Quote:
| Originally Posted by warmwaterdiver again assuming, but if we stick the new HD in, we can use my restore disk to do a full install |
Big assumption. The recovery CD might be dependant on a large chunk of data on the disk which is being swapped out (rescue partition). The recovery CD might be locked to the hard disk it was shipped with. Either way you end up at a dead end, unable to boot to Windows with the new disk and still unable to recover the disk swapped out.
A proper XP Install CD and matching serial both to hand will ensure you can install and boot Windows on the new disk, and so recover the data from the old disk.
The matching XP Install CD and serial has nothing to do with being legit. There are
flavours of XP Install CD that will refuse to accept other
flavours of perfectly legitimate serial numbers. You end up at a different dead end, with Windows installed and booting but stuck prompting for a number you do not have.
Alternatively you get an XP Install CD and Serial Number that are known to match and after installing XP you can change to your own number within the 30 day activation period.
[edit]The caveat to be aware of attempting to use a USB drive caddy and with the backup disk you plan to buy. USB caddys and Hard Disks are virtually always USB2. Some USB2 devices will refuse to work with some USB1.1 interfaces found on older PCs and Laptops.
Good this isn't it
