From: philo@invalid.not   
      
   On 04/30/2011 12:48 PM, Wes Groleau wrote:   
   > Son's HP laptop broke both hinges. Needs machine (and its contents)   
   > for college and can't wait for shipping for hinges I could install.   
   >   
   > Doesn't want to pay $40 for overnight, or $70 for a local repair,   
   > so instead (go figure), he paid $300 for a Fujitsu Lifebook.   
   > With Vista.   
   >   
   > Beside the fact of Vista's reputation, there's also the issue   
   > of learning it AND reinstalling his various apps without a lot   
   > of time.   
   >   
   > So, we want to swap hard drives.   
   >   
   > LOTS of stuff on the web contradicting each other. Some pages even   
   > contradict themselves, like a Microsoft KB that says basically,   
   > "It can't be done, and here's how to do it" followed by a lot of   
   > registry hacking that I wouldn't touch even if I understood it.   
   >   
   > After reading a few, though, and talking with the tech where he   
   > bought the thing, I get the feeling that the thing to do is   
   > boot from an XP CD and choose the repair option.   
   >   
   > I have a legal XP CD from my MSDN license. It starts to boot up,   
   > and I know it is the CD by the sounds and the fact that some of   
   > the screens I recognize from other installs. BUT, eventually it   
   > stops with the error that I would expect if I were trying to boot   
   > from the hard drive.   
   >   
   > In other words, the _CD_ is getting the error that it is supposed   
   > to fix on the hard drive. The hard drive won't even get that far,   
   > they say because it's a different IDE controller. Which puzzles me,   
   > because how can you boot from a drive if reading the drive depends on   
   > drivers that are on the drive? :-)   
   >   
   > ANYWAY, looking for advice.....   
   >   
      
      
      
   If the old machine has a *non* OEM version of XP on it (which is   
   doubtful) and a *non* OEM cd of the same version you could , in theory   
   perform a repair install...but since the machine is newer, there is a   
   good chance you'd never be able to get drivers.   
      
   so, the best you can do is reinstall the apps and copy the data over   
   from the old drive   
      
      
   Obviously, buying a machine with Vista on it was a very poor lapse in   
   judgment...   
      
   anyway, I was young once too and you learn by your mistakes   
      
   --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05   
    * Origin: you cannot sedate... all the things you hate (1:229/2)