it just won't work right

ok, here's what i'm trying to do.

i have a fresh install of XP on one PC, we'll call it PC1.

i have the old PC, we'll call it PC2 that i want to transfer ALL the program files, doc and setting, basically everything but the operating system from PC2 to PC1.

both PC's are XP Pro.

here's the problem. i've used TI v9 & TI v10 and made a backup image of basically every folder (except the WINDOWS folder), then tried to restore the image from PC2 to PC1. i've tried doing it w/ the hard drives as master/slave in PC1, i've tried backing the image up and restoring from the network, and either way i do it, it doesn't put everything from PC2 on PC1 just as it orginally was.

i know i have done this successfully once before. but can't remember how i did it. in a nutshell, i need help on the proper manor as to how to transfer everything BUT WINDOWS from the old PC2 to the new PC1.

please help.

thanks

 

You can't do it without also transferring each application's registry settings. The magnitude of that job normally far outweights reinstalling all your applications from scratch.

F.

 

so basically there is no way to transfer/backup installed programs?

i swear i pulled it off once before.

i finally got the backup image to restore to the new PC. however, the program files are in the start menu, but not in the add/remove progams list. also none of them work.

there has to be a way to transfer all the data to a new PC w/o transfer the OS.

 

Transferring *data* is not normally a problem (e.g. mailboxes, address books, word documents, MP3s, images etc). Transferring installed programs is difficult to say the least. Not only do you need to know which registry settings need to copied (and most of these are undocumented) you also need to know which versions of which DLLs should be copied and registered also.

Good luck !

F.

 

other folders are tied into the registry (ie Program Files, Profiles under Documents and Settings, even file associations)

If you want the profile, you can use XP's File & Settings Transfer wizard and then migrate it over. Applications will have to be reinstalled on the new machine. Individual files are can transfered.. you should dump them all in one folder then transfer.