[paphy]

hi i recently bought a new computer and i have a partioned space on my c drive for my operating system which is xp is it possible for me to copy this onto another computer i have thanks in advance paphy

[DKasler]

Let me see if I understand you correctly...

You want to copy a black partition (formated or unformated?) to another hard drive?

Yes you can do that... by why would you? It doesnt really make sence. There is software that will do it like Norton Ghost by Symantec, but its intended for copying drives full of data.

Why not just partition and format the other drive... its alot easier than opening up both machines, setting the source drive as master and the destination as slave mirroring the drives, and then switching it all back.

[paphy]

because i dont have an operating system for my other pc i have just built so wanted to copy it over to that one

[DKasler]

Ahh, so you want to install all your software onto pc1, then copy the drive to another machine...

Unless the hardware of the 2 machines in identical (Esp. Mobo, and CPU) this is going to be more of a headache than its worth honestly.

If you're worried about XP and not having a Lic for more then 1 machine... well this isnt exactly a legal work around either.

If you're not picky on an OS you can always download (legally) a free copy of Linux or Unix.

[paphy]

well if it helps in his comp i have a7n8x la motherboard and amd athlon xp 2800 and a7n8xvm-se in the other with amd athlon xp 2400 would this cause problems thanks the quick replys

[Lone Wolf]

Paphy, i understand what you are trying to do.

First of all, let me just say that it's 1) illegal and 2) not possible.

It's illegal because with XP Home edition, MS gives you the right to install the OS only on 1 (ONE) PC.

It's not possible for you to just copy the XP files onto your 2nd PC and make it work. You need a ghosting program in order to copy the boot sector from the 1st PC byte for byte. With such a program like Norton Ghost, you can do that. However, the OS will contain information in the registry about the hardware installed in the 1st PC and unless it's the same exact replica of the 2nd PC, it's not going to work.

[paphy]

ok thanks for the info all looks like ill have to buy xp

[DKasler]

Originally posted by Lone Wolf
Paphy, i understand what you are trying to do.

First of all, let me just say that it's 1) illegal and 2) not possible.

It's illegal because with XP Home edition, MS gives you the right to install the OS only on 1 (ONE) PC.

It's not possible for you to just copy the XP files onto your 2nd PC and make it work. You need a ghosting program in order to copy the boot sector from the 1st PC byte for byte. With such a program like Norton Ghost, you can do that. However, the OS will contain information in the registry about the hardware installed in the 1st PC and unless it's the same exact replica of the 2nd PC, it's not going to work.

Thats what I said! lol

[paphy]

lol sry for the trouble

[killians45]

or you can contact microsoft and see about getting additional liscense, its possible in some cases. dont know if its cheaper, I doubt it since technically when buying the os your not really BUYING the os but actually you are purchasing a liscense to run it.