Program Question

Hey guys, I gotta a problem with a program that is on this HDD. I have the same exact program on another HDD that is working fine. How can I move the ENTIRE program from one HDD to this HDD? I know about cloning the entire HDD and stuff, but what about just a single program?

Thanks

 

I don't think there is one perfect method for this which fits all software. Transferring a program can be simple or difficult, depending on how extensively it has embedded itself during installation and how much of this it actually needs for running. It can be as simple as copying its folder from within "C:\Program Files" on the source disk into "C:\Program Files" on the target disk.

That's what I would start with. Then try to start the executable on the target disk (or look at what shortcuts/start menu entries it used on the source, recreate those and start them), and if you are lucky it works.

If you are not quite as lucky, it will fail but tell you what is missing and where it should be. Then you can copy that from the source to the appropriate places on the target as well. Often programs have additional folders somewhere deep in "C:\Documents and Settings". You could do a file search using the name of the software or its manufacturer.

Some other things to look for if it fails but doesn't tell you why:
Some programs store configuration data somewhere in their folders, in *.ini or *.cfg files for example, where you may have to use a text editor to adjust paths and the like if the directory structure is different on the target.

Some will have registry entries and require them for running. Start regedit.exe on the source and search for entries with the name of the software or the manufacturer, usually they are under HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE/SOFTWARE, but there may be more. You can export these entries into a text file, copy that over to the target and import the entries into the registry of the target. But it is getting rather messy at that point.

 

You can't copy programs from one drive to the other as they carry registry keys with them that cannot be copied. What you could do is get a program called symantec ghost or norton ghost (symantec = corporate program, norton = consumer level program) and CLONE the drive to the other drive as well. You have been PM'ed as well!

 

Also Remember that Acronis True Image can be had for FREE, legally, if you have a Western Digital or a Maxtor HDD in your system. It can be downloaded from their sites as Maxblast and Acronis True Image WD Edition (ATIWD). It is somewhat more limited then the commercial, but will usually get the job done!

 

Thanks guys. I appreciate the suggestions. I was on a 4 way conference call yesterday with the programmer, owner, etc all on GoTOMeeting trying to figure out this program. They can't figure it out. So I thought, shoot I have a good one running on a seperate HDD. Just have to get it over here somehow.