If I get a New PC Can I transfer my XP Pro OS to it? 1

[jhowley58]

Hi,

I've had my XP pro system for over a year now. I upgraded from W2000. I've had the hardware 5 years and I want to upgrade to a new higher spec PC.. Can I transfer my OS to the new computer?. I would use Norton Ghost to write the XP Pro OS across. Is this a legal thing to do?. I would load an old W98 OS supplied with a long scrapped system onto the old PC before selling it.

JohnH.

 

[bcastner]

Yes it is legal.

But, a ghost is suitable only for very similar machines. You will save yourself a lot of aggravation by using the regular Install method (you can do so with an upgrade version of XP), and using the Files and Settings transfer wizard.

Your chance of getting it to work on the new machine are nearly nonexistent from a Ghost image. You will have to re-activate XP, which should not be an issue.

 

[jhowley58]

Thanks for the rapid reply.

I used Ghost before when I installed a larger hard disk. And I had to phone up to reactivate XP then.

JohnH.

 

[bcastner]

The real issue is going to be the difference in chipsets for everything, including the support circuitry for the CPU, every buss but especially all of your PCI and AGP bridges, the IDE controller, the video display adapter, etc.

Ghosting the image will almost assuredly not work because of these differences. The activation issue is a secondary concern, as what you are doing is legimitate within your EULA.