Share via

I want to clone an old Windows XP boot drive and load it onto a modern machine through a VM, bootcamp, or whatever is the recommended option. Is that possible?

Anonymous
2022-04-13T17:33:03+00:00

The why: Portability and compatibility.

I have a work related program that runs on this drive and that particular software only runs on Win XP. Updating the software isn’t preferable as it would cause a host of incompatibility issues in other areas of the business. (I know i’s dumb and we should migrate but I guess it’s not in their list of priorities.)

The materials: The XP machine is an old Dell Dimension 4550 desktop. The machine I want to transfer to is an old MacBook Pro that’s not in use and could potentially come in handy here using bootcamp but I just don’t have the knowledge to say for certain but I have gotten it to boot XP in the past using an old iso I downloaded from the internet. If it’s possible to use this laptop for this procedure it would save me the money from having to buy a separate windows machine. I also have an SSD that I could use for the clone. I’m not too sure I have the adapters necessary to connect the SSD to the old desktop for the cloning process but I do have this docking bay. It would be convenient if I could use it for the cloning process. I’m just clueless on the type of software is necessary to get it done (using mac). I also have a usb 3.0 to IDE/SATA if it’s necessary.

The hope is to be able to work from anywhere without having to lug a giant Windows XP machine around. It’s also one of the few machines left that hasn’t bogged out so it would be cool to see it running on a modern laptop without worrying about it crashing on me and it would also help out the other employees if I could do the same for them.

I guess the idea I have in my head of how this would work would be to

  • Clone the drive
  • Load Windows XP on the Macbook using a virtual machine or bootcamp
  • Plug in the cloned drive through usb and use it as the VM’s boot drive somehow?

This way I can just carry around the laptop and the external SSD and just plug it in and boot it whenever I need to use it. Does this sound right and is this possible? Also let me know if there's an easier solution. Like possibly just transferring the program to a VM running Windows XP somehow and skipping all this other stuff.

Windows for home | Previous Windows versions | Files, folders, and storage

Locked Question. This question was migrated from the Microsoft Support Community. You can vote on whether it's helpful, but you can't add comments or replies or follow the question.

0 comments

14 answers

Sort by: Most helpful
Most helpful Newest Oldest
  1. Anonymous
    2022-04-14T18:39:49+00:00

    I think I've read a bit on this before so that sounds familiar. So if I'm unable to transfer the OS onto another computer or onto a Virtual Machine because it's been preinstalled, do you think there's any way I can transfer the business program that I have installed on that Dell computer onto another computer that's already running its own Windows XP? That's really my only concern at this point. Unfortunately I no longer have the original installer disc for the business program that I'm trying to save so finding a way to clone it is my only option.

    Have people found success in transferring programs from one machine to another running the same OS and bypassing the installation process?

    1 person found this answer helpful.
    0 comments
  2. Anonymous
    2022-04-14T18:22:14+00:00

    I think there's some confusion here sorry for my miscommunication. When I said my confusion comes from "moving this Windows XP program from one computer to another" I mean the program I have installed on the Windows XP machine, not Windows XP itself. This program I am trying to transfer only runs on Windows XP, unfortunately. I'm confident I can install Windows XP on a mac, but what I'm not so sure about is transferring this business program from one computer to the other. The reason I'm doing this is because I no longer have the original installer package for this program so cloning the HDD and trying to get it to work on another computer is really my only option in saving this business program. I hope this clears things up a bit.

    1 person found this answer helpful.
    0 comments
  3. Anonymous
    2022-04-14T03:04:27+00:00

    The Windows To Go feature was for Windows Enterprise and Education Editions.

    It was for a condensed version of Windows after you had bought and installed the Volume Licenses.

    Also it was not part of XP. it only came out with Windows 8 to start with.

    What you are doing is not supported by Microsoft.

    You also have a Dell with a preinstalled XP operating system which you want to transfer to a MacBook.

    That is an OEM license.

    A preinstalled OEM license can NOT be transferred to another machine and can not be installed in a VM, no matter even if it is on the o9riginal machine.

    If the Laptop/Computer came with the Windows Operating System preinstalled (Dell, HP, Acer, etc) , that Product Key that came with the Laptop/Computer is for the preinstalled OEM License and is non-transferable.

    The OEM License/Product Key (preinstalled Operating Systems on Dell, HP, etc machines) is tied to the first machine it is installed on and dies when that machine dies.

    1 person found this answer helpful.
    0 comments
  4. Anonymous
    2022-04-14T01:29:26+00:00

    AOMEI Partition Assistant can clone drives but like I said will this boot on a Mac?

    I'm unsure and I guess this is my main directive. I think booting windows XP on a mac using VM's wouldn't be too hard for me to figure out as I've done it in the past (using VirtualBox I believe). My technical confusion comes from having to figure out how to get this windows XP program to run outside of it's original desktop using the desktops HDD. I guess I'm trying to see if anyone has accomplished this by using virtual machines and is the main point of this post.

    I would think it would be possible to transfer an HDD, that was using let's say Windows 10, to a different machine running the same OS and have it run all the programs just fine. Is this just not possible? Forgive me if this has an obvious answer to it.

    1 person found this answer helpful.
    0 comments
  5. Craig Long 17,825 Reputation points
    2022-04-13T23:05:23+00:00

    https://zhangqichuan.medium.com/run-windows-in-your-macbook-from-an-external-usb-flash-drive-in-6-steps-9e6044ae8015

    WinToUSB should work to install Windows OS to a stick. But I'm only familiar with Windows machines and don't know if this will work on Mac.

    AOMEI Partition Assistant can clone drives but will this boot on a Mac?

    1 person found this answer helpful.
    0 comments