cloning, copying, mirror imaging

G

graham7773

New Member
I know all these terms mean the same thing but now I need to know how to get a cloned drive to work in a different computer. I have 2 Dell computers. The working one is an Optiplex GX 260. the other is a Dell Dimension 2400. I can mirror/clone the hdd in the in the GX 260, My problem is how do I get it to work in the Dimension 2400.The Dimension 2400 has a WD SATA 250GB Caviar blue which has been cleaned with Killdisc. One pass with 0's. Helpfull Instructions would be good.
 
You can't do that. A fresh install is required when installing on a different motherboard. You can't clone a disk if its going into a different computer as it has different hardware and it will be loading the wrong drivers.
 
Well it can be done, well more then likely. But even if you did get to boot validation going to fly up like a crazy man. Your not going to get microsoft to validate a Dell OEM from one Dell to another.
 
re comments

The os in the working computer was validated by Microsoft in the last 4 days as the comp had a admin password on it which my son asked me to remove. Which I did. After that I connected it to my cable Internet and was immediately asked to validate. No hassles. If I can get Win XP to run, can I not run "add new hardware"? The hdd is not a Dell, just a blank 250gb hd. Alternative, install Windows 7 Home Premium and attempt to lift Microsoft Office from the other hard drive?
 
Yes of course it can be done lol.Everything is possible...remember that.
I have done it many times on MANY different computers.Some of them were big desktop computers,some were laptops and some were netbooks.

Anyway approximately a year ago I have taken pictures with my sellphone of EVERY SINGLE STEP.There are approximately around 200 pictures,but don't let that to worry you because it's simpler than it looks like.I will upload them today for you and give you a link to download them.
Only the pictures I have taken are based on Windows XP OS,but it will also work without problems on Windows 2000,Windows Vista and Windows 7.

When I upload the pictures,I will let you know.




Cheers!
 
graham7773 said:
The os in the working computer was validated by Microsoft in the last 4 days as the comp had a admin password on it which my son asked me to remove. Which I did. After that I connected it to my cable Internet and was immediately asked to validate. No hassles. If I can get Win XP to run, can I not run "add new hardware"? The hdd is not a Dell, just a blank 250gb hd. Alternative, install Windows 7 Home Premium and attempt to lift Microsoft Office from the other hard drive?
Click to expand...

Programs installed on another drive can't be copied over, they must be reinstalled using the reinstallation media(cd). When you install a program, it creates registry and system32 entries which are required to make the program work correctly. If you just copy over the program the program won't work.
 
I have cloned Windows XP and Windows 7 to different drives many times with success. But I have never tried to clone a Windows operating system to a another hard drive and then plug it into different motherboard.

You will have problems if you do this (as stated already). Device Software is built specifically for the motherboard Windows is installed on. Likely you will get blue screens of death and other problems. The bottom line is: Clone a Windows operating system to a another hard drive and then plug it into different type of motherboard and it won't work.
 
Yes it will work if you do it properly.I have done it so many times.
Even though it did took me a long time until I found a proper way lol.

Moving OS and all installed programs and games from one computer/laptop/netbook to another WILL work perfectly if you do it properly.And don't worry about the driver data base,registry and everything else because that can be solved very easily.:)
The only exception I ever found in my life when moving OS and all installed programs and games from one computer/laptop/netbook to another was with Daemon tools program.In order to make it work again,you needed to manually remove all of it's data (because it couldn't be uninstalled) and then install it again.

I will upload images tonight and give a link for the download unless if the doctors decide to operate me tonight.




Cheers!
 
I thought that making a mirror image of a hard drive meant just that, "mirror image" including registry, drivers and so on. I did it once before a few years ago and all I remember going wrong was that I had to ring Microsoft and explain that I had moved my hdd into another computer. They gave me an alpha/numeric number/key and when I entered that, the change worked. Something like that anyway.
 
If your up for a project that is will take over four hours you can do what S.T.A.R.S. suggested. It is not worth it in my mind. I would rather just buy another Windows 7 copy.
 
