Member Avatar for mat4ijo

THe drive I want to use as slave is faulty (windows immediately logsoff after logon - the problem does not seem to be the common one associated with the files wsaupdater.exe and userinit.exe) but will work as a slave drive.

If I format an old hdd drive with XP and use that as the master drive will the programs/games/applications still work or would these need reinstalling on the master hdd.

If the programs won't work is there a way which is easier than digging out / borrowing all the cd's to reinstall????

Thanks in advance

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  • Latest Post Latest Post by Chaky

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Short answer: you normally cannot just format a new master, install fresh XP, and expect programs sitting on the old (now-slave) disk to work. Most Windows programs depend on registry entries, registered DLLs, services and installer-created keys that live in the active Windows installation — not just the program files. Portable apps are the exception and will often run directly from the slave.

Why this matters: installers write into HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE and HKEY_CURRENT_USER, register COM objects, install drivers and add Start Menu/Services entries. Copying Program Files alone misses those pieces. As pointed out, the registry is the main missing link. As warned, trying to copy an active Windows install while it’s running will hit locked files — so offline tools are needed if you attempt file-level recovery.

Practical options (ordered by likelihood of success)

  • Clone the whole old drive (or its Windows partition) to the new master as a sector/image copy so the registry, MBR and system files are preserved. Do this from bootable media (WinPE/Linux live or imaging tool) so you avoid locked files. If the old disk is flaky, image it immediately to avoid further data loss.
  • If cloning isn’t possible, keep the old drive as a slave and install XP on the new master. Then:
    • Run installers found on the old drive (look for setup.exe or an Install folder) and use their Repair option when available.
    • Try running executables for programs that look “portable.”
    • Use offline copying from a live environment to recover user data and configuration files (Documents, AppData, program folders).
  • Avoid merging registry hives unless you know exactly what you’re doing; importing broken or mismatched keys can make the new install unstable.

Final cautions: back up everything first, expect some software (antivirus, DRM-protected games) to require reactivation or full reinstall, and prefer cloning or using official installers over manual registry surgery.

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Member Avatar for Chaky

I did that number of times. Only on Win98.

This is very painful and time consuming process. What you need to do is setup new hd as slave, copy complete contents to new disk and switch disks (ther settings, that is). There is only 1 problem. (if you're using XP). There will be files (windows used ones) that you will not have access to. Therefore, if you have a day or 2 then you will have to write down on a piece of paper name and path of every single file that you cann't copy. It prompts you and stops the copying process every time there is access violation. That is most painful with the "System32" folder for there are ~2000 (~4000 incl. subfolders) files and most of the used ones (read: most copying interupts). After (a lot of time and after) you're done with copying you will have to go to hard part. That is boot from winxp install cd, select -r and manualy copy the remaining files.

Maybe you should just put the new drive in as a slave.

Atleast for starters.

Member Avatar for TiJay

The answer is yes - but more practically - no

It can be done, however - the process is more time consuming than Charky mentioned. Every program creates registry entries when it is installed - that gives the file path. You would in effect have to go to every single program on the slave HDD in the registry, and edit it to show the correct file path. If it is on a fresh install, it woul mean knowing what and where each of the entries are, and adding them by hand....the easiest thing is to just re-install the program(not to mention, safest - as it keeps the end user well away from the registry :P)

Member Avatar for Chaky

Registry editing woul be unnecessary, because among the files copied do the new hd would be ones that contain win registry. (windows\system32\config\*.*)
All paths would be correct because C drive (old) will become D drive and D drive (new) would become C drive.

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