Looks like I’m going have to return to Aus. for an extended period. I intend to buy a new PC there with similar specs to the one I have here (cost me in excess of 50K Baht to build and is a real flier) and have it structured as a clone of this. I really don’t want to carry all my CDs back and go into a complete OS and software installation.

OK! Can I use a boot CD eg. Ubuntu and build an EXACT copy of my HDD? I will buy one of similar size and specs to the master.

Can I install this newly copied HDD into a new machine and have it boot up and all my applications behave correctly? I’m running Xp Prof SP2 with most all of the updates. (Not too sure about SP3 yet).

I know there will be a few hardware driver issues and bios tweaks to carry out but I don’t think it will be too hard to overcome.

Are there any legal issues in doing this?

Anyone done it or have any advise?

Thank you.

Looks like I'm going have to return to Aus. for an extended period. I intend to buy a new PC there with similar specs to the one I have here (cost me in excess of 50K Baht to build and is a real flier) and have it structured as a clone of this. I really don't want to carry all my CDs back and go into a complete OS and software installation.

OK! Can I use a boot CD eg. Ubuntu and build an EXACT copy of my HDD? I will buy one of similar size and specs to the master.

Can I install this newly copied HDD into a new machine and have it boot up and all my applications behave correctly? I'm running Xp Prof SP2 with most all of the updates. (Not too sure about SP3 yet).

I know there will be a few hardware driver issues and bios tweaks to carry out but I don't think it will be too hard to overcome.

Are there any legal issues in doing this?

Anyone done it or have any advise?

Thank you.

You'll have to drop to the command line, but if my memory serves me correctly the proper command to clone a hdd bit for bit is:

dd if=/dev/sda of=/dev/sdb bs=128

You'll of course need to switch the sda and sdb to reflect what you actually have in your system.

If the motherboard is exactly the same you should be able to do it. Your biggest problem will be getting it to boot off of the hard drive controller; as long as it's the same Windows won't freak out too much although you may have to reactivate XP.

Another tip I've heard of is before cloning changing your IDE/SATA controller to a generic one and the swapping the hdd. Install the relevant drivers and you're good to go.

Acronis® True Image Echo Workstation ..... great program for migrating to another machine without matching hardware.

Try Ghost.....worked perfectly for me.