Forced to get a new PC - question

New PC will (of course) have Vista Sp1 on it.

Want to know if I can use a full disk backup (C, D, E, F, G
drives) to restore WinXP SP3 to the new, larger Hard drive
with Vista on it? I realize that Vista will be overwritten by
this action (So be it - don't like vista anyway).

Would it be best to format the new systems harddrive first?
The BIOS/CMOS will be different - can i expect any
problems from those areas?

Also, some of the hardware (sound card) will be different from
what comes with the system. I can replace the cards (after a
final backup of old system and before restoring to new system.
I realize that i will have to turn off the on-board sound in the
setup but can i expect any other problems.

Searching the web for things like this was not very helpful
but i tried.

Appreciate any help,
savagcl

 

Just curious:

Do you have to buy the computer with Vista installed ?
In other words, is there an option to buy the computer without Vista, with Linux instead of Vista, or with no OS at all ?

Before you do anything else, put the computer through it's paces for a couple of days to assure it doesn't have any defective components or software which might require a RMA. If you've wiped the drive, you might have trouble getting a refund.

-Following that-

If this was my new computer, I'd first restore XP to a spare HDD, then install that drive in place of the Vista drive so to check for any issues as you mentioned as well as any potential problem with activating XP on the new machine.

If you decide to restore to the new drive that has Vista on it, I would first burn the recovery partition to DVD (if you aren't getting the factory media disc) just in case you- for whatever reason- change your mind about Vista, then wipe the drive, then format, then restore your XP image.

Good luck !

 

Before you attempt this, are you aware of the Windows licensing issues involved with doing it? I'm no expert, but I looked into this topic a while back because I was considering an upgrade vs. new computer purchase. If you install the XP image on another machine it will detect the different CPU serial number and refuse to run.

If you have only an OEM XP license on your existing machine, you're out of luck. The OEM XP license is only good on the machine you bought it on, with the processor that originally came with the machine when it was new. Upgrading just the CPU in that same machine is in violation of the OEM license agreement, as is trying to re-use that copy of XP on any other machine.

If you have the full XP disk, then you will still get a complaint from Windows when you try to run XP, but with a full license you just have to contact Microsoft and have the license transferred to the new machine.

As the other poster suggested, image the entire disk first before you do anything so you at least have a working version of something before you start experimenting.

 

@savagcl

My experiences are that if you change the architecture of the hardware (chipset, processor, etc) you cannot 'clone' the old OS installation.
Probably you get a BSOD...

Acronis recommend for this situation "True Image Echo" with the addon "UniversalRestore" (UR).
UR is (supposed) able to restore on other hardware.
(Frankly I disbelieve it).

 

MrMorse,

A few years ago I had the opportunity to test Acronis UR on a friend's computer. We restored a few images to different computers and the OS booted.

Recently I restored an image created from an 8 year old Gateway (with IDE HDs) to a 2 year old Dell (with SATA HDs). The Dell blue screened on booting. As expected. After using a non Acronis app to fix the problem, the Dell booted. Total time 5 minutes. I was stunned. These apps do work.

 

I agree with everyone who replied here, especially Wtsinnc's comment about restoring XP to another HD. All made good points.

I have replaced many motherboards on my own and others machines and one of those times time XP booted with NO problems. The other times, I had to run a repair/install using a retail XP slipstreamed to whatever was the latest SP at the time -- the most recent being SP3. I don't recall the repair/install aspect being mentioned in earlier post. So I guess that point is my contribution to the thread. After that, I had to call MS and read to activate. That took no more than a few minutes each time.

For those wondering, the XP licenses I used for the repair/install were all legitimate and were not installed on other machines/motherboards so I was above board on that.

It seems to me you could probably go the same route with a new machine.

Good luck.

 

Registration, etc will not be a problem since i'll be buying a new
copy of XP and using it to install over vista.

Found out some things tho - better to do a new install of Xp and
format the HD in the process. Appreciate the info about doing
a full backup of vista just in case something breaks.

Again, can i use ATI 9.0 Run CD (boot and go) to backup vista??

My "old" system will go to my daughter along with the XP cd which
I also bought (the full version)

thanks,
savagcl

 

Hello savagcl ,

Thank you for your interesting in Acronis True Image

Acronis True Image 9.0 Home doesn’t support Windows Vista. So we can’t guarantee that Acronis bootable disc created with that version will backup Windows Vista. We would recommend you upgrade Acronis True Image 9.0 Home to Acronis True Image Home 2009 to accomplish this task.

Using Acronis True Image Home versions you can’t restore images to different hardware, otherwise it will result in BSOD. You should use Acronis Universal Restore for that purpose. Acronis Universal Restore is required to restore the image of Windows operating system to another hardware configuration. It the implementation of the unique technology developed inside Acronis that allows changing Windows Hardware Abstraction Layer (HAL.dll) and device drivers. Acronis Universal Restore automatically detects if the HAL should be changed and also allows adding drivers for new hardware devices. This feature was designed for Corporate products and can’t be used with Home products.

If you use Windows Vista, only the Acronis Secure Zone is available as the location to store virtual changes. So if the issue persists check Acronis Secure Zone size, if it’s not the case try to rebuild Acronis Secuer Zone from the scratch.

Best regards,
--
Dmitry Nikolaev