I'm in the process of having a custom configured computer built for me, and with the following components: 3 Ghz Pentium 4, with an AsusTek P4P800S-E 'serial ATA' motherboard, 1 GB Kingston RAM, 160GB 7200 RPM Western Digital HD (w/8mb cache), Plextor 716A DVD/CD Burner, USB 2.0, Adapatec Firewire PCI card.

The only item from my current computer (Dell Dimesion 8200) I'm planning to install on the new PC is my M-Audio PCI card (Delta 66) soundcard including Omni I/O. Is this soundcard still considered state of the art or should I consider upgrading to a better PCI soundcard? What's recommended? Which soundcard(s) is currently best recommended for use with Cakewalk Sonar?

I was advised that I must purchase a brand NEW copy of Windows XP (home edition) and won't be able to use the Windows XP OS which came on my Dell Dimension because Dell's version of the WindowsXP installer disk (CD) won't install on a non Dell PC. This being the case, should I stay with Microsoft's Windows XP Home Edition, or upgrade to Home PRO edition or Windows 2000? I figure since I already know my downloaded software drivers work with XP Home on my current PC, that it might be a better bet just to purchase Windows XP Home Edition again. What do you guys recommend?

Also, I currently have the contents of my ENTIRE primary HD of my current (old) PC backed up on a Maxtor external USB hard drive. This includes OS, settings, drivers, programs, data, etc. What's the BEST way to get everything ported over to new PC? Will I have to RE-INSTALL everything from scratch (including software & driver updates) all over again , or will I be able to move some (or all) of the data backed up on the external HD over to the primary HD on the new PC?

Many thanks in advance to all for help in making my new computer transition & upgrade as smooth & glitch free as possible.

Scott



------------------
http://scottyee.com

Hello Scott,

First the bad news..
No you can't transfer O/S settings.
XP needs to be installed from scratch.
And they are right, you cannot use Dell setup
disks for other PC"s (I have 12 dell workstations in the office)
Also sonar needs a fresh install
(You need to have installed all hardware first with fresh drivers though)


The good news....
You have a fresh install so this means a
very clean O/S without all crap.

O/S
Definately go for XP pro-edition.

Soundcard
The delta 66 is an excellent card, but you could consider a 19" rack soundcard.
(f.i. the delta 1010 rack edition, I think also motu has one)
One of the advantages are that the A/D converters are in the rack and therefore don't take processor time.


Data:
As soon as you have the P/C up and running smoothly with all drivers etc installed, just temporarely add the old harddisk and transfer the data. (this is the fastest way)
Second fastest is using the maxtor thru USB.
Ofcourse you can also use peer to peer connection but that is slow in case there's a lot of data to transfer.

Good luck

Fred

Hi Scott. There is a clean way to transfer the exact contents of your hard disk to another hard disk. You just have to use a 'clone hard disk' software (google it!). It did it some months ago (I can give you the name of the software I used, tomorrow, but there are many choices available) and it worked perfectly, not only for my Windows XP Pro partition, but also for my Linux ones. You can even resize your partitions if your destination disk has more room than the source disk. If you intend to boot from this destination disk you will want to choose the 'boot disk' option. The way I did it was putting the new disk in a USB external box. Couldn't be easier, really. However, if your OS installation is 'old' and you already had problems with it before, the best would be, of course, to perform a fresh installation of everything.

-- José.

[This message has been edited by Route 66 (edited 03-22-2005).]

What happens with programs that use challenge/response copy protection? I thought the code that your computer generates is hardware dependent. Do you have to get new authorizations online?

Scott,

When you change computer, you must do a REINSTALL. The only way you can do a CLONE install is if everything in the hardware is IDENTICAL between the old and the new.

You can probably try CLONE and the computer will give you lots of errors and you just have to fix them until all the inconsistencies are gone. It might take longer though

-Han

Scott,

I take the old hard disk from the old computer and install it in the new computer. Before I break down the old computer, I create a Files and Transfer Settings Image on the old hard disk. I then install it in the new computer and transfer the files and settings to the new computer.

You will have to re-install all your old software, but registry settings and whatnot will be transferred to some degree.

Freddy: On your recommendation, I spent the extra cash for Windows XP Professional. One specific feature of Pro vs Home is that only the Pro version includes the ability to use your PC as a website hosting server, data encryption, and network cababilities. Freddy (and others): Curious what other features (if any) make XP Pro a better choice than XP home. Will I notice anything cosmetically (or navigation wise) between XP home & XP Pro?