2048Megabytes, 4 hours on the computer might not be your go but I am a 69 year old man with not a lot else to do and I have been playing with PC's for the past 26 years when I saw the installation of the ANLS Mainframe. That only had 20 workstations. I don't get into the high end stuff as I do not play the high graphics and memory hungry games etc that the younger people do. I also do not have need of massive capacity drives. I only realised what Terabyte meant last year. My current drives are 2 sata drives 1 250gb and 1 160gb. neither of them has used more than 30% of their capacity. I did a course on computers at NSW TAFE. Not enough to show me how to move a drive from 1 computer to another with its operating system intact but I know that there are people who can show me the method. both computers will be used on a home network. The main reason for my wanting to do this is that the drive I want to mirror has windows XP Professional and Microsoft office installed and the discs for these have been lost. And I, being on a disability pension, cannot afford to go out and buy a fresh copy of Windows 7 or Microsoft Office. Thinking about Open Office.
 
I would recommend LibreOffice Version 3.5 (it is the most recent version of OpenOffice).

Graham7773 if you are interested I have a Socket AM2+ motherboard that I just upgraded from. It has 2 gigabytes of DDR2 800 RAM installed. Three Serial ATA ports work on it and it is in decent condition. I have the driver disk for it too. The onboard video doesn't work but I never had any problems adding a video card.

If you are interested and want to pay the shipping on it you can have it.

It is a Gigabyte GA-M78SM-S2H motherboard.
 
I have no clue about how to pm you so I will ask, do you have a paypal account? I have just bought 2 pci graphics/video cards. used of course I'm hoping your board has couple of pci slots and I am happy to pay for shipping. Thanks for the help. Let me know what shipping will cost?
 
The motherboard only has one PCI Express slot. It has one IDE port and 6 Serial ATA ports. Three Serial ATA ports do not work but three do.

I do not have a Paypal account. I am guessing shipping on this item would not be more than $10 if you live in the mainland United States.

Specifications of the motherboard are here:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128340

Processor support information is here:
http://www.gigabyte.com/products/product-page.aspx?pid=2817#

It has an F3O BIOS so it can accept all processors on the list. I was using a Phenom II 945 Quad-Core in it before my upgrade.

Edit: Also, PS/2 keyboards work well on this main board. USB keyboards do not work very well on it.
 
Last edited:
graham7773 said:
I have no clue about how to pm you so I will ask, do you have a paypal account? I have just bought 2 pci graphics/video cards. used of course I'm hoping your board has couple of pci slots and I am happy to pay for shipping. Thanks for the help. Let me know what shipping will cost?
Click to expand...

You won't be allowed to Pm anyone until you reach 100 posts and also can't buy or sell items in our forum until that time.
 
newby buying and selling

johnb35, I am not attempting to buy or sell. 2048megabytes was offering me a gift if I paid postage. Set your mind at ease friend, 2048megabytes lives on the american mainland. I live on the Australian mainland. Upwards of 9000 kilometers away. Postage would be prohibitive.
 
Yeah Graham7773, that is a bummer. It might cost so much to ship this motherboard that it would not be worth it. Do you still want me to try to figure out shipping costs?
 
I will post a download link tomorrow night with all the images on how to move OS and all installed programs and games from one computer/laptop/netbook to another without the need of reinstalling and readjusting anything.

Of course with the small exception of new drivers for the new computer which you will need to install at the end.But that shouldn't be a problem.




Cheers!
 
2048megabytes, I am a member on ebay and looking at some of the shipping charges, it would be prohibitive to do. an example would be an item selling from ebay US for $28 is being charged $96 postage. For that sort of money I can buy a new mobo here in AUS. Thanks very much for the offer but it's too much trouble for you and too exxy for me. But then there are pleasant surprises as well. I bought a new galvanised hdd caddy for another of my computers and it cost me $9 total, shipped from the USof A.. Illinois I think.
 
S.T.A.R.S. I will look for the link. Give me somthing to occupy myself with for some time. Speaking of drivers, Windows is sometimes very good at finding them.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top