Have a T60 WS. Just bought an R60. Will my images work?

[mybellyisempty]

I really hate to cross-post, but there's so much more traffic in here, plus it's as T60 related as it is R60.

I have had a T60 WideScreen since February. Love it.

Unfortunately, the school is being stupid, and I was left with few choices.
A: Keep my T60 running Vista 64, and use a virtual machine to run the VPN software.
-Cost? Nothing. But it doesn't work because the campus' networks are set up weird. I can connect to 3 other wireless accounts just fine, but nothing on campus.

B: Reformat my T60 to run Vista 32, and have native support for the Cisco VPN.
-Cost? Time. I'm not using enough RAM to warrant 64 bit, I'm running it simply because I can.

C: Use my E1705 w/ a large ALICE pack.
-Cost? Nothing. Spare laptop bags that I won't be using, as the E1705 doesn't fit into my bags I use for school right now.

D: Use my E1705 w/ a new backpack
-Cost? new backpack, likely an Ogio around $65.

(C&D are both undesirable because I find them too large in a classroom setting; I can't have a PC + a large textbook side by side on some desks).

E: Buy a new used laptop to meet scholastic needs.
-Cost? price of new laptop. I just sold one of my old ones, so little to none out of pocket.

F: Buy a new new laptop to meet scholastic need.
-Cost? price of a new laptop. See above, but better chance of me getting a dual core based system.

(E&F both have the added benefit of being expendable in their ability to be experimental: I can reformat and reinstall at whim.)

E turned out to work. I snagged a 1-scholastic-year old R60 on ebay for $550 + shipping.

Original description: T2400(1.83GHz), 512MB RAM, 80GB 5400rpm HD, 14.1in 1400x1050 LCD, Intel 950, CDRW/DVDRW, Intel 802.11abg wireless, Modem, 1Gb Ethernet, UltraNav, Secure chip, IEEE 1394, 6c Li-Ion batt, WinXP Pro, and EasyServ until August of 2009. It looks like the hdd was swapped out with a 40gb, but that's more than enough space for what I need to do.

Now, ignoring hardware thoughts I'm having (pull the T2400 and swap it with my E1705's T2300e)...I have some software thoughts.


I know I'm going to wipe the system after I get it.
XP will require a fresh format, as the only image I have is the original factory image of the T60.
Vista though, I already have a 32 bit image made of the T60, that I have no intentions on going back to.

Can I use an image (Acronis TrueImage) made of my T60 w/ Vista Business 32 on the R60?

1. The R60 lacks a finger print reader. Is this an issue, or will it simply be a matter of uninstalling it in safemode?
2. The R60 is intel graphics based rather than ATI. Non-issue.
3. The R60 is Broadcomm network based rather than Intel. Again, a non-issue.
4. Firewire is added, I see no problem with that.

[Growly]

That should work fine. There is an option to prepare an image (with the likes of sysprep from microsoft) so that they run a minisetup and redetect all hardware before installation.

You could also install the drivers for the other devices manually (by chucking them in C:\Windows\System32\Drivers or wherever it is) so that they are detected automatically.