cloning HD to the different lappy

I have to migrate HD from dell to toshiba laptop. While cloning the whole HD I'm receiving dell software message preventing the recovering with no possibility of workaround.

My knowledge is that laplink or another software providing with cloning of separate apps have very limited success.

Some of my apps are old and it would be very difficult to find surce CD's or downloads.

Does anybody have some positive experience on this matter?

 

Basically, you can't expect Windows that was configured to work on one machine to work on another. When it boots it will load the wrong drivers and maybe BSOD. There's also the minor matter of whether the licence for your Dell copy of Windows allows you to run it on another computer.

However, there is hope. If your applications are old then they will be less likely to make extensive use of the registry (although you can export parts of the registry) and more likely to keep their program-specific data in a file in the program's own folder.

Put the old HDD into a USB enclosure and start copying files and see what works.

John

 

Thanks John,

...and if to force cloning (how to?) and to reinstall the XP later with the original-to-laptop drivers? Would it solve the problem?

Another issue is to use laplink software to clone some particular apps. However I'm rather pessimistic on this matter...

 

Shove your HD into the new laptop and do a repair install using a Vista Disc.

After thats done, Vista will detect that the OEM licence wasnt made for that computer due to inconsistent parts. It will then ask you to re-activate. When it does, i think you can change the licence to your newer one.

Try ringing up Microsoft. Not too sure on this...

 

There are many problems moving XP Pro from one computer to another, I have done this several times but I don't know if it is even possible with Vista. A straight across clone will likely get you a BSOD I think.

 

...or get this software called Acronis True Image Home 11.

i had to restore a few times, it took minutes, not hours.

beats sitting there and installing software & transferring stuff.

 

Acronis wont work for him. Hes trying to transfer a HD to a new computer.

Acronis is only to transfer data from an old HD to a replacement HD.

 

so why is he cloning the HD ?

i would just put the drive in, and let windows find the hardware changes.

 

If the OS is an OEM version (XP or _Vista) this won't work because OEM versions are locked to the hardware they came on and are not transferrable in this manner.

If Laplink isn't useful in moving your application programs over to the new computer (assuming it's running it's own valid, legal OS ), then you're probably going to have to try and scrounge up as many installation media as you can. You might also google around for other utilities that can be used to transplant installed applications, such as Move Me, a utility I came across after a quick google (I think older versions are also available as shareware). Another is StepUp Pro.

Good luck.

 

in the past i've called the number for manual product key activation and spoken to ms, i had them reset my OEM key and explained that i had updated the hardware in my machine.

 

Eh, if they buy it, they buy it; although I must say that "updating" your hardware from _Dell to _Toshiba gives new meaning to the word "update," and I rather doubt if the licensing language can be stretched that far, even by a creative attorney.

 

That is not always true. An OEM version is not always hardware locked, just sometimes. And even companies that have done it this way (dell) didn't always do it and don't always do it.

However, the OEM license is legally tied to the first machine it is installed on, technically what the OP is proposing is illegal.

Now, if the OP were to purchase a NEW OEM copy, so each PC had it's own license, then what another poster described, cloning the drive to a new drive, inserting the cloned drive in the new machine, and running a repair installation IMMEDIATELY (which incidentally, requires you to type in the OEM key ((so type in the new one)) ), then sometimes--SOMETIMES--this will work.

The repair installation, though, needs to be run the very first time, before Windows ever wakes up in the wrong hardware. I have had better luck this way, as once it wakes up in the wrong computer, certain registry files become hopelessly corrupted and the repairs are less likely to work (they still will, sometimes, though)

But yes, the repair installation with a new--SECOND--legitimate cd-key is the way to go. Then you will often get all your user files and programs back.