[vox-tech] Quick and easy windows dupe

[Mark K. Kim]

Try this, assuming your old HD can still boot WindowsXP:

   1. Put back your system the way it was before so WinXP can boot
      again.  Put your newer hard drive as slave (I'll assume D:),
      so WinXP can see your new FAT32 partition.

   2. Run the "Backup" program in WindowsXP.
      This is one of the system software and as I recall it still
      ships with WinXP.  It should be on the same menu as "ScanDisk"
      buried in the Start Menu somewhere.  If not, you can install it
      from [Control Panel] -> [Add/Remove Programs] -> [Windows Programs].
      (or something like that.)

   3. Backup the whole C: drive to a file in your FAT32 partition.
      Let's call it "D:\MyBackup.qic" for this example.  Now
      all your system is stored in "D:\MyBackup.qic"

   4. Shut down and put back the hardware the way you want it to be,
      with the new HD (that has MyBackup.qic) as primary and old HD
      as secondary.

   5. Copy "MyBackup.qic" to one of your Linux partitions for
      safety.

   6. Install WinXP (and only WinXP, though installing anything
      else won't hurt or help) on your FAT32 partition by
      usual means, and make sure you install "Backup" along with it.

   7. Run "Backup" and choose the "restore" option, and select
      "MyBackup.qic" as the file to restore from.

   8. Afterwards, reboot and watch the system back to the way
      it was, including all software and registry settings,
      but on a new hard drive.

Note: I've never done this by migrating from NTFS to FAT32 (I generally
stay with the same partition type).  I'd guess you'll get some error
messages but things should still install.  Still, take necessary
precautions.

Another note: These steps assume you already have enough space on your
FAT32 to store MyBackup.qic and all its extracted software.

This is the safest yet relatively fast way to duplicate a system on
Windows.  It seems a little cumbersome to switch the hardware back and
forth, but that's something that wouldn't have been necessary had you
known about this technique before setting up the hardware in new
configuration.  But this is still a good option even at this point, I
think.

-Mark


On 17 Jan 2003, Richard S. Crawford wrote:

> Thanks for the suggestions about my shared partition.  It's now
> reformatted to FAT32.
>
> One last issue, and then the complete rebuild of my system from scratch
> will be complete...
>
> My old hard drive is currently on my system as /dev/hdb.  My new hard
> drive is /dev/hda1.
>
> My old Win2K installation is on /dev/hdb1, including some programs that
> I simply can't get to anymore.  Does anyone know of a quick and easy
> (yet reliable) way of duplicating my Win2K installation from /dev/hdb1
> to /dev/hda1?  I've considered trying to use the cp command in parted,
> but that probably won't work since parted only operates on one device at
> a time.  I've also wondered if the dd command might be the way to go.
>
> Can anyone give me any suggestions?
>
>
> --
> --
> Slainte,
> Richard S. Crawford
> AIM: Buffalo2K / Y!: rscrawford / ICQ: 11640404
> http://www.mossroot.com http://www.stonegoose.com
> "It is only with our heart that we can see clearly.  What is essential
> is
> invisible to the eye."  --Antoine de Saint Exupery
>
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-- 
Mark K. Kim
http://www.cbreak.org/
PGP key available upon request.