Cloning XP SP3 onto partition of Win7 drive
Hi all
I've had to update to Win7 for various reasons, but am now needing to get into some older XP projects.
Currently the Win7 install is on drive C:, but the HDD has an open partition that can be used for second OS.
Can I clone my old XP install across to the open partition on the Win7 boot drive using DD11? I then need to hide the Win7 Os when booting into XP so that the XP partition is seen as C: and vice versa when going into Win7.
I'm pretty sure it's possible - and probably easy - but I'm missing it somehow.
Thanks in advance
Rob
Great, I'll try that route. To be clear, using either DD11 or TI, I must delete the second partition to create unallocated space on the drive, then copy the XP install across. Won't this create a non-system drive?
I haven't used OSS before, but am quite happy to do so if it will do the job.
TI will only clone an entire drive, not a single partition. If you want to use TI, you would back up the XP partition and restore it to the other drive. DD will let you copy a partition to unallocated space only (you can't copy to an existing partition). Whichever method you use, make sure XP is placed on a Primary partition (it's generally easier than using a Logical partition).
You may need to verify the boot.ini file is correct for XP after the copy with DD. TI would most likely adjust things to boot properly. I'm not sure about DD 11 -- it may also.
OSS should detect Windows 7 and XP. Once installed, you can edit the menu entries and hide the partitions as desired.
Hmm, looks like I'm doing something wrong....
In DD11, I select 2nd partition and delete, which creates a portion of unallocated space
I then select the XP clone I have plugged in and tell it to copy volume
DD brings up 4 options - basic, simple, striped and mirrored. I leave it on Basic and hit next.
Select the unallocated space and press next
I leave the next page as is, though should I change the drive letter to "Do not assign"? Settings are Volume type Primary, not active. Is that correct?
Hit finish and press commit pending operations.
DD then starts process, gets as far as copy volume and errors out with "Corrupted file system. Run error checking software."
If I close DD at this point, there is a Microsoft message requesting that I format drive before using it. Is this maybe interfering with DD?
I did forget to mention that the cloned XP is coming from a different machine. Do I need to run Repair on the XP installation before trying again?
Run chkdsk /r on the source XP partition and see if there are any errors. The Windows message requesting a format is just because DD didn't finish.
You can assign a drive letter or not. It won't make a difference at this point, except you can access the partition from the booted Windows if you do. Primary and not Active is correct.
Is the hardware much different between this computer and the source XP computer? If so, you may need to do a repair install or other type of P2P adjustments to get it to boot and run correctly.