Painless move from T42p to T60p, XP on both?

[sjh953]

I have a T42p/UXGA (2373-Q1A) which is essentially flawless, but I want more speed. I'm considering making the move to a T60p/UXGA. The only thing really holding me back is the huge hassle it would be to reinstall progams, SP3 patches, re-customize all my settings, etc.

My question is whether it's possible to use Acronis and a USB hard drive adapter to clone my T42p 100gb PATA drive to a similar SATA drive for the T60p? Is there a way to disable the t42p drivers, make the cloned drive, install that drive in the T60p, and then install whatever drivers are required for the new machine - and still have all my programs, settings, etc. intact? Or, is my only option to start from scratch?

For the T42p, I have the tray to mount a second hard drive and create a cloned drive, so I could do anything needed with that drive without risking anything.

Thanks.

[dsvochak]

While expensive, this may work: http://www.acronis.com/enterprise/produ ... store.html

If the OS on the T42 is an OEM version, what you would like to do is not, strictly speaking, legal. See this: http://forum.thinkpads.com/viewtopic.php?f=8&t=35967

[sktn77a]

The software images are generally backwards compatible but may not be forwards compatible. Moreover, the hardware differences between the T42 and T60 may cause problems (eg chipset drivers, etc). Yes, it's a pain to re-install software but I do it every year to keep my system "clean".

[EOMtp]

Yes, painless! Use anything you want to clone the T42p drive onto the T60p drive. The 2nd HDD tray from the T42p will fit and will work in the T60p. I would place the T42p drive in the 2nd HDD carrier, install that into the T60p, and then clone from the T42p drive onto the T60p primary drive.

The T60p will boot from the T42p image, but all the drivers will be "off". Consequently, before you start, download all the T60p drivers onto the T42p drive while the T42p drive is still in the T42p and you still have Internet access. At the very least, download the wired Ethernet drivers before you start.

After you boot the T60p from the T42p image, systematically install each of the T60p drivers. The T60p drivers can be installed "on top" of your T42p image; they will not conflict with anything in the T42p installation.
Good luck!