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Cloning a windows XP harddrive to Windows 7

11K views 5 replies 4 participants last post by  Shekka 
#1 ·
I hate to post the same questions on different sites but I am really desperate this time. My old windows xp laptop died taking with it all of my specialty programs for my work. I sell and maintain prosthetics for individuals and now all of the data for the individuals is gone.

I have purchased a new windows 7 laptop but the external harddrive that I backed up my information to incase of a pc failure is worthless. An external harddrive is great for images and misuc but worthless for the types of software and files that were on my xp laptop.

A transfer cable wont do it either so I am told. It cant transfer the missing registry files from the xp harddrive because they arent there, just like they arent on the external drive. I need the original install discs and for most everything those are long gone. I have been getting 'update' discs but the base program installation disc is history.

So, my only option seems to be to borrow a fellow workers computer and clone their harddrive, but will that also clone the proper registry settings? Will I be able to run the programs from a cloned pc as if it was installed on the computer from a disc? What about compatability issues going from xp to 7? Any advice is appreciated; I am at my wits end and I have no idea how to proceed.

Thanks

Rick
 
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#2 ·
You can take out your old HDD and attach it to your 7 computer with a USB Adapter. If you can access that drive, then you should be able to run the program from the now external drive (because it still has access to the registry in the old XP OS that is on that drive.)
Cloning a HDD to another HDD is like creating a Mirror Image of the HDD. If you create a Partition on your Windows 7 computer, and clone your workers HDD to this partition, if all goes well, you would be able to Dual boot between 7 and XP (this is a very advanced step, unless you are comfortable with partitioning, cloning, and editing the Boot.cfg file you should not attempt this without professional help)
 
#3 ·
Spunk Funk you are the first to give me some possible hope that all is not lost. Can I pick your brian just a little more, please? I've purchased a refusbished laptop with windows xp, just like my dead laptop. I have the cable you suggested ordered and what you say makes sense about the old registry still being in the old harddrive. That said are either of the following viable options, or even doable?:

Once I connect the old laptops drive to the working laptop can I completely clone the 'new' drive on the old? Will that still require a partition? Keep in mind that the files on the new drive have no value at all to me, I do not care what is lost or overwritten on it. What matters is saving the complete programs from the old hard drive.

Or would it be possible once the old drive is cable connected to pull the programs I need in their entirety and transfer them onto the new laptop as a whole and complete (ready to run with all client files) program with say a USB drive, or via burning them to a disc?

I really appreciate your time and patience. Thank you.
 
#5 ·
If you are connecting your old XP HDD to a laptop via USB Adapter, and you cloned the old now external HDD over to the new Laptop it would wipe out the existing OS and everything on that new laptop. If the old HDD couldn't boot because it has failed and files are corrupted, the new laptop will be in the same condition after the clone. If you attach the Old XP HDD to the new laptop then you can access it (if the drive isn't dead) you can run your programs from the Old XP now External Drive. Any documents, pictures, music etc could be copied over from the old XP drive to the new laptop, but not programs. If you want to run your program that you don't have discs for, you will have to leave the old XP now external HDD attached to the new laptop where the program will still have access to the old registry. That is, if the drive even boots up.
 
#6 ·
To me I think the important question to ask first is what died on the old laptop? Was it the hard drive or did the motherboard go in the old original laptop?

If the old hard drive is good and has nothing wrong with it, and you now have a second laptop (exactly the same model as the original laptop) then I would just put the original hard drive into the new refurbished laptop and you could continue on with your day with all data and software running.

If the refurbished laptop is not the exact same you can use Acronis universal restore ( http://www.acronis.com/backup-recovery/advanced-server/#universal-restore ) to copy the entire drive to a new laptop then just load the appropriate drivers for that laptop.

If the hard drive is bad, then you could use the aforementioned Acronis software to copy you co-workers hard drive to a different hard drive an install it into your laptop.
 
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