Move old hard drive.

[Dviper2]

Could i move my old hard drice from my old one with the os on it, to
my new computer? and go from there?

 

[Wiredchild]

Yeh, just remove it from the old system, whack it in the new system. Plug it all in the motherboard, press the power button, and off you go!

 

[catalyst1]

Well, this won't be as easily said than done. Moving a hard drive with no OS on it, just data, is one thing. Moving a drive that runs your OS is another. I think what you'll have to do is when you move the drive, you'll have to reformat and reinstall Windows. This is necessary because Windows keeps track of what hardware it is working with. If it detects that the hardware is radically different (i.e. if it's moved to a different computer), it won't work. So yes, you can move it, but not without a bit of work first.

 

[TRDCorolla1]

Make sure your motherboard utility CD is available to help install key drivers and other software to help Windows get along with whatever's on your drive.

 

[CrossCech]

spank_fusion is correct in that you'll probably need to re-format/reload ... however ... you may get lucky with bringing your hd with an os from old to new pc. The odds are slim, but I've had luck from time to time in moving a hard drive with XP from an older machine to a new machine. And sometimes I haven't. Trying and failing won't damage anything on the drive. If it doesn't work return it back to the old machine and back up your stuff, place it back in your new machine and then reload.

 

[mayorredbeard]

i figure i wouldn't start a new thread, what if you got your operating system with a bought computer. IE: When I bought my computer I got windows xp with my computer, does that mean if I radically change my hardware in my old computer (mobo, ram, processor), and try to use that disc to install my operating system again on my old hd, do you think it would work?

 

[TRDCorolla1]

If you plan on changing the CPU, memory in your old PC, it would work perfect still. It's only if you change the motherboard that you might get some little problems that creep up.