Can a cloned disk be installed in a different laptop?

Discussion in 'Acronis True Image Product Line' started by pattersn, Jan 25, 2007.

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  1. pattersn

    pattersn Registered Member

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    I have two Dell Inspiron 8500 laptops, identical except for video cards and processor speeds. Recently one was maliciously "F-disked" and I was wondering if I could clone the hard drive from the other one. Would XP Pro refuse to boot or run properly because of a video driver not working or the bios not accepting a different processor speed?

    I would appreciate hearing from anyone with knowledge or experience regarding this kind of situation.

    Thanks,
    John
     
  2. jmk94903

    jmk94903 Registered Member

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    San Rafael, CA
    You can certainly make a backup of your good Inspiron 8500 and restore that backup to the second one. Note that I'm encouraging you to make a backup and restore it rather than trying to clone which would require removing the hard drive, etc.

    Once you have done the restore on the second 8500, it's likely to look pretty odd with the wrong video drivers, but if that is the only hardware difference, you can simply download and intall the correct drivers.

    You may have to reactivate Windows since there are significant hardware changes, and that may require a call to Microsoft. If you explain the problem and that you have to valid copies of Windows XP, they will provide the codes you need.

    If there are too many drivers that don't match, the system simply won't boot, but you are no worse off than you are now. Therefore, I'd give it a try.
     
  3. Acronis Support

    Acronis Support Acronis Support Staff

    Joined:
    Apr 28, 2004
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    25,885
    Hello pattersn,

    Thank you for choosing Acronis Disk Backup Software.

    We are sorry for the delayed response.

    What jmk94903 suggested is mostly correct, though cloning procedure would work as well. However, please be aware that according to Acronis software licensing policy, you need to purchase one copy of Acronis program per every computer where it will be used.

    Thank you.
    --
    Marat Setdikov
     
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