Can I Clone My Hard Drive To Another Computer And Use The Software There?
Posted by benny in FreeWare on December 27th, 2009 | 6 responses
If I clone my current laptop hard drive onto a new laptop hard drive, using a program like Acronis True Image, will this eliminate the need to get new software for the new machine? Will all the programs work, just as they should? (I use Office, Photoshop, CuteFTP, LockMyPC, Norton AntiVirus and more.
Are there dangers to doing this?
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6 Responses to “Can I Clone My Hard Drive To Another Computer And Use The Software There?”
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I don’t know what all the other answers are talking about but yes this will work with the acronis. first you have to sysprep your HD (look up on google if you dont know how.) sysprep just makes the image go back to “install mode” so it can see the new hardware on the new laptop and change the sid. then just image the partition with acronis and then restore it to the other laptop. you will probably have to download drivers though so make sure you have internet access or the driver disk. you will also have to type in the license agian for the OS.
Yeah its true what the first guy said…about the licensing of the windows etc..
However if you clone a hard drive, it will really CLONE the hard drive..
if the data is cloned, the hardware must also be cloned (that is, your computer must have exactly the same hardwares as the computer from which you clone from) since the data in the hard drive, especially the programs and softwares and windows, are linked to your computer hardwares as an identification.
First off there is the issue of are you licensed to do so. Being a laptop I will assume it came with an OS on it and will assume it’s XP. This copy of XP is licensed for the PC it came on and only on that PC as it is an OEM copy. It cannot be installed on another PC for any reason.
Second would be the licenses for the software you are trying to copy. Most of these applications are also licensed to be installed on a single system so making a copy, even a Ghosted copy would be illegal.
Next is the issue of actually doing what you want to do. Windows is going to have a major issue seeing all the new harder not to mention all the hardware it doesn’t see anymore. Then Windows Activation would most likely kick in as well.
Hardware:
XP’s Hardware Abstratction Layer (the HAL) is too closely bonded to the motherboard, (IMO,) and unless you put it in the same family of notebooks, it is unlikely to work.
Software:
This would violate nearly, (if not every,) User License Agreement ULA you have….
assuming you successfully clone the old drive to the new laptop’s drive, the cloning process will preserve all the program files, personal settings and your preferences
within every program, as well as those within the Windows
operating system itself.
Cautions and pitfalls:
Laptops come with hard drives which allow for password protection.
If the drive you’re cloning is password protected, make sure that the password is removed before you clone it. Otherwise the password might get cloned onto the new drive, and the password is dependent on the computer in which the drive is installed. So make sure the drive is unlocked in the old machine before it’s cloned.
Microsoft XP recognizes the hardware configuration of the machine it’s installed on, and if it detects different hardware, such as a different processor, sound card, or video processor, it may require that you re-authenticate your copy of Windows. I didn’t keep XP for that reason, so I can’t say for sure, but the worst case scenario might be that MS wants to charge you for installing your copy on a new machine. On the other hand, they may just give you a new code to authenticate it on the new computer. There may
also be less-than-legal ways to get around this, but if this kind of information exists, the GA Terms of Service prohibit me from posting it.
Hello,
As for me, I use Acronis True Image to clone my old hard disk to new one. So it was really very easy, but I have PC, not laptop.
You could use such solution only if you are going to change the HDD in your laptop, or if another laptop you want to clone to has the same configuration.
Good luck!