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"Restoring" full PC hard drive onto new iMac w/ Boot Camp?

V

vjaaan

macrumors 6502
Original poster
Oct 13, 2010
346
8
I am wanting to get the new 27" iMac but I need to have a partition for Windows programs. I have a Dell PC running Windows XP and I have some programs that are not made for Macs.

I'm told I can use Boot Camp to set a partition for Windows. Rather than try and install the newest Windows plus my programs from scratch, can I do a system backup of my Dell onto an external drive (as I do with Time Machine) and then "restore" the whole thing as is onto the new partition of the iMac?
 
designs216

designs216

macrumors 65816
Oct 26, 2009
1,046
21
Down the rabbit hole
I don't think so. Probably the closest you'll come is to create a fresh Windows installation on the Mac HD, then use Easy Transfer to bring in your settings and preferences from the old machine. It will be somewhat time consuming but you'll leave behind the detritis from the old install.
 
Darth.Titan

Darth.Titan

macrumors 68030
Oct 31, 2007
2,905
753
Austin, TX
There's now a new version of Winclone that claims to be able to do this. Haven't tried it myself, so proceed at your own risk. It's not free, but it's a great utility to have.
 
V

vjaaan

macrumors 6502
Original poster
Oct 13, 2010
346
8
Thanks for the responses.

It sounds like Winclone is used to transfer from a previous boot camp to a new one. I didn't see where it could take a regular system backup from an external hard drive and import it completely into a boot camp partition on a new computer. I will continue to read more about that.

It seems a shame to have to go buy a new copy of Windows just to install on a partition for a few programs. The Windows XP that came with my Dell desktop years ago says it can only be installed on the Dell so I assume I would run into errors trying to install it on the boot camp partition of a new iMac.
 
B

Bear

macrumors G3
Jul 23, 2002
8,088
5
Sol III - Terra
vjaaan said:
I am wanting to get the new 27" iMac but I need to have a partition for Windows programs. I have a Dell PC running Windows XP and I have some programs that are not made for Macs.

I'm told I can use Boot Camp to set a partition for Windows. Rather than try and install the newest Windows plus my programs from scratch, can I do a system backup of my Dell onto an external drive (as I do with Time Machine) and then "restore" the whole thing as is onto the new partition of the iMac?
Click to expand...
The current version of Bootcamp does not support Windows XP.

However if you can live with Windows XP running in a virtual machine, both VMware and Parallels allows you to import from a live PC. Make sure you have your Windows license key handy as you will need to reauthorize the installation.

I know someone who did the import from a Dell Win XP system into VMware.
 
Darth.Titan

Darth.Titan

macrumors 68030
Oct 31, 2007
2,905
753
Austin, TX
vjaaan said:
It sounds like Winclone is used to transfer from a previous boot camp to a new one. I didn't see where it could take a regular system backup from an external hard drive and import it completely into a boot camp partition on a new computer. I will continue to read more about that.
Click to expand...

If you scroll down the page on the link I provided, you'll see:
Real PC Migration
Want to move your PC to your Mac? Winclone will transfer Windows, all your data, and every one of your applications to Boot Camp. A beautiful thing.
Click to expand...
 
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