Posted on 09/18/2008 7:24:59 PM PDT by WayneM
Any help is appreciated.
Here is the situation... I know a lady whose computer is trashed (bad motherboard IDE port). This machine runs but the CD ROM doesn't work because of the port. The machine is a 2002-era celeron box with XP SP1, but there is no install disk. She is a charity case and can't afford a new machine, and I cannot afford to buy her one.
I have a good P4 computer but it has no OS (the OS was stripped by reformatting the hard drive.
Questions - is it legal to move the OS from one machine to another? How can it be done other than by having a XP setup disc? Is there a software method to move from one machine to another? Can I just pull the hard drive out of the broken box and place it in the good box and expect it to run?
sending you an e-mail, Wayne
Pull the hard drive and put it into the working box is likely to work but may require additional drivers.
No. It might boot and try to fix itself, but whether it does or not, it will not succeed.
Is there a software method to move from one machine to another?
Not the way you want.
How can it be done other than by having a XP setup disc?
It cannot. Sorry.
Questions - is it legal to move the OS from one machine to another?
Except for the tiniest of exceptions, no.
You have two basic choices, neither of which is especially satisfactory.
If it's an OEM license, strictly speaking, no. The license dies with the hardware, unless of course, you are the original system builder, in which case you can just replace failed hardware at whim and retain the license.
No install disk...so I don't think there's much you can do, well, other than install Ubuntu.
You should be able to pull the HD out of the working machine and put it into her machine.
Naturally, take note of what your HD settings are in the BIOS before you take it out — write them down. Many motherboards will autodetect what the HD settings are, but you want to be sure just in case hers doesn’t.
If need be, set up her bios to show the same HD settings. Then you should be laughing.
Tech ping!
I have done this many times with Win2k XP etc. It just takes work, getting the right drivers and setting things up. Might take 3-4 hours.
I have had the same win2k on at least 3 different computers I built.
Just pt the drive in the new machine and start humping away.
I might have a tighter definition of “succeed.”
It will NEVER be as good as a fresh install and, much worse, this method offers no recovery method.
It is probably legal. If the drive is good and the OS is not corrupt then why not see if you can disable the onboard IDE in the CMOS and install an aftermarket card?
If you move the drive across it will probably boot but will only function at a minimal level until you sort out all the driver issues. Trying to figure out what chipsets for video/audio/etc are on the motherboard for a computer more than a few years old can be a major headache.
You can look at drive imaging software here and try some out if you want to go that route...however I would go for the drive swap first. It's easier.
If you're THAT concerned about the OS being 'illegal' and she's a charity case, you can always install Linux on the drive. It doesn't sound like she's a big gamer, so it might work for her. Here are two Linux distros that are a good start if you decide to go that route:
Windows is custom tailored to the individual machine. Legal or not switching hard drives probably won’t work. However there is a pretty good OS you can get for free ( www.ubuntu.com )
I’m using it right now as a matter of fact.
As for poking your old HD into her box, yes, that might work if (1) it's the same interface, that is, you're not trying to plug a SATA drive into an IDE cable, and (2) you're willing to deal with the inevitable driver issues that represent the differences between the hardware on the two machines - video card is probably the most inevitable. It is relatively safe to plug it in and see what happens, you're not likely to ruin anything that isn't already ruined. You'd be wise to image your old HD to, say, a USB external (even a decent-sized thumb drive will work for a basic XP installation), using Ghost or something similar, before you start. Don't forget that her machine might be too old to do cable-select on the HD and you may have to jumper it into a Master state.
It's legal enough to transfer the OS license to new hardware but when it's time to register it with Microsoft you may have to give tech support a call to get it moved. I've done that and they're very helpful. As long as you have the original install code. Hope this helps.
Ignore my last post — I’m mildly dyslexic today, got it wrong way ‘round.
Have you considered checking e-Bay for an XP install disk? That is probably the best way to resurrect your machine.
Alternatively, there is a great utility (freeware) called “Recuva” — you get it from www.filehippo.com. I have used it to recover files from a fully formatted drive — tho’ never to recover an entire o/s. Still, if nothing has gone onto the disk there is probably no reason why that wouldn’t work...
So to do this trick, you would need to download Recuva onto a working machine, then mount your old disk as a slave. Run Recuva, point it at the slave disk and recover the lot...
Then, in theory that disk should now have a working O/S...
Then, in theory you should be able to mount her disk as a slave to your disk, so she can still get at her old data...
It sounds like it would be a fun project. Good luck!
A Linux machine - say Ubuntu based - would have all the tools she needed. You could simply install Linux on your machine, plug her hard disk in as a second drive, tell Linux you want to mount that one, and she could read all her existing files.
2002 PC in 2008? ... Take it to a landfill.
save yourself the hassle and buy an external CD rom drive with a usb port.
The old (bad) box has what I assume is the original XP load key/serial number printed on a sticker, but there is no copy of the original media in an i386 folder.
So can I assume that swapping the hard drive into the new box will likely work if I can get past the problem of finding drivers for all the hardware devices and doing an install on ach of them?
BTW - my sincere thanks to everyone who has responded or will respond. Once again, Free Republic proves to be the best online community - bar none.
Apparently her hard disk works, but the CD-ROM doesn't? Typically if these are the only two IDE devices in a machine they will each be "master" on one of the IDE interfaces. You could configure the CD-ROM to be a "slave" and put it on the same IDE interface as the hard disk. Typically this isn't done for performance. I think there is a minor speed penalty for running both from one interface, but she probably wouldn't notice it.
The master / slave selection is typically made via jumpers on the back of the IDE device (hard disk or CD-ROM). There's probably two connectors on the flat ribbon cable, you should have everything you need to try it...
I know, but this is not a machine for me, but a family friend. She is a single mom with very limited funds struggling to finish her education. We have helped her a bit, but cannot afford to buy her a new computer.
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