Upgrading & Fixing Laptops DUMmIES

Any problems with the existing operating system and its applications,

including missing or corrupted elements and incorrect settings will be

moved to the new drive.

You lose the opportunity to reorganize the folder and subfolder hierarchy.

All of your data, including temporary and fragmentary files, is maintained.

You can reduce the chances of suffering some of the disadvantages by doing

some housecleaning before the cloning. Start by deleting any data files and

data folders you do not need. Use the facilities of Windows or a specialized

Uninstall program to remove any applications you don’t need to retain.

One such system works: the EZ-Gig II kit, a solution offered by BiX Computers at

http://www.bixnet.com. The package includes a new hard drive and a cable from the

external case to a special PC Card that plugs in to the laptop. It also includes a

plastic external case that serves as the temporary home of the new drive while

cloning is underway; it can be used to house the old drive as an external storage

device. The kit to upgrade a laptop computer is shown in Figure 17-1.

New hard drive

Cable PC Card

External housing

Figure 17-1:
A laptop
hard drive
upgrade kit
from BiX
Computers
includes a
new drive
(at top) plus
a PC Card,
cable, and
external
housing.
The original
hard drive is
removed
from its bay
on the drive;
it’s placed in
the external
housing and
connected
to the laptop
by the cable
to allow
data
transfer.

Chapter 17: Installing a New Operating System or Migrating Upwards 265