Imaging XP to new system

[EXCellR8]

I built one of my neighbors a new computer and now I'm in the long frustrating process of getting his OS (Windows XP Professional) reloaded. His old machine was ancient by modern computing standards and used a legacy IDE lhard drive. I used TrueImage 2013 to back it up which produced a rather large (nearly 100GB) archive and now I'm trying to image it onto the new 1TB SATA drive; using the universal restore feature.

I installed Windows 7 on the machine to have a working environment present, and to use the imaging software. I restored the Windows XP archive to the unallocated space (approx half of the drive) so I could attempt to dual boot and troubleshoot. I used easyBCD to modify the boot selection but XP would throw a blue screen when chosen. I proceeded to perform a repair install to clear things up but now I'm getting the <windows root>\system32\ntoskrnl.exe is corrupt or missing error. So now I'm using a Windows XP install CD to try a chkdsk and bootcfg /rebuild.

So, how do I get this thing sorted out and booting XP? Should I delete the Windows 7 partition to eliminate any false boot configuration settings? I need to get this thing working I'm running out of ideas. I think I'm, close to getting it done but not quite right...

System spec:

Intel i3 3225
Gigabyte Z77X-UD3H mobo
1TB wd blue sata 6 hdd

 

[bazz2004]

I mulled dual booting over when I bought my Windows 7 desktop. There are programs which are happy in XP but don't work properly in Windows 7. You are more accomplished technically than most of us but having problems. If the copy of XP Pro is a retail version and you have the disk consider using something like VMWare Player freeware to run a virtual XP within Windows 7. I've been very impressed. The only problem I had was a very slow pick up by the host OS after closing XP. That was solved by ditching my expensive AV software and installing Microsoft Security Essentials. It's a simple solution and doesn't subject Windows 7 to any risk. You can uninstall VMPlayer like any ordinary program. I've also added Ubuntu Linux. If you don't manage to crack the problems with the dual booting or decide it's not worth the time it's taking you could try this alternative approach. It must be really annoying to be nearly there. Best of luck.

 

[EXCellR8]

Hey there, thanks for the reply.

Unfortunately, it's not really up to me to decide whether or not I use virtual software to run the original OS. I would do just that but my client wants to stick with XP and then maybe upgrade later on. I finally got fed up with the imaging since after countless hours it still wasn't working right--so I did a straight clone disc followed by a repair install of XP pro. This seems to have worked but now I just need to sort out the activation. I can't just transfer it from the old drive because the hardware is different etc. Hopefully he has a key or else... another dead end. This project is going to drive me crazy haha.

Thanks again for the input!

 

[gbhall]

You may have overlooked the fact that the old PC drivers are certain to be totally inappropriate for the new hardware, which is why you were getting BSOD when trying to boot the image. Sometimes you are lucky to find that a repair install works, but it is not always possible - indeed some new hardware may not have XP drivers available at all.

Your best bet would be (as you did) to simply install XP from a retail CD (so avoiding problems of OEM expecting specific hardware), then you can obtain a new activation from MS who will usually be generous if you explain what you are doing and why ('the motherboard blew....'), but again beware the OEM question. Since MS sold the original OS at a huge discount to the OEM shop, they have no reason to just give you a version for any hardware.

Your best approach in the general situation you are in would be to install XP fully from a retail copy which is genuine.Then reinstall all the original applications for which install media is still available. Next use TrueImage to copy over just the old data, being careful not to over-write any of the actual OS. Finally run the MS updates since the CD was generated, all of which could run into many, many hours - often days - of work......it's not a profit for you.

Usually just going straight to a new PC with Win 7 and copying the old data is the better and easier way, unless your user has some vital software which will not run in Win7. In that case, XP mode (a virtual PC running a free version of XP) is very often the solution for that specific application problem - requires Win 7 pro only). XP mode is clever and often transparent to the user.

Once you look deeper into it, you discover there are a lot of people running very expensive lab equipment ($1m+) who cannot even move forward from Win98 because of lack of updated 16-bit software. They have real and expensive problems.

 

[bazz2004]

That is an excellent answer. The issue here is that the customer doesn't appreciate the scale of the problem. Perhaps EXCellR8 could print off this thread and give it to his client so the matter can be reconsidered.