Transferring XP and an XP Slave drive

Hi,

I currently have an old PC that came with Windows ME. Several years ago, I
upgraded to XP Pro. After getting XP Pro, I added a slave hard drive. I
want to buy a new PC and have two questions...

1) I want to reformat the hard drive on the new PC (which will probably be
Vista) and get a clean install of the XP Pro that I already bought. Is this
possible? How can I do it?

2) After I get XP Pro working on the new PC, is it possible to simply use
the slave drive of my old PC as a slave drive on the new PC? I only need to
have access to the files on the slave drive.

Thanks in advance - I know you already rock.

-ndbrad

ndbrad wrote:
> Hi,
>
> I currently have an old PC that came with Windows ME. Several years
> ago, I upgraded to XP Pro. After getting XP Pro, I added a slave
> hard drive. I want to buy a new PC and have two questions...
>
> 1) I want to reformat the hard drive on the new PC (which will
> probably be Vista) and get a clean install of the XP Pro that I
> already bought. Is this possible? How can I do it?
>
> 2) After I get XP Pro working on the new PC, is it possible to
> simply use the slave drive of my old PC as a slave drive on the new
> PC? I only need to have access to the files on the slave drive.
>
> Thanks in advance - I know you already rock.
>
> -ndbrad

1) Make sure that you can get XP drivers for ALL the hardware in the new
machine including the motherboard.

How to install or upgrade to Windows XP
http://support.microsoft.com/?kbid=316941

Clean Install Windows XP
http://michaelstevenstech.com/cleanxpinstall.html

2) You may have to take ownership of the files on the slave drive when it is
installed in the new machine

How to take ownership of a file or folder in Windows XP
http://support.microsoft.com/default...b;en-us;308421

Replid in-line:

ndbrad wrote:

> Hi,
>
> I currently have an old PC that came with Windows ME. Several years ago, I
> upgraded to XP Pro. After getting XP Pro, I added a slave hard drive. I
> want to buy a new PC and have two questions...
>
> 1) I want to reformat the hard drive on the new PC (which will probably be
> Vista) and get a clean install of the XP Pro that I already bought. Is this
> possible? How can I do it?

In theory it is possible by booting the new computer from the Windows XP
Pro cdrom and installing from there. However, there could be limitations
on the new PC having Windows XP driver files for the chipset, video card,
and other peripherals. This would certainly be the case from a brand name
OEM such as Dell, HP, Compaq, etc.. and less so when building a "scratch"
system from brand name parts. Do the research and check out the potential
problem areas.

> 2) After I get XP Pro working on the new PC, is it possible to simply use
> the slave drive of my old PC as a slave drive on the new PC? I only need to
> have access to the files on the slave drive.

A slave drive is always a slave drive, when originally set up properly.
The least problematical would be the slave drive which consists totally
of an extended partition with logical drives.

> Thanks in advance - I know you already rock.
>
> -ndbrad
>

Good luck.

ndbrad wrote:
> Hi,
>
> I currently have an old PC that came with Windows ME. Several years ago, I
> upgraded to XP Pro. After getting XP Pro, I added a slave hard drive. I
> want to buy a new PC and have two questions...
>
> 1) I want to reformat the hard drive on the new PC (which will probably be
> Vista) and get a clean install of the XP Pro that I already bought. Is this
> possible? How can I do it?
>

It's your computer, so the choice is, ultimately, yours.

However, there could be a couple possible adverse repercussions of
which you should be aware. First and foremost, if the specific computer
model in question was designed specifically for Vista, there may well be
no WinXP-specific device drivers available to make the computer's
diverse components work properly. Consult the computer's manufacturer
about the availability of device drivers. Secondly, removing an
OEM-installed operating system and replacing it with another will almost
invariably void any and all support agreements and, sometimes, even the
warranty. You would, at the very least, have to re-install Vista before
getting any support from the manufacturer. Again, consult the
computer's manufacturer for specifics. Thirdly, there may be the
additional cost involved in purchasing a WinXP license for this new
computer, if the version you have on the old computer is either OEM
(i.e., permanently bound to the first computer on which it's installed)
or an Upgrade (requires the existence of an earlier, qualifying OS on
the target computer) license.

After backing up any data you wish to transfer to the new OS
installation, simply boot from the WinXP installation CD. You'll be
offered the opportunity to delete, create, and format partitions as part
of the installation process. (You may need to re-arrange the order of
boot devices in the PC's BIOS to boot from the CD.)

HOW TO Install Windows XP
http://support.microsoft.com/default...B;en-us;316941

http://www.michaelstevenstech.com/cleanxpinstall.html

http://www.webtree.ca/windowsxp/clean_install.htm

Then, assuming you were successful in obtaining WinXP-specific
device drivers so that the computer can be made to work with WinXP, the
backed up data can be restored and applications (those that are
WinXP-compatible, that is) re-installed.

Wouldn't it be simpler just to buy the new computer with WinXP already
on it, instead of Vista?


> 2) After I get XP Pro working on the new PC, is it possible to simply use
> the slave drive of my old PC as a slave drive on the new PC? I only need to
> have access to the files on the slave drive.
>

Yes, that shouldn't be an issue, at all.


--

Bruce Chambers

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