New installation with old Windows files?

transco

Member
I used 'Migration Assistant' to move from an old iMac to a new Mac Pro. This moved the Parallels environment as well. I purchased the two additional licenses for Parallels and installed it on the new computer. When I fired it up, the Windows environment, files, etc. were exactly the way they were on the old computer (this is a good thing). The one exception was Windows detected the hardware change and said I need to re-register... i didn't do this since I bought another copy of Windows for the new computer. Here's the question... I would like to re-install Windows on the new machine, but keep the Windows environment (files, desktop, etc.) that I had. I wasn't sure if, during the re-registration process, I could simply provide my new S/N, or if I needed to do a fresh install from the new Windows disk. If the later, how do I keep the current Windows environment?
 
Hi,

You can try putting your new Windows serial when it asks you for registration - it should work if serial is for the same version of Windows. But other software you had may also ask to reregister.

And if you are going to create a new Windows installation here is a simple way to copy files from old Windows disk:
1. Install new VM with Windows
2. Start PD > Open this VM configuration Editor > Click on Hard disk > Add > New Hard disk > Use an existing image file > Browse to .hdd file of your old Windows vm > Finish

Now when you start Windows and go to my computer you will see 2 disks - one of them is hard disk of your old Windows installation so you will be able to copy necessary files by simply using Windows explorer.

Hope this helps.
 
I used 'Migration Assistant' to move from an old iMac to a new Mac Pro. This moved the Parallels environment as well. I purchased the two additional licenses for Parallels and installed it on the new computer. When I fired it up, the Windows environment, files, etc. were exactly the way they were on the old computer (this is a good thing). The one exception was Windows detected the hardware change and said I need to re-register... i didn't do this since I bought another copy of Windows for the new computer. Here's the question... I would like to re-install Windows on the new machine, but keep the Windows environment (files, desktop, etc.) that I had. I wasn't sure if, during the re-registration process, I could simply provide my new S/N, or if I needed to do a fresh install from the new Windows disk. If the later, how do I keep the current Windows environment?

Reinstalling Windows is not compatible operations with keeping current environment, except in one case - using User State Migration tools from Microsoft, even in this case you need to reinstall software

http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/using/setup/expert/russel_november19.mspx
 
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