Happy_Harry
Registered User
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- 277
I thought I should share this, as I had been looking for this info for a long time and I can't imagine I am the only one that tried to achieve this.
I bought a PC in 2005, preloaded with XP and no XP CD ( Just with a recovery partition in case you had to re-install).
Now 3 years later my hard drive was getting slower and noisier, so I decided on getting a new one ( a bigger one at the same time).
Bought a new hard drive, but then I was wondering how to get XP on it without buying a new license. And I wondered for a long time. The obvious thing you could do is create a (ghost) image and move it to the new hard drive. But then you still get a lot of rubbish you have gathered over the years, nothing better than to start with a clean installation. So how did I do that..
Note this only works if you have a legal copy of windows XP installed
Step 1. Back up all data you want to transfer over to the new machine.
Step 2. Make sure you have on disk ( or know where to find online) the drivers of all attached hardware. Also ensure you have PW or WEP/WAP key for your network where applicable.
Step 3. Find your windows registration key ( and all other license keys you might need). There are loads of free tools out there that can do this for you in 1 sec. Just and choose one that is free. Also note that the key that is on the sticker of your computer might not necessarily be the key that is used to register the computer. I believe you could still use it as well though, but I used the one that was used to register originally ( by the PC maker)
Step 4. Partition your new hard drive. I used an external hard disk enclosure connected to my PC and formatted from there ( Control Panel> Administrative Tools>Computer Management>look for Storage>Disk Management)
Step 5. Create a bootable Windows XP Installation CD ( the crux of the problem) I found a very good step by step guide here ( and it works) http://www.howtohaven.com/system/createwindowssetupdisk.shtml.(I had also copied over the I386 folder to the new hard drive anyway, don't know whether my installation used those installation files or the ones on the CD)
Step 6. Change the hard drive physically, load the newly created CD and the windows XP installation will start automatically.
Step 7. Do a windows update to install required SPs and patches, install an Anti Virus program then install all hardware and programs you need.
Please note that this installation is a clean one, which means that whatever programs, toolbars etc the PC manufacturer had pre-installed on your machine will no longer be available. If this is a problem, you would need to find another way. I found it a big relief that all the Packard Bell customisation were gone (and no longer eating up any memory or CPU). This might also be a useful guide if you want to get rid of all the rubbish that comes with a pre-installed operating system.
I bought a PC in 2005, preloaded with XP and no XP CD ( Just with a recovery partition in case you had to re-install).
Now 3 years later my hard drive was getting slower and noisier, so I decided on getting a new one ( a bigger one at the same time).
Bought a new hard drive, but then I was wondering how to get XP on it without buying a new license. And I wondered for a long time. The obvious thing you could do is create a (ghost) image and move it to the new hard drive. But then you still get a lot of rubbish you have gathered over the years, nothing better than to start with a clean installation. So how did I do that..
Note this only works if you have a legal copy of windows XP installed
Step 1. Back up all data you want to transfer over to the new machine.
Step 2. Make sure you have on disk ( or know where to find online) the drivers of all attached hardware. Also ensure you have PW or WEP/WAP key for your network where applicable.
Step 3. Find your windows registration key ( and all other license keys you might need). There are loads of free tools out there that can do this for you in 1 sec. Just and choose one that is free. Also note that the key that is on the sticker of your computer might not necessarily be the key that is used to register the computer. I believe you could still use it as well though, but I used the one that was used to register originally ( by the PC maker)
Step 4. Partition your new hard drive. I used an external hard disk enclosure connected to my PC and formatted from there ( Control Panel> Administrative Tools>Computer Management>look for Storage>Disk Management)
Step 5. Create a bootable Windows XP Installation CD ( the crux of the problem) I found a very good step by step guide here ( and it works) http://www.howtohaven.com/system/createwindowssetupdisk.shtml.(I had also copied over the I386 folder to the new hard drive anyway, don't know whether my installation used those installation files or the ones on the CD)
Step 6. Change the hard drive physically, load the newly created CD and the windows XP installation will start automatically.
Step 7. Do a windows update to install required SPs and patches, install an Anti Virus program then install all hardware and programs you need.
Please note that this installation is a clean one, which means that whatever programs, toolbars etc the PC manufacturer had pre-installed on your machine will no longer be available. If this is a problem, you would need to find another way. I found it a big relief that all the Packard Bell customisation were gone (and no longer eating up any memory or CPU). This might also be a useful guide if you want to get rid of all the rubbish that comes with a pre-installed operating system.