New installation with old Windows files?

I used 'Migration Assistant' to move from an old iMac to a new Mac Pro. This moved the Parallels environment as well. I purchased the two additional licenses for Parallels and installed it on the new computer. When I fired it up, the Windows environment, files, etc. were exactly the way they were on the old computer (this is a good thing). The one exception was Windows detected the hardware change and said I need to re-register... i didn't do this since I bought another copy of Windows for the new computer. Here's the question... I would like to re-install Windows on the new machine, but keep the Windows environment (files, desktop, etc.) that I had. I wasn't sure if, during the re-registration process, I could simply provide my new S/N, or if I needed to do a fresh install from the new Windows disk. If the later, how do I keep the current Windows environment?

 

Hi,

You can try putting your new Windows serial when it asks you for registration - it should work if serial is for the same version of Windows. But other software you had may also ask to reregister.

And if you are going to create a new Windows installation here is a simple way to copy files from old Windows disk:
1. Install new VM with Windows
2. Start PD > Open this VM configuration Editor > Click on Hard disk > Add > New Hard disk > Use an existing image file > Browse to .hdd file of your old Windows vm > Finish

Now when you start Windows and go to my computer you will see 2 disks - one of them is hard disk of your old Windows installation so you will be able to copy necessary files by simply using Windows explorer.

Hope this helps.

 

Reinstalling Windows is not compatible operations with keeping current environment, except in one case - using User State Migration tools from Microsoft, even in this case you need to reinstall software

http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/using/setup/expert/russel_november19.mspx