How to 'image' old laptop to new laptop ???

Just purchased a new laptop (Dell Latitude D830 w/ XPpro) and am trying to decide how best to 'image' the data and software (exe's, configurations, etc) from the old laptop (Dell Inspiron 8200 w/ XPpro) to the new laptop and have the same software loading etc in new laptop that had in old laptop.

Have so far loaded the main licensed software (bare bones, ie no configuration files from old laptop) like Microsoft (MS) Office 2003 from the original MS CDs to the D830.

Still have a lot of related data and other non-MS software (eg licensed shareware, freeware, Adobe Acrobat, etc) to transfer.

Have been using an uncompressed backup program (Karens Replicator) and also have 'imaged' the old laptop hard-drive with Acronis True Image 10.0 to an external hard-drive.

Dont see anything specific to this question in the ATI 10.0 'User Guide'.

Suggestions, any other things to 'look out' for, etc ?

 

In this situation, it is better to reinstall all of your applications then just copy the data made by those applications to the new computer. If the two laptops are not networked, then use an intermediate storage device to get the files to the new system.

I wouldn't use True Image for this at all. After you get the new laptop all set up then use True Image to make a Backup Image.

 

When hardware is very different as in your case, transfering an old image to the new system is not a very good plan.

If you insist on doing this, you need the Universal Restore version of TrueImage Workstation. That will allow you to install the new drivers for the new computer. Note, you will need the driver disks for the new computer.

Restoring the image will wipe out everything on the new computer, so make an image of it before starting in case things go wrong. Any software that you have installed on the new Dell will also be wiped out, so there's no point in continuing to do that if you are going to restore an image of the old machine.

All of this will be wiped out when/if you restore the old image.

On the other hand, if I were you, I'd continue to set up the new machine by cleanly loading all your software. And, I would not restore an image of the old machine. I would make images of the new machine as I progressed in the setup as insurance against a bad installation and to allow a graceful recovery.

You can transfer the data files from the old machine by mounting the image as a virtual drive and copying the data files from the image to the new machine.

 

Many of the OEM vendors specifically prohibit you from running their version of Windows on any other pc other than the one it was purchased and licensed to. In some cases the software is actually tied to the BIOS of the original pc.

For example, on a Dell desktop, if your motherboard fails, you can't go buy a new Asus motherboard and simply restore you backup image and expect it to work, even if using the Universal Restore option.

So be careful and check with the vendor before embarking on any change.

 

The license normally states that the OEM version is for the specific PC that it was sold with and it not transferable to any other computer. So, you are operating outside the license agreement if you install that version of XP on a different computer. That doesn't mean it won't work in many cases, just that you have violated the licensse.

In some cases, the version of XP is tied to the BIOS. In that case, it may or may not work on another computer from the same manufacturer. The only way to know is to try it.

These are additional reasons why I woulldn't restore the image to the new computer, but that's not to say that it might not work.

There's no point checking with the manufacturer until you know it works. After you know it works or know it won't work, there's no point in checking with the manufacturer.

 

Thank you all for the info, the 'risk factor' is dully noted.
In the meantime have transferred settings etc from the 'old' laptop (Dell Inspiron) to the 'new' laptop (Dell Latitude) with the XP 'FAST' process.
This seems to have worked ok... just not as much transfer as would have liked, but seemed safe enough since all part of the XP package with the Dell (had some trouble because different versions of FAST, but everything still seems to be working fine after).

Now am looking at the ATI 'Restore Data Wizard' setup options and have selected what seems to be a fairly safe process (thoughts ?)...

1. Restoration Type Selection: picked 'Restore specified files or folders' (instead of 'Restore disks or partitions')

2. Restore Destination Selection: picked 'Original place' (instead of 'Restore to new place')

3. Restore Options: picked 'Use default options' (instead of 'Set the options manually')

4. Restoration Mode: picked 'Do not overwrite existing file'

5. 'Proceed' setup summary (next button appears to be the cross fingers and start button, would like some thoughts b4 pick that one ! )...
From file: "E:\MyBackup.tib
Backup type: Image
Restoration of: Files

Please let me know what you think (comments, suggestions, etc) of the proposed process, and thanks again for your help !!!

PS: Is there a way to run this by an ATI technical rep ? When buying I believe they gave me a green-light for using ATI for this type of (old to new laptop transfer) 'imaging'.

 

As long as the folders you select are just data folders, this will be fine. For example, the My Documents folder can be transfered this way. However, if you select a folder with more than just data such as the entire Documents and Settings folder, you may corrupt the new computer.

 

Thanks again jmk.
The other 2 'Restoration Mode' options are 'Overwrite existing file' and 'Do not overwrite existing file'. Would the second of those, 'Do not...', be less risky for just allowing ATI to copy all files/folders to the 'new' laptop' C: drive, ie shouldnt replace any existing setup and/or OS files
akm

 

Hello akm,

Thank you for choosing Acronis Disk Backup Software.

Please be aware that there are two approaches available:

Clone Disk - migrates/copies the entire contents of one disk drive to another;

Backup - creates a special archive file for backup and disaster recovery purposes;

Please take a look at this FAQ article explaining the difference between Clone Disk and Backup approaches in more detail.

Actually, Clone Disk approach is usually used to upgrade the hard drive (e.g. install a larger disk), while Backup approach is basically dedicated for the complete data backup and disaster recovery purposes.

Please notice that in order to transfer your whole system to a different hardware, as jmk94903 mentioned, you need Acronis Universal Restore. Acronis Universal Restore technology provides an efficient solution for hardware-independent system restoration by replacing the crucial Hardware Abstraction Layer (HAL) and mass storage device drivers.

Note that Acronis Universal Restore is a plug-in for corporate versions of Acronis True Image and in your case we would recommend that you use Acronis True Image 9.1 Workstation.

Acronis Universal Restore is used with image archives and you can find basic instructions on how to use it here. Detailed instructions can be found in the Acronis True Image 9.1 Workstation User's Guide.

You can download and install the free trial version of Acronis True Image 9.1 Workstation to see how the software works on your computer.

Please also be aware that the trial version of Acronis Universal Restore is not available on Acronis web site. In order to obtain the trial version of Acronis Universal Restore please contact Acronis Support Team. Explain your wish to obtain the free trial version of Acronis Universal Restore and provide your personal information (full name; phone number along with the area code; company name, if any) along with the link to this thread. We'll provide you with the free trial version of Acronis Universal Restore as soon as possible.

Please notice that if you restore only separate files, the data ones (documents, music, videos) will be fine, but application ones might not work, since many applications store their data not only in their folders.

Thank you.
--
Marat Setdikov

 

Since the backup has the data you want on the new computer, you really want it to overwrite a file with the same name on the new computer. As long as these are data files, that will be fine.

I suggest that you make a TI image of the new computer before you restore the data. That way, if something goes wrong, you can get back to where the new comptuter is now with no trouble.

The beauty of TI is that it makes what might be "dangerous" operations (restoring what should be only data but might not be, hacking the Registry, installing a new program or piece of hardware) safe because you can restore the system and try again.

New users often fail to make enough backups and lose this wonderful advantage.