Question I need a little help

[nickyv123]

So I refurbish and build computers for people on occasion. I have this guy that I have built a couple pcs for. He uses them to run Cad type programs to cut metal and make statues, signs and things like that. They have stayed pretty old school. Their computer is old. I forget what make and model but its using ddr2 and running Windows Vista. They run an old program because they are familiar with it and it works for them. The company does not offer support on the program anymore. I cant remember what the software is called, Im at work right now. They dont want to use a newer version of the software, they wanna stick with what they have. Well they want me to build something to take the place of their current machine if anything goes wrong. They want it to just work. Plug and play if you get my drift.
So I have probably have 120 computers plus pretty much anything else that you can think of to use. I was hoping to get some other ideas other then what I have thought of. I was just thinking about building a few older pcs. Ddr3 though and I'll use an ssd. I will keep it old just not as old. I'll clone the hard drive from the current computer and put it on an ssd and hopefully put it in the new computer. I'll hope that it will work and not screw his hard drive up in the process. If anyone has any other ideas I would really appreciate it.

Thanks,
Nick

 

[punkncat]

IMO you will run into OS and architecture issues in relation to trying to pull a clone. You need to be sure that the installer for that CAD program can be installed under compatibility mode or other.

Another possibility could be a VM, however my knowledge about porting that over to real world projects isn't my ballpark.

 

[JohnBonhamsGhost]

I'll clone the hard drive from the current computer and put it on an ssd and hopefully put it in the new computer.

never a good idea to clone the OS for use with a different motherboard.
you never know what sort of compatibility issues will arise and what kind of limited performance you may suffer.

if there is still an old installation package available to them(CD/DVD, downloaded, etc) for this "old" software;
find an old Vista installation disk,
build the backup/replacement system,
install the OS offline,
install the "old" software package to the new system.

 

[nickyv123]

never a good idea to clone the OS for use with a different motherboard.
you never know what sort of compatibility issues will arise and what kind of limited performance you may suffer.

if there is still an old installation package available to them(CD/DVD, downloaded, etc) for this "old" software;
find an old Vista installation disk,
build the backup/replacement system,
install the OS offline,
install the "old" software package to the new system.

Yes I have the disk. I know what you mean. I learned the hard way. Using the old disk and finding vista is one of the things I was thinking of too. The only thing is they have a bunch of files and stuff added to the program over time. Is there a way to copy that program from the old computer to the other? Copy and paste., I think I have done that before and have been successful but I think I have also done that and it didnt come out right. That right there is the main thing. Thanks for the response

 

[nickyv123]

IMO you will run into OS and architecture issues in relation to trying to pull a clone. You need to be sure that the installer for that CAD program can be installed under compatibility mode or other.

Another possibility could be a VM, however my knowledge about porting that over to real world projects isn't my ballpark.

Whats VM? Is there a way to copy that program from the old computer to the other? Copy and paste.. I think I have done that before and have been successful but I think I have also done that and it didnt come out right. They have a bunch of files and stuff added to the program over time and I wanna get all of those over to the new computer. Thats the main thing. Thanks for your response

 

[CountMike]

Whats VM? Is there a way to copy that program from the old computer to the other? Copy and paste.. I think I have done that before and have been successful but I think I have also done that and it didnt come out right. They have a bunch of files and stuff added to the program over time and I wanna get all of those over to the new computer. Thats the main thing. Thanks for your response

Vista and W7 will not run natively on latest HW.
VM=Virtual Machine. You install a program like VMware player
https://www.techspot.com/downloads/1969-vmware-player.html
and it makes a virtual computer inside Windows in which you can run almost any type of OS and it's programs.
You can dedicate to it just part of CPU cores, part of RAM and disk space. Only problem can be that it doesn't directly interact with PC parts and I/O ports so if some program has to access them directly, they have to be virtualized too. All "normal" ports like USB and serial/parallel are already virtualized and can be used normally.
In theory you could make backup of system disk and restore it to VM.
You will have to try that on some newer PC first.

 

[KingLoki]

To answer your question about copy and pasting programs onto other drives or pc's.....as you probably know, sometimes they run through the executable, sometimes not. Obviously doing it this way the program is not installed into the windows OS & Registry. Worth a try if you go that way. The VM is a good idea and acts just like an actual pc install. You set the hard drive space within the Virtual Machine, dependant on hdd total size and space available, adjust appropriate RAM size and can access the Internet if needed.

 

[BFG-9000]

It's only a couple vintage machines. There were only 5 Space Shuttles and 20 years later they were scrounging 8086 chips for them on eBay for them rather than trying to reinvent the wheel and upgrade them.

Exact replicas made of vintage parts would be most likely to just work with no issues for them. And you could just clone the disks to SSD--sure, if they are ICH7 those don't support AHCI so won't be as fast, but TRIM works fine even without AHCI.

 

[KingLoki]

Haven't heard much on here regarding windows Vista. It's a vintage collectors item. 🤯

 

[JohnBonhamsGhost]

Is there a way to copy that program from the old computer to the other? Copy and paste

you would normally find program's custom user settings and/or saved files located either in the application directory, in the users' folders(C:\Users\*user_name*), or in the OS Program Data folders(C:\ProgramData).
you can usually find someone online who has commented on where specific applications store their files.

copy all related folders and after a fresh installation of the software paste those back into place.