The new PC's motherboard (Asus Technology: P4P800SE) includes a built into the motherboard, 6 channel soundcard, fine for casual midi/MP3 playback but certainly not for high quality digi-audio recording. I'll probably stick with the Delta 66 as a PCI soundcard for quality recording, and eventually move up to the the Delta external rack mounted sound card you recommend, which I assume will also elimate the possibility of CPU fan noise entering or interacting with the sound card too, right?



I assume this means transfering the data (document) & software installation (.exe) files ONLY, and that all application & utility programs will need to be RE-INSTALLED from scratch from their original app installers along with subsequent software updaters, right? If so, this is definitely going to be a lengthy undertaking as I have a LOT of programs installed.

Route66 (Jose): Thanks for telling me about "Clone Disk". This definitely sounds like a faster (quicker) way to move everything to a new PC. There doesn't appear (yet) to be any problems with my current OS (XP home) on my current (old) computer, but since you (and Fred) seem to recommend Windows XP Pro, it seems like going the CLEAN install route is the only option (for me) now. I suppose I will have to re-install (from scratch) Internet Explorer as well, right? Does IE come installed with Windows XP or will I have to download that from somewhere else? I have Office 2004 (on CD) of which (I thought) includes Microsoft Word & Outlook. Does anybody know for sure? My mind is so foggy about all this. I guess I better go drag the huge stack of install CDs from the closet. OMG, this is looking to be a huge software program re-install task. And then there are all the software updaters (and updated drivers) to install after that. I'm beginining to wonder now if it's worth all the effort just to go from a 1.8ghz PC to 3 ghz processor with more RAM & gain more advanced components.





Hi Clif & Lukitoh (Han): You both make excellent points. It appears that the clone method NOT a viable option when upgrading to a NEW computer (with new hardware) as in my case. I guess I only have to look forward to hours of work. So much for computer's saving time.



Hi Al (kbrkr), I assume you specificly meant: 'data files' ONLY (documents, like: Word & Cakewalk (Sonar), right?

Al, are you specifically referring to Windows Registry files? I had no idea it was possible (or recommended ) to transfer Windows Registry Files from another OS (Windows XP Home) into a new Windows OS (XP Professional). What are the risks?

Al, please explain what a "Files & Transfer Settings" IMAGE is. What program do I need to use to create this, and what program is required to transfer the IMAGE file data to the correct place(s) on my new PC's OS? Do I need this IMAGE file if I ALREADY have the entire contents of my old computer's HD backed up on my external USB 2.0 Plextor HD?

Ok guys, this issue points out the constant struggle we must go thru just to keep up with computer technology & more advanced production needs. Curious how others here deal with the constant hardware/software system upgrade changes seemingly required? And I thought computers were supposed to SAVE time. Ok, I promise to remain optimistic & keep a smile on my face for as long as possible. Further advice appreciated.

Ok, 'how many' bottles of aspirin are going to be needed to get thru all this?

Scott

[This message has been edited by Scottyee (edited 03-22-2005).]

Scott,

I usually upgrade about every three years, which is probably about as much as my heart can stand. The best advice I have is to begin from scratch. Granted, it takes a bit longer, but it's usually the best route to take.

First and foremost, you eliminate all those junk programs that you rarely use. Next, you don't have to contend with all the leftover files from programs that have been uninstalled, reinstalled and just plain deleted. No viruses, worms, variants, none of those to worry about until you go back online and begin downloading files again.

As for the data transfer, I use a USB to USB transfer cable that is extremely fast, and only cost about $20 at www.cyberguys.com . It comes with software that is installed in both computers and is very user friendly. Just drag and drop the data you wish to transfer. You'll find the cable at Cyberguys

Good luck on your project,

Gary

OR you can just install your old hard drive as a 2nd drive on your new computer and you can transfer your old files to the new drive. You do not have to buy any cable or software with this approach and it is very fast.

You can use the 2nd drive to backup your new drive. Create an IMAGE of the new drive (without data) and compress it to the 2nd drive. You can use NORTON GHOST to do this. When you have virus attacks that is hard to solve later down the line, you can just restore the image to the new drive and wallah you got a clean install again - JUST in case your restore function does not work.

Cliff and lukitoh,
You are absolutely right about hardware dependent codes. I forgot that my operation was a mere hard disk upgrade (larger hard disk) in THE SAME laptop. Not surprising that I didn't have any troubles. Obviously cloning is not a good solution for Scott. However... a 'relocator' of applications, settings and costumizations (instead of a cloning) could be interesting to check out. See, for example, this page: http://www.alohabob.com/help/faqs/pc_relocator.asp
Unfortunately I have no experience with this software and can't tell about the results...
Good luck, Scott

-- José.