Advice please: Migrating/cloning/installing/partitioning

[chrisk]

hi all,
i'm looking for ideas and advice re the following practical problem:

i'm working on an old-generation (PIII/800MHz/384Ram/30G HDD/XPHome) machine, finely tuned (never had to reinstall O/S over 5 years) to my personal needs, but reaching its (and my) limits.
i'm being given a new machine (CentrinoDuo/1800MHz/2G Ram/250G HDD)..._but_:
a) it has XPPro installed, and
b) it's the _german_  version.

now:
1) i can function with a german O/S, but would _much_ prefer an english version.
2) i have no experience with XPPro and therefore no idea whether an upgrade from XPHome is even worth the while.
3) i want to "move" my stuff to the new machine as quickly and "painlessly" as possible.

here is what i've to date considered:
re 1) don't want to incur extra expenses (ie no buying of an english version); a UIM (foreign language) "wrap" wouldn't work anyway (only works if the base version is english);
re 2) ?
re 3) is cloning even possible when going from one machine to another, and if so: how best?; maybe run the old O/S in a VM?; maybe install a double boot situation? or "simply" (assuming that there's a recovery partition with the original O/S) do a new install of my XPHome or a slipstreamed install?
4) and how, in whatever scenario one chooses in the end, best to set up the partitions (in view of the fact that it'll be a _long_  time before i get to the limits of this size HDD)? [this is obviously the last and in a certain sense the easiest issue]

much appreciate any and all insights!!
thanks,
chrisk

[Deozaan]

In regard to #2: XP Pro and XP Home are practically identical. The only difference I've heard of (that matters to me) is that XP Pro has extra networking features.

[Carol Haynes]

You can move XP from one machine to another.

Here is an article on how to do it: http://support.microsoft.com/kb/249694/en-us (applies to Windows 2000, XP and 2003 - 32 bit and 64 bit versions)

Make sure you have image backups of both systems before you even attempt any of this though so that you can restore your systems to their current exact state.

My experience of this is:

• It is very hit and miss whether you end up with a decent installation after the move
• You will need to reactivate Windows on the new hardware - if the copy you are moving is OEM there is no guarantee that MS will activate it on new hardware as the license will be tied to the original system. If you purchased a license or an upgrade this should not be a big issue and if you haven't reinstalled in 5 years you shouldn't even need to phone them.
• Personally I would take the opportunity to start with a clean new system with a fresh installation. If you aren't using the network features of XP Pro you may as well stay with XP Home and move it to the new machine. If you don't need anything on the machine with the German XP Pro on it why not simply format it and install XP Home on there together with your applications. Once you have a nice clean new setup you can move your data over using the tools provided in XP for moving user files and settings - or just move them manually.

If you try following the MS instructions let us know how you get on.

Finally there are a number of software titles out there (some free) that claim to move your operating system via an image backup to new hardware. The one I would try is Acronis Echo Workstation with Universal Restore but it isn't free. Other people may be able to suggest free alternatives. The main thing is you don't just want an image backup for this - you need one that will automatically sort out potential driver conflicts when you restore the image on the new system.

[chrisk]

thanks deozaan and carol for your help!

inching along in the process, this is where i presently stand:

a) will scramble around to find an english XPPro install (or recovery cds) which corresponds to the same physical machine type, which (if my understanding of b.gates' rules is correct) should allow to use the Windows key/authorization and thereby replace the german O/S.

b) in the meanwhile, use
http://www.vmware.com/products/converter/
and
http://www.vmware.com/products/player/
and put the old XPHome machine on the new machine, run it when necessary, but mainly "use" it to slowly build from scratch the new (then english) XPPro.

has anybody used these progs, any comments?
(especially interesting the uses which Vmware says are possible with VMTools, such as file transfers etc!!!...should make the transition really simple)

c) partition the new machine thus:
C:\ O/S
E:\ applications
F:\ data
pagefile on external HDD (one issue i'm not sure about: if one places a small pagefile on C;\, as the experts suggest, how does one get it "to the front of the disk"?? indeed: same question re the big pagefile on the external HDD)

much appreciate any input, advice, insight etc!
thanks,
chrisk

[tomos]

a) will scramble around to find an english XPPro install (or recovery cds) which corresponds to the same physical machine type, which (if my understanding of b.gates' rules is correct) should allow to use the Windows key/authorization and thereby replace the german O/S.

I was in exactly the same situation but was told that I couldnt replace the german xp with an english one, but that was a few years back & I cant remember my source & there's always lots of confusion about these things I find ... (even within MS by the sounds of things )

[Carol Haynes]

You can download the Windows XP Home and Pro SP3 (most languages available - make sure you get the right one) ISO file and burn it to a CD ROM.

See http://www.tipandtrick.net/2008/download-unmodified-original-windows-xp-with-sp3-integrated-full-retail-and-vl-install-cd-iso-image-from-msdntechnet-plus-via-http-or-torrent/ for download links.

If you install an English version you will need an installation key - the one from your German version may or may not work (I'd guess they are language coded but possibly not).

If you haven't got the key try recovering it using one of the apps in this thread http://www.donationcoder.com/forum/index.php?topic=11435.0

JellyBean finder works well and is free.