2008/9/18 Barrys linux mail bazubuntumail@tiscali.co.uk:
Hi. I need some guidance on copying a windows xp drive,copying the hole drive including the operating system to another hard drive(the original drive is on its last legs). (1) does drive image software work ? as i thought for copyright reasons it was not possible to copy all of windows.
Yes, it works. If you just changing the hard drive to one of a similar type you should be fine.
(2) If it works does the receiving drive have to be the samesize as the original drive.
It works best if the new drive is the same size, or bigger. If the new drive is smaller then the copy software needs to be more clever about fitting the data in. This applies to all OSes.
(3) what would happen if i put this new drive into anothercomputer with a different processor and video card,will windows throw a wobbly?
The first wobbly will be sorting out motherboard, processor, disk and video drivers. If you are changing from IDE to SATA then expect trouble. My HP laptop showed signs of being a cloned XP image from a similar model with a slightly different processor. Small differences will be fine. It is normal for system manufacturers (and IT departments) to use a cloned disk to speed up the install, leaving just the Windows licence and user setup to the end user.
The next wobbly will be XP's product activation scheme (the copy protection). Changing the hardware of an existing install costs points, and after a threshold you have to re-activate. This can be as simple as having an Internet connection (I've done that), or as complicated as phoning them (I've not done that). Does the computer come with it's own XP licence sticker?
OR should i say what the heck and just put ubuntu on the new drive after running checks with the live disk?
Yes :-) I put up with dual booting for years before dedicating one computer to each OS I wanted to run. That does take up desk space though.
Good luck, Tim.