How to transfer all apps and data from one laptop to another? 2

[wvdba]

Hi,
i have an older dell (insprion 8100, 20GB-HDD) that i want to replace with a newer dell (40GB-HDD). they are both on my home network. I also have a desktop that is also on my network. I have acronis 10.0 software for backup, etc. my question is how can i get all my data and apps from inspiron 8100 and put them in the newer dell. i am aware of norton ghost and other similar apps, but i don't want to spend extra money on this issue.
1) will acronis do this? if so, will my newer dell have all the apps and data and will it still have 40GB instead of 20GB?
2) will acronis backup/restore do this?
3) is there any other way to do this? xcopy, etc.
thanks.

 

[wahnula]

Acronis should work fine, but you will need to find a way to connect both drives simultaneously to the laptop. You will be using the "clone" or "image" function of Acronis.

Most often this is done with a USB adapter, something that the new HDD plugs into one end and the other end goes into your laptop's USB port. It will take a little while to copy, but it should work. Remember to power down after imaging (and before rebooting) so the new drive will not be labeled by Windows after cloning. When the operation is complete, shut the system down (before reboot), swap HDDs and boot up to the new drive.

Look in the Acronis manual under "Imaging" to get a full procedure tutorial. The best part of this is even if the imaging goes wrong, you will still have the old drive intact to try again.

BTW all drive manufacturers have downloadable utilities on their websites that do the same thing (cloning/imaging), but Acronis is designed to do exactly what you are looking to do. Best of luck!

Tony

Users helping Users...

 

[wvdba]

thanks wahnula.
i have acronis true image 10.00
i have some other questions:
if i do the image option from 20 GB to a 40 GB hard drive, would it completely rewrite the 20gb image to the 40gb drive?
would the 40gb now have 20gb instead of 40 gb?
what would happen to the registry and drivers, etc. my problem is not changing drives, but transfer apps and data from one laptop to another. i hope i have explained what i'm trying to do.
thanks.

 

[wahnula]

Just realized (I should have read the thread title ) that you're trying to go from one laptop to another. The best way to proceed would be to start from scratch (new, clean install of Windows on the new machine), use the File and Settings Transfer Wizard (FAST) which works great as long as all your files are in My Documents. You will still need to re-install the apps on the new machine.

Another way would be to try my original suggestion, then place the hard drive in the new machine, boot to Windows CD and choose the second Repair option, otherwise known as an in-place upgrade of Windows. This will allow your old image to work in your new machine, but like I said the best way is a clean start and recovering settings & files via FAST.

Tony

Users helping Users...

 

[wvdba]

thanks wahnula.
the new laptop already has windows xp on it. i can copy the data with no problem. it's the apps that is a headache. i have between 100 and 150 apps that needs to be installed in the new machine. so, i'm in a precarious situation. is there any software that can copy apps and their corresponding registry entries to a new machine? if that can be done, it would be great. is there such an app?

 

[dippncope]

you could try steps from this thread pay attention to arizonageeks post

http://tek-tips.com/viewthread.cfm?qid=1538982

 

[wvdba]

dippncope,
i don't have any problem with drivers, etc. all i want to do is to copy my apps (programs) and data from one machine to another machine.
thanks.

 

[dippncope]

I understand that. But by making an image and using sysprep you can then drop image on new computer and have all apps up and running. I have found that to be the easiest way to do it from an older machine to a new one and keep everything working.
another option is installrite which according to their website provides "application cloning" as opposed to "disk cloning", simplifying software distribution.

http://www.epsilonsquared.com/

I have used it to make install packages but have not tried to do application cloning

 

[IllogicallyLogical]

Have a look at Laplink's PCmover as it can accomplish what you are after.

- PCmover

http://www.laplink.com/pcmover/

Joey
CCNA, MCSA 2003, MCP, A+, Network+, Wireless#

 

[wvdba]

thanks for the links. laplink's pc-mover and epsilon's installrite seems to do what i need. pc-mover is more like it, even though it costs around $40.00
thanks again.