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New computer windows 7 old computer windows xp pro

Last response: in Windows 7
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Just bought a new computer it has windows 7. I hate it. My old computer has xp pro. Is there any way to like virtually move my old harddrive from the old computer to the new one with all the settings, files, programs etc remaining the same? Can i move the windows 7 hardrive to a portable hardrive for safekeeping...?

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Windows 7 Expert

If you move the old HDD to another machine, most likely you will have to re-activate Windows. The OS will not recognize the new hardware, and remember, all the drivers and such are still from the old machine.
You can remove the Win 7 HDD for safekeeping; if you intend to use that HDD as an external drive, you are better off partitioning it first; that way, the new partition will handle all the data you want to put on it, and the risk of inadvertently corrupting or infecting the Win7 installation is very low.

house70 said:
If you move the old HDD to another machine, most likely you will have to re-activate Windows. The OS will not recognize the new hardware, and remember, all the drivers and such are still from the old machine.
You can remove the Win 7 HDD for safekeeping; if you intend to use that HDD as an external drive, you are better off partitioning it first; that way, the new partition will handle all the data you want to put on it, and the risk of inadvertently corrupting or infecting the Win7 installation is very low.


I want my old xp pro hard drive and xp pro os onto my new computer. What is "ghosting"? Can i ghost each hard drive with each operating system on it and save each one onto a large capacity hard drive, then install the xp pro onto my new computer?
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dman86 said:
if it will wipe out my windows 7 on my new computer i dont care. i want my xp pro and everything from my old computer on the new one.

Hi,
Since you want to transfer the win xp os and all other files to new computer, here i can recommend you two ways:

1. you can make a backup of the disk where the win xp os locates, and then restore the image to the new disk of new computer, but please make sure the two disks are same or you will need the universal restore which can make sure computer boot when the disks are different.
2. you can connect a new disk to the old computer and clone the disk where the win xp os locates to the new disk, and then connect the new disk to your new computer;after that,you can boot your computer with win xp on the new computer.
Here are two articles for you to refer to:
http://www.todo-backup.com/products/features/disk-clone...
http://www.todo-backup.com/products/features/backup-dri...
http://www.todo-backup.com/backup-resource/system-recov...
Maybe you can find some information on them. Hope they can help you.
Windows 7 Expert

Ghosting IS cloning; same thing.
The destination drive must be equal or bigger than the source drive.
If multiple partitions present on the source, they will be replicated on the destination, as well.
If destination drive is bigger, the remainder space will be marked as free space, which will need to be formatted.

@Herr_Koos: I guess it's a matter of taste and habit.
Windows 7 Expert

As you have just bought your new PC you might want to leave it a little while to give you a chance to get acquainted with Windows 7. Many people find it a lot better than XP once they have used it for a while.

I fear that you are going to have a lot of trouble if you try to install your old disk in the new PC and expect XP to run. For a start, if the XP is an OEM version you may not be able to reactivate it; and that's not even considering the trouble that you are going to have with drivers.

yikes! But my older printer which is an epson 820 stylus - I can't install the drivers onto my new computer. The printer works perfectly good and I just dont want to have to go out and purchase new stuff.... when i check the windows site to see if there are 64 bit drivers, they say sorry too bad so sad.... I have a bunch of old games that i want to install also....sheesh. I bought the puter just for better performance and larger disc,,,,,, not the windows 7
Windows 7 Expert

Hmm. Doesn't say sorry too bad when I check. That printer should install automatically. You may have to do a "Windows Update" from the "Add Printer" dialog to get the full selection of printer drivers.

TBH, it makes sense to check for compatibility of existing hardware and software before you spend money on new equipment, not afterwards, but your printer should work fine with Windows 7.

haha well i ad libed the response. when i tried to install the driver disc with my epson 820 stylus it said that windows 7 is 64 bit and the disc drivers were only comopatible with 32 bit

When you "upgrade" to Windows 7, Epson sees to it that non-OEM cartridges will NO LONGER WORK!!!! This is especially the case with EPSON inkjet printers. I imagine it's the same with most other inkjet printers. So, a lot of aftermarket non-Epson cart makers are about to see a major drop in sales.

With my CX-7800, what is see is all four cart icons grayed out and a bright yellow sign saying BUY EPSON CARTS.

As we used to say in the USAF, I am now screwed, blewed and tattooed.

Anyone have any workarounds?

Best solution

Yes - use Windows XP Pro x64 SP2 or XP Pro x86 SP3, thats what I use and it works great on new systems as well (have seen a few laptops and PC's converted from 7 to XP functioning perfectly) You can still find drivers for 99% of components used in PC's / laptops today for XP. I downgraded my acer 7740G from 7 to XP Pro x64 SP2 and also works perfectly. You should obviously as a first step determine what components are inside your system as well as what equipment that is connected to your PC / laptop that also require drivers and try to download the correct drivers and make a backup of your data that is important to you.

Another consideration is: does your new system have an option in the "BIOS" to use IDE as XP does not have AHCI drivers allowing it to correctly detect and install on systems with the new hard drive controllers.

If your system does not have an option to change to IDE mode, do not dispair for there is an EXCELLENT utility named "NLite" allowing you to integrate the AHCI drivers into the XP source and burning it to a CD / DVD allowing XP to install on newer systems. You need to determine what hard drive controller your system contains and download the appropriate driver for either XP 64 bit or 32 bit depending on which you plan to install.

Lastly, on systems with UEFI BIOS it might not be possible to install XP, so first determine if your system have a UEFI BIOS. I have never attempted to install XP on a system with UEFI BIOS and so cannot say for certain you will be able to install XP on a system with an UEFI BIOS.

It will also be necessary to convert a GPT partition to MBR format to install windows XP. Avery good utility to use for partitioning purposes is Paragon Partition Manager 10.

There are also excellent free visual styles available for download that can be integrated with NLite to enhance the look of Windows XP and improve the user experience.

NLite may be downloaded and used free from http://www.nliteos.com/download.html

Free visual styles for both XP 32 and 64 bit available here:

32 bit http://www.mediafire.com/?09n8vo77986ncz7
64 bit http://www.mediafire.com/?t6rr1rqsvts8641
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