegg has a decent one for $500. I'll use a couple of parts (memory, floppy) from the old one and add a HD later. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gary Posted September 9, 2006 Share Posted September 9, 2006 Nah, not worth the trouble. Newegg has a decent one for $500. I'll use a couple of parts (memory, floppy) from the old one and add a HD later.You can get a kit there for about $399.00 w/out memory. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
James M. Fisher Posted September 10, 2006 Share Posted September 10, 2006 I'm thinking of getting a new comp.Can I clone my WinXP/SP2 ATI image (from an external USB drive with an ATI/Bart CD - I don't see a problem there) to the new one and avoid having to reinstall everything?Will the clone reconfigure itself and install appropriate drivers and things for the new hardware? Which version of Acronis TI is this, Jim?Acronis has a separate add-on type feature for TI 9.1 called Universal Restore that enables an image to be restore to different hardware:http://www.acronis.com/enterprise/products...al-restore.html Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Webb Posted September 11, 2006 Author Share Posted September 11, 2006 I have 8.0. That looks like a great feature but I don't think I can justify the cost of an upgrade plus the universal restore license. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
James M. Fisher Posted September 11, 2006 Share Posted September 11, 2006 I have 8.0. That looks like a great feature but I don't think I can justify the cost of an upgrade plus the universal restore license.You can try the restore to different hardware, but I would not expect it to go smoothly, even running Windows after the restore. There are too many variables such as mobo chipsets, different RAM, etc. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Webb Posted September 11, 2006 Author Share Posted September 11, 2006 I have also been advised to uninstall as many drivers as possible before making a final image. If it doesn't work I can reinstall Windows.I was just hoping to save several hours installing applications and system tweaks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
James M. Fisher Posted September 11, 2006 Share Posted September 11, 2006 Uninstalling drivers would help somewhat, I would think. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ross549 Posted September 12, 2006 Share Posted September 12, 2006 Isn't there a sysprep command that removes all active drivers and preps the hard drive for a move to a new system? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Webb Posted September 12, 2006 Author Share Posted September 12, 2006 I just Googled it - very interesting.I'm sure glad I didn't rush into this! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mthompso Posted September 12, 2006 Share Posted September 12, 2006 ross549, I was thinking the same thing. Microsoft has a guide on How to use the sysprep tool. Webb, as long as the new hardware is Plug-n-play, it sounds like the combination of the Microsoft sysprep tool and Acronis True Image will get you to your desired destination.-Matt Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
b2cm Posted September 12, 2006 Share Posted September 12, 2006 Try cloning your old disk (disk-to-disk) to the disk on the new computer first. It just might work. Last week I tested a P3/MSI Via694x/Sdram disk on a P4/Abit VT7/DDR and XP booted fine. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
James M. Fisher Posted September 12, 2006 Share Posted September 12, 2006 I just Googled it - very interesting.I'm sure glad I didn't rush into this! If you go the Sysprep route, let us know how it worked for you. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Webb Posted September 12, 2006 Author Share Posted September 12, 2006 Will do. I just submitted the order so it will be a few days. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Webb Posted September 18, 2006 Author Share Posted September 18, 2006 It was an interesting experiment but it didn't work.I booted into safe mode and deleted every driver possible, ran sysprep and made a HD image. To be fair sysprep has a lot of options and I may have picked an incorrect one.When I turned on the new machine there was nothing but a BSOD. I couldn't even boot it into safe mode.All is not so bad, though. Windows did a repair install and all the data is intact. But I had to do a complete repair install - XP and SP2 - and I'm pretty sure I'm going to have to reinstall all of the Windows updates since SP2. They are on the HD in their backup locations but I doubt they are installed. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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