Computer question

[ftball0000]

Hey guys,

I want to upgrade my computer, however I have one question before I do it. I want to transfer my hard drive from my old computer to my new computer.

Basically I want to buy a new motherboard, cpu, and memory and just hook up my old hard drive to it.

Is this possible? I don't want to have to reinstall Windows on another hard drive and transfer all of my data.

Thanks in advance

-Ftball

[wacki]

It's not only possible, but it's so easy a monkey could do it. Just swap the parts and you should be good.

[illunious]

What version of Windows? If it's XP you're out of luck AFAIK, anything else and you should be ok, though a fresh installation is always a good thing.

Edit: I guess I was wrong, you will probably just need to reactivate (http://aumha.org/win5/a/wpa.htm) XP.

[TimM]

It won't work. It won't even boot.

This might have worked in Windows 3.1. Not recommended in Windows 95. Almost always impossible in Windows 98. And it gets worse. Modern Windows OS drivers are too tied to the motherboard they were installed on.

You should want a fresh install of windows anyway. It's a lot of work to transfer your stuff and re-install all of your programs, but it gets rid of a lot of junk too.

[wacki]

What are you guys talking about? It will work, I know because I've done it a million times. Worst case scenerio you simply throw in the Windows XP cd and start the repair sequence. It's easy. As for drivers, you can uninstall them before you swap. Honestly, I think this is the one thing that Microsoft did reasonably well.

[Leo99]

You will need to reinstall Windows or at least repair Windows. If you don't, some programs will work and some won't. Some programs will work but crash and be buggy. Your data can stay; just transfer it over. I tried to do what you want and you just get a blue screen complaining that you changed the hardware.

[TimM]

[ QUOTE ]
What are you guys talking about? It will work, I know because I've done it a million times. Worst case scenerio you simply throw in the Windows XP cd and start the repair sequence. It's easy. As for drivers, you can uninstall them before you swap. Honestly, I think this is the one thing that Microsoft did reasonably well.

[/ QUOTE ]

Well, all the times I've tried it the system won't boot unless the motherboards are nearly identical. We change motherboards for machines we make at work often, and one of the things I am responsible for creating hard drive images. Maybe the repair would work, but I wouldn't trust it enough for my machines, nor would I risk my data that way. If I really wanted to try, I'd make a copy of the drive and try it on that.

[BusterStacks]

[ QUOTE ]
It won't work. It won't even boot.

This might have worked in Windows 3.1. Not recommended in Windows 95. Almost always impossible in Windows 98. And it gets worse. Modern Windows OS drivers are too tied to the motherboard they were installed on.

You should want a fresh install of windows anyway. It's a lot of work to transfer your stuff and re-install all of your programs, but it gets rid of a lot of junk too.

[/ QUOTE ]

correct.

[Jim Kuhn]

Can the old drive be easily made a slave drive?

Thank you,

Jim Kuhn
Catfish4u
/images/graemlins/spade.gif /images/graemlins/diamond.gif /images/graemlins/club.gif /images/graemlins/heart.gif

[wacki]

You just change the pin.

[ftball0000]

Thanks for the answers guys. I did not think that it was gonna happen, but I wanted to confirm it. Like someone else posted previously, I can just make my old hard drive a secondary (slave) hard drive correct?

Thanks,
-Ftball

[wacki]

[ QUOTE ]
Thanks for the answers guys. I did not think that it was gonna happen, but I wanted to confirm it. Like someone else posted previously, I can just make my old hard drive a secondary (slave) hard drive correct?

Thanks,
-Ftball

[/ QUOTE ]

I swear I get no respect.

http://www.theeldergeek.com/replace_motherboard.htm

A more technical route
http://forums.anandtech.com/messageview.aspx?catid=29&threadid=1472526&highlig ht_key=y


Listen to the uber Pooh-Bah.

I already answered your second question.

[wacki]

As far as activation, the first major change it won't care about--you'll have to do a couple more. You might have to call MS because of registration.

You should have your important data on a sep partition for safety reasons anyway.

[ThaSaltCracka]

wacki is mad wise when it comes to science/ computers/nerdy stuff /images/graemlins/wink.gif

he knows his ish.

[wacki]

[ QUOTE ]
wacki is mad wise when it comes to science/ computers/nerdy stuff /images/graemlins/wink.gif

he knows his ish.

[/ QUOTE ]

Thanks Salt.


EDIT: Just an FYI. Clean installs are always the most reliable, but this method will work 99% of the time. New hard drives are cheap and can be bought for $50 off of slickdeals.net. I recommend going the slave route. But there's nothing wrong with a swap.

[SuitedSixes]

Network the two together! You gotta use a patch cable . . . or maybe a crossover cable. I never remember, I just know that it's important and you can do damage if you use the wrong one. Aren't I helpful?

[Shajen]

If you are going machine to machine direct, you need a cross over cable...if you are going through a hub or switch, you won't need it. You could also get a zip drive and copy all your data over to it and then restore on a new hard drive.

As wacki said, a clean install is the best/safest.