need help with PC migration, please?

[cyril]

I know this is not a tech forum, but since I love hanging around here, I'll post the following question to those of you who knows the stuff:

My laptop monitor is literally coming apart physically (a well known flaw of HP9000 series that causes the hinge to break and makes the monitor unable to swivel properly) and I miss the deadline which HP will fix it for free.

What I want to do, since my laptop is a few years old already, is to buy a used/reburbished laptop on ebay (with higher specs), swap out the HD that comes with it and plug in my old one, the point being I don't want to reinstall every single program/ application I have (some I have lost the CDs, some I have lost the keys, some like FOF which is online download, I don't want to call elicense again, etc. etc.)

Now I know I can't do that because XP (which I use) won't run when it detects hardware difference. I have heard of a utility called PC mover that is used to do PC migration, but I have seen pretty bad reviews of it.

What other alternatives do I have? I don't mind paying (max $100) if the process is smooth, easy and pain-free. Thanks in advance for any help you tech gurus out there can offer.

[DaddyTorgo]

Originally Posted by cyril

I know this is not a tech forum, but since I love hanging around here, I'll post the following question to those of you who knows the stuff:

My laptop monitor is literally coming apart physically (a well known flaw of HP9000 series that causes the hinge to break and makes the monitor unable to swivel properly) and I miss the deadline which HP will fix it for free.

What I want to do, since my laptop is a few years old already, is to buy a used/reburbished laptop on ebay (with higher specs), swap out the HD that comes with it and plug in my old one, the point being I don't want to reinstall every single program/ application I have (some I have lost the CDs, some I have lost the keys, some like FOF which is online download, I don't want to call elicense again, etc. etc.)

Now I know I can't do that because XP (which I use) won't run when it detects hardware difference. I have heard of a utility called PC mover that is used to do PC migration, but I have seen pretty bad reviews of it.

What other alternatives do I have? I don't mind paying (max $100) if the process is smooth, easy and pain-free. Thanks in advance for any help you tech gurus out there can offer.

balls. i have a 9000-series and i got mine in by the deadline and they got it back to me and it's absolutely good-as-new now. that sucks that you missed the deadline.

[flere-imsaho]

Not worth it. Unless the hardware is identical, the OS will have issues (even beyond the XP authentication issues you mention) dealing with the new hardware. It may still work, but it won't be pretty.

I should note that even corporate IT departments, who have access to basically identical hardware, don't do this. They simply image a new machine and transfer all your files over, possibly including some desktop settings so your "new" machine seems to look and feel like the old one.

Bottom line: I guarantee you will find it much less hassle to install from scratch on a new machine and just transfer your data over.

[NiteMaestro]

Originally Posted by flere-imsaho

Not worth it. Unless the hardware is identical, the OS will have issues (even beyond the XP authentication issues you mention) dealing with the new hardware. It may still work, but it won't be pretty.

I should note that even corporate IT departments, who have access to basically identical hardware, don't do this. They simply image a new machine and transfer all your files over, possibly including some desktop settings so your "new" machine seems to look and feel like the old one.

Bottom line: I guarantee you will find it much less hassle to install from scratch on a new machine and just transfer your data over.

+1

If you're particularly concerned about migration, the only real options I can think of is virtualization on a Mac. Or VNC/VDP with a server OS...