>>> Similar question, I plan on using two IDE drives from an old machine
>>> as outboard backups using USB enclosures.  I have several pieces of
>>> software I've downloaded that I would like to set up on the new
>>> machine, without installation discs how do I get such software up
>>> and running as I'm sure it's not as simple as copying the folder
>>> from one drive to another?

>> That's harder to do than you might think.

>> The simplest approach is to put the bootable IDE drive into
>> one of those external enclosures, then boot the True Image
>> 'rescue' CD and clone the IDE drive onto the internal sata drive.

>> You wont be able to boot the sata drive initially, because
>> the XP install is using the drivers for the original PC chipset.

>> Boot the XP CD and do a repair install of XP on the sata drive.
>> Operate as if you are doing a clean install of XP, tell it to install
>> on the sata drive. The install will claim to have found an existing
>> install of XP and offer to repair it. Accept that offer.

>> If the XP install cant see the sata drive, load the drivers
>> for the sata drive very early in the boot of the XP CD.

>> Safest to use a slipsteamed XP CD because
>> the new sata drive is likely bigger than 128GB.

>> That way you dont need to install the software that you
>> no longer have the installation disks for anymore and you
>> wont have to reconfigure the software either, the setting
>> etc will be preserved and so will the XP settings etc too.

> I just built a new system and did the same thing.

> I purchased a cheap sata card and tried cloning my C drive to a new
> sata in the old computer.

> The new system would not recognize the OS when I booted it up and
> offered a new install rather than a repair install.

> So what I did was to back up the C drive to a second SATA in the old
> system. Install the second SATA to the new system and then boot from
> the Acronis rescue disk then allow Acronis to do its magic and
> reinstall the OS to the SATA C drive.

> I then booted from a slipstreamed XP CD and did a repair install on
> the C drive.
> Everything appears to work ok - with the exception of having to reinitialize a couple of programs.
> The new SATA C drive reported the same size as the old IDE C drive -