changing hard drives

[rogerdee]

i seem to be having  a lot of problems  of late so i want to do a fresh install of windows xp to a clean hard drive.

  i want to then swap some of the files from my old hard drive over to it eg  the modem soft wear  ect  .
how easy will it be  and what should i look for,or can i run the old haddrive as my d drive  to connect to internet then download fresh soft wear?

thanks for any help

[Skuzzy]

The easiest way would be to install the OS on a new drive, then mount the original drive as a secondary.  You want to get the new drive up and running before installing the original drive so Windows will not detect the original installation of the operating system.

After mounting the original drive as a secondary, then you can copy what you want from it.

[Masherbrum]

Originally posted by Skuzzy
The easiest way would be to install the OS on a new drive, then mount the original drive as a secondary.  You want to get the new drive up and running before installing the original drive so Windows will not detect the original installation of the operating system.

After mounting the original drive as a secondary, then you can copy what you want from it.

That's what I just did.

[x0847Marine]

Originally posted by rogerdee
i seem to be having  a lot of problems  of late so i want to do a fresh install of windows xp to a clean hard drive.

  i want to then swap some of the files from my old hard drive over to it eg  the modem soft wear  ect  .
how easy will it be  and what should i look for,or can i run the old haddrive as my d drive  to connect to internet then download fresh soft wear?

thanks for any help

If you want a clean install on your new drive, goolge "slipstreaming"... you bacically make a bootable XP CD that has all service packs & updates & drivers included...

Having a slipstreamed XP CD around anyway can, and will one day, save you a lot of time in case of a failure.

I like my new drive running the show while my old ones serve as slave drives, but to each his own.

[StarOfAfrica2]

I dont know about EASIEST, I think that title goes to Ghosting a copy of your hard drive.  If you happen to have Norton Ghost that is.  I do, and it makes copying a drive the most uncomplicated procedure you could ask for.  

Skuzzy's way isnt hard though, and it has the added bennie of being FREE.  Well, beyond the cost of the HD that is.  

[rogerdee]

thanks guys for all the answers
 i got the problem that someting on my origonal HD keeps  playing up and  mkaing my pc crash as well as chucking me out of AH so i only want to copy a few files from my old hd so ghosting wouldnt be for me.

 I guess skuzzys ways proberly the best but gona take ages

[Roscoroo]

your gonna have to do it Skuzzys way (new master w/ the old as slave)
and copy what you need to ... Ive tried the "backup" method befor but it always  seams to fubar the os in some small way or another (double files /programs general headaches)

and with a failing drive a copy made with Ghost will transfer the bad parts too .

[x0847Marine]

You can also try out the Windows transfer wizard under programs>>accessories >> system tools >> files and settings transfer wizard