Swap out old, put in new HD....how?

[Neb]

Just received my brand-spanking new WD 800JB 7200 SE. Now what? It came with no docs, no cables, no nuthin, just shrink wrapped from NewEgg. How do I xfer the existing WinXP OS and everthing on that drive to this one and make it boot? (yes, the old drive is smaller than the new one.)

Thx!
Neb

[Thoric]

your best bet would be to put your new 80gb in, set up your partitions and install a fresh XP, then add your second (older) hard drive in. Drive letters wont be a problem, and you can then transfer all your files to your newer drive :thumb:

[Neb]

I don't have any files I need to keep on the older drive, their all on the external drive. I just don't want to have to re-install everything.

I know this can be done, I just need some direction.

Should I just image the drive to the external and then restore to the new drive?

Thx!
Neb

[Wiggo]

Norton's Ghost will do that but it'd be just as quick to reinstall XP itself.

[kane2g]

I disagree.
Using ghost will be a lot quicker than reinstalling the OS, service packs, drivers. applications, tweaks, etc.
Usually it takes ghost about 10-30mins to ghost a harddrive, which is about as long as it takes to install XP alone.
:2cents:

[Neb]

Well, I don't own Ghost, so I just reinstalled everything. Perhaps it's good to go through that process once in awhile, keeps everything clean. ;)

Thanks,
Neb

[minibubba]

Originally Posted by Neb

I just reinstalled everything. Perhaps it's good to go through that process once in awhile

I think you'll find that most people around here would agree with that sentiment ;)