PC failed - another system - now won't boot from HDD

Hi Malke

Now I am panicking!

Are you sure that is the case?

To reinstall all the applications and get everything working is very
difficult and is not an acceptable option.

In my opinion it is pretty poor that my computer can fail and I can't put my
HDD into another and not get it to work.

Mark


"Malke" <malke.DeleteThis@invalid.invalid> wrote in message
news:el7LqwECJHA.2476@TK2MSFTNGP06.phx.gbl...
> Mark wrote:
>
>> Hi
>>
>> My PC failed, so I was given another system - a Dell desktop 2004 model
>> Optiplex GX270.
>>
>> I had put a new HDD IDE drive in the old PC with Win XP SP3 installed. So
>> I put it in the 'new' system. Now it won't boot from this HDD.
>>
>> Without success, I have tried booting from the CD and repairing as
>> described at
>> http://www.michaelstevenstech.com/moving_xp.html
>>
>> The original HDD from the Dell runs ok and I can get this HDD to load. I
>> can then access the troublesome drive as D: once I've booted. Everything
>> appears to be there.
>>
>> I've spent hours and cannot get it to boot.
>>
>> I want it to boot so that I can access the registry and run the programs
>> on it.
>
> If the Repair Install didn't work, there are too many differences between
> the old system and the new one. A clean install would need to be done.
> Since you have a working XP box now with the Dell, copy your data over to
> it from the old hard drive and reinstall your programs from installation
> media. Move on.
>
> Malke
> --
> MS-MVP
> Elephant Boy Computers - Don't Panic!
> FAQ - http://www.elephantboycomputers.com/#FAQ
>

Mark wrote:

> Hi Malke
>
> Now I am panicking!
>
> Are you sure that is the case?
>
> To reinstall all the applications and get everything working is very
> difficult and is not an acceptable option.
>
> In my opinion it is pretty poor that my computer can fail and I can't put
> my HDD into another and not get it to work.
>
There is nothing "poor" about this. That's the way computers and operating
systems work. It isn't limited to Windows.

1. Copy your data to your working install.
2. Install programs from installation media.
3. Configure the computer to be exactly as you like.

Note: The above normally takes approximately 3 hours from start to finish.
It is annoying, but not a huge deal. It will not even take you that long
since you already have a working XP installation.

4. Purchase an external hard drive and Acronis True Image. Image your
perfect install and store the image on the external hard drive. TI also
does incremental backups. Now if you need to restore - ON THE SAME HARDWARE
- it will only take a few minutes.

Malke
--
MS-MVP
Elephant Boy Computers - Don't Panic!
FAQ - http://www.elephantboycomputers.com/#FAQ

Thanks Malke, much appreciated

I believe it is 'poor' as on earlier versions of Windows and other
operating systems it was not a big deal. One just had to swap the HDD, and
it would at least be running in a few minutes. Then all one needed to do was
tweak it.

I do have backups of most stuff. But my setup has been developed over a long
time is very complicated. Thus, it is annoying that it is going to take many
hours to fix.

I've already spend quite a few hours, and I've got a lot more to go yet.

Why can't XP simply revert to a generic setup when all else fails. Surely
that is not too much to ask?

But that is not to say I'm ungrateful for your assistance.

So, thanks for your help. Taking your time to answer is much appreciated.

Cheers

Mark


"Malke" <malke DeleteThis @invalid.invalid> wrote in message
news:eFe%23TIKCJHA.1224@TK2MSFTNGP02.phx.gbl...
> Mark wrote:
>
>> Hi Malke
>>
>> Now I am panicking!
>>
>> Are you sure that is the case?
>>
>> To reinstall all the applications and get everything working is very
>> difficult and is not an acceptable option.
>>
>> In my opinion it is pretty poor that my computer can fail and I can't put
>> my HDD into another and not get it to work.
>>
> There is nothing "poor" about this. That's the way computers and operating
> systems work. It isn't limited to Windows.
>
> 1. Copy your data to your working install.
> 2. Install programs from installation media.
> 3. Configure the computer to be exactly as you like.
>
> Note: The above normally takes approximately 3 hours from start to finish.
> It is annoying, but not a huge deal. It will not even take you that long
> since you already have a working XP installation.
>
> 4. Purchase an external hard drive and Acronis True Image. Image your
> perfect install and store the image on the external hard drive. TI also
> does incremental backups. Now if you need to restore - ON THE SAME
> HARDWARE
> - it will only take a few minutes.
>
> Malke
> --
> MS-MVP
> Elephant Boy Computers - Don't Panic!
> FAQ - http://www.elephantboycomputers.com/#FAQ
>

Btw.
(Been working on new setup for a couple of hours)

Would it be possible to clone the old drive now? ie as it is presently a
secondary drive.

