does Transporter let you choose applications to import into an existing Windows VM?

K

khedron

Bit poster
Hi all,

I don't own an Intel Mac or Parallels yet, but I'm looking into it for the near future. I'll need to be able to use Bootcamp once in a while, for software that runs code on the video card. So, here's my question:

MacMall has a bundle with an MBP and Bootcamp/WinXP pre-installed. This seems right to me, as it means I'd be free and clear to sell my existing Dell laptop. But, I'd like to copy my applications over to the Windows image.

Does Parallels Transporter let you copy Windows applications and bits of data over into a Windows image which has already been set up? Or is it only used to clone an entire live system, OS and all? If so, can I take that image and then turn it into something Bootcamp-able?
 
Transporter creates an image of your entire HD. Parallels can boot off of this image, but it can also be used purely to access the data itself. You can copy the data from this image to a Windows image that has already been setup if necessary. I believe one could do so using the rather trivial method of just mounting both your old HD's image and the already set up system on the same virtual machine. It is worth noting that many applications will not work correctly if you try to copy them over due to registry settings and such, though this is not an issue if you boot from the image produced by transporter.

Personally, I used transporter to copy my HD, then mounted it, then copied the whole thing to my Mac. Now I can use it however I want. Instructions for doing this are at http://forum.parallels.com/thread88.html . You'll probably have to reinstall some applications if you take this root, but clean installs are a good thing. My personal advice is to do a clean install, install all programs you think you'll want, install any updates needed, and then make a copy of your HD so you can revert to clean install whenever you want.
 
OK, that's a shame. I was hoping that the Transporter would actually copy registry settings, that I could pick and choose applications. As a Windows programmer, I realize that this is tricky, because data can be all over the place, but I was hoping.

How about the other question? Can I use the Transporter to move my Windows machine over, and then make it Bootcamp-able?
 
Registry settings are storied in a file. So long as windows is not currently running on the image, you should be able to replace the file containing your registry with a copy. I believe http://support.microsoft.com/kb/322756 has instructions that would enable you to copy registry settings (which I believe will work even if the Windows is running). So long as you also copied the necessary system files (should be in windows/system, windows/system32, and documents and settings), you should be OK.

You can use transporter to create an image of your machine. The resulting image will be a .hdd file, but you can mount it via the instructions at http://forum.parallels.com/thread88.html . I tried this previously successfully. The result could be used for a new partition to boot from, but I do not know what steps you would need to do to accomplish this.
 
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