Need help moving old drive to new computer.

[mechman]

I know this won't be easy but can I copy my old hd programs and data to my new sata hd in new computer. The old drive is 32g ultra ata and the new is segate 80g sata. The os is win xp on older drive and I also have a new copy of xp pro. The new unit has not been formatted yet.

[glc]

After you install XP on your new build, you can put the old drive in as a second drive and copy files from it to the new drive. Your programs will have to be reinstalled, but all your data will be there.

Another option, although more complicated, should be able to get it running exactly like the old computer. Instead of putting the new drive in, put the old drive in and do a repair reinstall of XP and get all the drivers installed, ESPECIALLY the SATA controller drivers. Then you can use Seagate Disk Wizard to "clone" the old drive to the new one.

[mechman]

Thank you for your reply glc. My problem is that I don't have any of the original software or drivers. What I wanted to do was image the existing disk and save on cd rom. Then remove all the hardware drivers and image the disk to the new drive. Is this possible and should I install the new os or let the image program format the new drive.

[Cricket]

Thank you for your reply glc. My problem is that I don't have any of the original software or drivers. What I wanted to do was image the existing disk and save on cd rom. Then remove all the hardware drivers and image the disk to the new drive. Is this possible and should I install the new os or let the image program format the new drive.It's possible, but you need a program like Norton Ghost or Drive Image to do it.

:) Cricket

[glc]

Restoring an image will be counterproductive. It will just overwrite your fresh new installation. I think my second option will be best for you. You do not need any of the original software or drivers - just your original XP disk and the NEW drivers. You may not even need the XP disk, it *might* boot up fine, but that's a 50/50 proposition.