My thought is to clone it to my USB external drive (or alternatively
reinstall my 500gb interanl 'backup' drive [which is still sitting on the
desk], reinstall XP on the old HDD from the CD, then reapply the cloned
image.

Then I can go back to using it as my primary drive which is my prefered
option.

Thanks



"Malke" <malke RemoveThis @invalid.invalid> wrote in message
news:eFe%23TIKCJHA.1224@TK2MSFTNGP02.phx.gbl...
> Mark wrote:
>
>> Hi Malke
>>
>> Now I am panicking!
>>
>> Are you sure that is the case?
>>
>> To reinstall all the applications and get everything working is very
>> difficult and is not an acceptable option.
>>
>> In my opinion it is pretty poor that my computer can fail and I can't put
>> my HDD into another and not get it to work.
>>
> There is nothing "poor" about this. That's the way computers and operating
> systems work. It isn't limited to Windows.
>
> 1. Copy your data to your working install.
> 2. Install programs from installation media.
> 3. Configure the computer to be exactly as you like.
>
> Note: The above normally takes approximately 3 hours from start to finish.
> It is annoying, but not a huge deal. It will not even take you that long
> since you already have a working XP installation.
>
> 4. Purchase an external hard drive and Acronis True Image. Image your
> perfect install and store the image on the external hard drive. TI also
> does incremental backups. Now if you need to restore - ON THE SAME
> HARDWARE
> - it will only take a few minutes.
>
> Malke
> --
> MS-MVP
> Elephant Boy Computers - Don't Panic!
> FAQ - http://www.elephantboycomputers.com/#FAQ
>

On 2008-08-28, Malke hit the keyboard and wrote:
> Mark wrote:
>
>> Hi Malke
>>
>> Now I am panicking!
>>
>> Are you sure that is the case?
>>
>> To reinstall all the applications and get everything working is very
>> difficult and is not an acceptable option.
>>
>> In my opinion it is pretty poor that my computer can fail and I can't put
>> my HDD into another and not get it to work.
>>
> There is nothing "poor" about this. That's the way computers and operating
> systems work. It isn't limited to Windows.

Sorry I peg to differ, with the OS of my choice, I could
very well transfer it from one PC with a complete different
hardware to a much older model. First PC was a AMD Athlon
1800 the other was a PII with less then 600MB of Ram. The
only thing I needed to change was the driver for the
video-card, and that wasn't difficult.

<cut>

I've a Magazine here that contains instructions on how to
make a *back-up* copy of win95/98. It boils down simply to
copy the folders "Windows" and "System" and give them new
names. Now if something goes haywire, one can (I guess under
DOS) simply rename the 4 Folders, and get a working System
back in 5 minutes. Couldn't the same be done under XP? And
no I don't have the opportunity to try it myself....


> Malke



Dragomir Kollaric
--
"When science discovers the center of the universe, a lot of
people will be disappointed to find they are not it."
>> Bernard Baily <<

Dragomir Kollaric wrote:

> On 2008-08-28, Malke hit the keyboard and wrote:
>
>>Mark wrote:
>>
>>
>>>Hi Malke
>>>
>>>Now I am panicking!
>>>
>>>Are you sure that is the case?
>>>
>>>To reinstall all the applications and get everything working is very
>>>difficult and is not an acceptable option.
>>>
>>>In my opinion it is pretty poor that my computer can fail and I can't put
>>>my HDD into another and not get it to work.
>>>
>>
>>There is nothing "poor" about this. That's the way computers and operating
>>systems work. It isn't limited to Windows.
>
>
> Sorry I peg to differ, with the OS of my choice, I could
> very well transfer it from one PC with a complete different
> hardware to a much older model. First PC was a AMD Athlon
> 1800 the other was a PII with less then 600MB of Ram. The
> only thing I needed to change was the driver for the
> video-card, and that wasn't difficult.
>
> <cut>
>
> I've a Magazine here that contains instructions on how to
> make a *back-up* copy of win95/98. It boils down simply to
> copy the folders "Windows" and "System" and give them new
> names. Now if something goes haywire, one can (I guess under
> DOS) simply rename the 4 Folders, and get a working System
> back in 5 minutes. Couldn't the same be done under XP? And
> no I don't have the opportunity to try it myself....
>

Nope, thats not always possible in the NT operating systems, they are
more stable than that. Under the old DOS systems you could do that, and
that was one of the features that lead to their instability.