Member Avatar for Scratchy

Hey all.
Someone I know just bought a second hand PC with a 10 GB hard disk. In the same order they bought a 40 GB HD, but the PC, which is a Dell GX110 (I think) only has one drive bay. The system came preinstalled with XP Pro but the disk wasn't provided. Is there anyway to make a clean copy from the small HD to the bigger one without the need to re-install windows?

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Short answer: yes — you can move the entire XP install from the 10 GB drive to the 40 GB drive without reinstalling, but you need to clone the disk (not just copy files) and copy the boot information. As others suggested (commercial packages exist), a free or low-cost route is to attach the new drive externally, run a disk-to-disk clone, then swap the drives back into the single-bay PC. (macrium.com)

Practical, minimal-risk workflow:

  • Back up any irreplaceable files first.
  • Connect the 40 GB drive externally (USB-to-SATA/IDE adapter, docking station, or to a second PC). (manuals.plus)
  • Boot a cloning tool (Clonezilla, Macrium, or similar) and choose device→device (disk-to-disk). Make sure the option to copy the bootloader/MBR is selected. Verify the target is the 40 GB drive before proceeding — cloning will overwrite it. (techradar.com)
  • Power down, swap the drives into the original machine, check BIOS boot order, and boot from the cloned drive. (tomsguide.com)

Notes, gotchas and quick fixes:

  • If the GX110 is PATA/IDE, set jumpers appropriately (single/master when the drive is the only device on the cable); consult the drive/motherboard docs before booting. (seagate.com)
  • After cloning the partition table will often match the old (smaller) size. Use the clone tool’s “expand” option or boot a GParted Live USB to grow the NTFS partition to fill 40 GB. Always run chkdsk/verify after resizing. (macrium.com)
  • Keep the old drive available until the new drive boots cleanly. If Windows reports activation or driver issues, that usually happens only with different hardware; a cloned drive used in the same PC rarely needs a full reinstall. (makeuseof.com)

This expands on ’s and ’s suggestions with a single-bay practical plan (external adapter or another PC), and avoids unnecessary reinstalling if the clone and boot steps are done carefully.

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Member Avatar for chrisbliss18

If he bought the harddrive retail, it would have come with a disk that can mirror the information from the old drive to the new drive. If his didn't come with a disk, he may be able to get the same software by downloading it from the new harddrive's manufacturer's website. There are other ways such as using , but these solutions usually entail spending money and learning complex software.

Even if he successfully "ghosts" the image from the old drive to the new drive, Windows may want to be reinstalled. XP has this nasty habit of needing to be reinstalled if any major changes were made to the hardware. Best of luck.

Member Avatar for Gawnio

Just thought Id use this as i have a similar problem with only 1 bay.

I bought my desktop from dell years ago - would it still come with a disk? I cant find it so far but it came with stuff like a monitor setup disk. I dont understand how the disk can work - where can it store all that info? I have a windows xp disk.

Would it be possible to transfer the data from my computer (A) to another computer's (B) hard drive? Im guessing via ethernet or something - surely wireless would take days. I have about 35Gig of data and cd writer but not dvd writer. Or is it ideal to install my old hard disk on the other computer (B), transfer data, and then install the new hard disk on (B) to send it back and then move the new disk to (A)? If that's possible?

Thanks

Member Avatar for DMR

Just thought Id use this as i have a similar problem with only 1 bay.

Hi Gawnio,

We actually ask that members not tag their questions on to a thread previously started by another member (regardless of how similar your problem might seem). Not only does it divert the focus of the thread away from the original poster's problem, but it also makes it less likely that you yourself will get the individual attention that you need.

Please start your own thread and post your question there. When you do, please try to give us as much specific info as possible regarding the problem (exact error messages, system specs, etc.).

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Thanks for understanding.

Member Avatar for fry

Hey all.
Someone I know just bought a second hand PC with a 10 GB hard disk. In the same order they bought a 40 GB HD, but the PC, which is a Dell GX110 (I think) only has one drive bay. The system came preinstalled with XP Pro but the disk wasn't provided. Is there anyway to make a clean copy from the small HD to the bigger one without the need to re-install windows?

Hi guys.
Last year I had the same trouble. But I found an excellent , using it, you could create an exact image of old HDD, burn it to CD/DVD, and restore onto new disk.
I did it quite easy and fast.
BTW, I didn't have to reinstall Windows.
:cool:

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