2

The closest match I could find was this question from 2011, but they were trying to migrate an hdd with duel-boot winxp/ubuntu, and the prominent responses suggested using cloning software...

But what about doing this from a strictly hardware approach ~ swapping the drive from an old machine to a newer one. Is it possible? More importantly, what issues should I be prepared for if not using a cloning tool?

What I'd like to do is basically take an SSD out of a very large (somewhat ancient) tower and put it into a mini-pc (that I don't yet have) ...then go about getting the existing WinXP install to boot with the new hardware. This is aimed at not having to reinstall/reconfigure years worth of OS and software customization. Truly, this thing is just as snappy as my Win10 notebook and brand new POP_OS computer (both 64-bit).

EDIT: This is a standalone version of Windows XP Home Edition on a custom-built rig, assembled circa 2001. So it is not an OEM version (if that changes the equation). Still have the original disk.

I'm told by one person at a computer repair shop that it simply won't work on account of the differences in hardware. But maybe there is a way? I'd start by trying to ensure the mini-pc is assembled from hardware for which Windows XP is likely to have driver support (i.e. motherboard, chipset, what-else-I-do-not-know) so not brand new hardware just good enough hardware cobbled into a much smaller form factor than the current rig.

Side note: I'll keep the machine offline but continue using it for those software tools so familiar with over the years - word processing, mp3/mp4 manipulation, pdf tools ...not to mention morrowind, which takes ages to customize if one uses a lot of mods. Dread the thought of having to reinstall/reconfigure morrowind.

If it really (practically) can't be done and the OS essentially must be reinstalled from scratch then probably not worth the effort, because as is everything just works and the main downside is I've got this large tower taking up space under the desk, whereas I'd rather have this sitting on the desk next to my Meerkat with a KVM switch.

If it can be done suggestions on good components?

frogsbottom
  • 110
  • 1
    Any new hardware is not likely to run XP at all. I suggest making XP a virtual machine with VMware Workstation or Hyper-V. I have XP here on my 2016 laptop using VMware Workstation and it works just fine. – John Sep 08 '19 at 19:42
  • Thanks to everyone who responded. All answers were helpful. My takeaway is yes, technically it's possible, but with challenges I may not be equipped to tackle. Otherwise go the route of virtualization (and you can still achieve a similar result). – frogsbottom Sep 10 '19 at 17:14

6 Answers6

2

Since Windows XP has already passed End of Life (EOL) support, it is very likely that you will not have drivers for WinXP that will function. Plus, depending on the firmware that you have, it may not even boot at all or will boot with a lot of problems, and all the hassle is not worth the effort, especially since you are not installing a fresh copy of WinXP and using an old one from another machine. It is preferable to run older OSes like XP in a VM; I find that this works much better with XP than actually installing it on a hard drive.

2

What you need is a backup product with a bare metal restore to dissimilar hardware option.

Backup the XP system then move the drive to the new hardware and restore the OS to the drive with the dissimilar hardware option that still supports XP.

As mentioned, no hardware made within the last 5 years is likely to be supported by Windows XP. The chances of getting Windows XP to run well is slim.

Your best option is to virtualize the system and run it on hyper-v or some other virtualization technology using new hardware.

Appleoddity
  • 11,730
2

Also, you can try converting the machine to a VM (VMware Converter or like), but if the XP machine is an OEM install, this will not work. You may be as well off getting a License for XP on eBay (you can still get them there)

John
  • 49,923
2

You will need to find hardware that has no UEFI BIOS (XP won't run on UEFI, not even with Legacy/CSM support enabled). USB3 is out of the question too. And, as far as I know, no USB3 capable USB chipset has XP drivers (including no drivers for the USB2 fall-back mode).
That basically means hardware from 2012 or even earlier. Then you would need to merge the motherboard and SATA drivers (and USB if you need that for mouse/keyboard) for the new hardware into the existing XP setup while it is still on the old hardware. (Difficult and error-prone.)
Then you have to move the disk to the new hardware and pray. A lot of praying.
If you can get it to boot at all chances are that you can get all other drivers running, but I won't put any bets on it.
Besides: If you can't get it to work chances are that the XP install gets messed up so badly in the process it will not work on the original hardware anymore. You better have a very good backup just in case.

Just making a backup copy of the original disk and restoring that on a XP VM seems a much more sensible solution. It won't touch the original machine in any way so you will still have that as a fall-back.
On reasonably modern, halfway decent hardware a VM is more than capable of matching the performance of an old XP machine.

That is what I do myself. I've got a 3 year old Zotac NUC with a Core-i5 (4 cores) and 16 GB RAM. (Intel on-board graphics, no dedicated gfx card.)
It will happily run a XP VM (using 2 cores and 4 GB RAM for the VM) in VirtualBox that is, even with emulated graphics, faster than the original Core2Duo hardware.

Tonny
  • 31,463
  • Up to this point I know very little about virtualization but it sounds like the best approach goes something like this. Get hold of a Win10 mini-pc (with a decent gpu). Create a vm container for incoming image. Go over to the WinXP machine and create an image/Virtual Machine (no idea how to do this but possibly with DiskToVHD). Transfer the image (VM) to the Win10 pc and run it under VMWare, VirtualBox or Hyper-V. Set pc on top of desk and enjoy the added legroom. Run virtualization software and load clone of WinXP (with all software and customizations) like a ghost in the machine. – frogsbottom Sep 09 '19 at 19:11
  • @frogsbottom You’ve got it right. :-) – Tonny Sep 09 '19 at 20:03
2

Simply put, it will come down to drivers. Most importantly, will be the SATA controller. If there are no Winows XP drivers for the new SATA controller, you are SOL. On your new machine, you will have to check all the hardware devices to see if there is a Windows XP compatible driver. You could get lucky, as some older, cheaper computers use generic off-the-shelf chipsets that have been around forever.

ALternatively, you can virtualize your XP install. You can use Microsoft's DiskToVHD to convert your XP machine to a VM and then run it as a guest OS on the new machine.

Keltari
  • 73,243
1

Here is my method for moving XP HDD to another computer in an industrial environnement :

  • move your hard drive to new PC XP compatible (BIOS ACPI, if not, BSOD with acpi error) OR restore image from backup via clonezilla ;)
  • download Hirens's boot CD version 15.4 (new version don't contain the fix) and make an usb live with rufus or another tool
  • boot to USB key, in the hiren s boot traybar icon, select registry -> fix_hdc, set the path (press T) as standard C:\Windows and apply the fix (press M)

XP will start without BSOD, you will have to reactivate it and install new drivers.

source : https://www.raymond.cc/blog/move-windows-xp-hard-drive-or-change-motherboard-without-getting-blue-screen-of-death/2/

dmag88
  • 11
  • 2