want to use installed prgram on slave drive (details follow)

[mathh]

I have two bootable hard drives...one that boots on an older emachine computer and one that boots on an older compaq computer, both same operating systems (winXP).

when migrating to a newer emachine, the bootable drive from the older emachine can boot, but not the one from the compaq. I can only get the one from the compaq as a slave drive.

so here is the issue, windows over-controls too much. i have identical programs installed on each hard drive, one that is for trial basis. the time ran out for the one bootable in the emachine computer but the one that i can get only as a slave drive did not expire yet.


so you see this can branch into several possible solutions, hoping someone could assist.

if i have the slave drive in with the master and i want to use the program on the slave, could i invoke some command to run through the registry file of the slave drive to get it program I want to use operational?

or is there a way i can rid all remnants of the trial program so i can simply install on the master? I went through the registry to delete all KNOWN names associated with the program but whenever I try to install a new trial version, apparently windows saved the information to prevent me fro doing it again.

there must be a way around this. there must be a place we can edit or delete something to effect what i am seeking.

 

[Math Geek]

you should not be booting a hdd to a system that windows was not installed on. you need to do a fresh windows install for the new machine and reinstall whatever programs you want to use on this new install. it does not work the way you are trying to do it.

the extra drives can be formatted and used as data drives or to dual boot a second os but you can't just drop an old hdd with it's windows install into a new pc and expect the old drive to boot and run the way it did in the old pc. you certainly can't do this and then try to run programs installed to a second drive from a second pc. your trying to mix 3 different pc's worth of stuff onto one pc which just won't work as you have already seen.

 

[mathh]

OK, well I have both hard drives in the newer pc housing now. i just need a solution to get a trial version software on the slave drive to run without the registry being cycled through on the master...or to have a cycling through the registry file on the slave first.

i can remove the slave and insert into my older pc and the program still runs.

so if it can run one way, there has to be way to get it to run in a different environment. and so if not, why not? those who dictate how it all works prevent this?

 

[Math Geek]

when windows installs, it configures everything to the pc it is on at the time. this includes motherboard chipsets and integrated stuff like audio, usb ports, memory and all the other little things that the pc has. the registry is how windows keeps tabs on all the programs and settings and lots of other associations on the pc including where all the files are located. moving this hdd to another system makes all those settings, associations and configurations all of a sudden incompatible. the new hdd has its own registry it works with and is not designed to work with another registry from another system. it just does not work that way.

i do not know of any way to make an installed program from one pc work in a different pc like you are trying to do. in the past i have tried moving the install folder and registry settings and such but never had any success. i wish i could help but i don't think there is a way to do this that i have ever run across and i spent a lot of my younger years working with pirated/cracked/hacked everything and never run across this being done successfully.