need help in computer stuff please help

[dydzi]

allright lads, here's the deal:

i'll be having a new computer - ie. new mainboard, processor, graphic card, cd writer etc

except the hard disk. i want to keep my old hdd and pin it up to new rest of equipment. part of the people tells me i'll need to reinstall windows to do it

so what's the truth?

thanks in advance

[Clivey]

allright lads, here's the deal:

i'll be having a new computer - ie. new mainboard, processor, graphic card, cd writer etc

except the hard disk. i want to keep my old hdd and pin it up to new rest of equipment. part of the people tells me i'll need to reinstall windows to do it

so what's the truth?

thanks in advance

No, that's not the truth at all! If you want to use your old disk you don't have to change anything - just install it in the new computer. That's a good thing for you!

[Sledgehammer]

What you might want to do first is install the drivers for the new M/B-bios-Graphics card. Then you wont have to restart the computer 4 of five times when all the hardware is installed.

[RacingManiac]

I'd almost just get a new HDD and install your Windows on that. HDD aren't that costly, and setting the old HDD as a slave onto your new computer is a hell of a lot less hassle than trying to do it the other way around....

[TheOne]

it is recommended to reinstall windows on the new machine due to the many drivers that are already installed, it could make windows crash, & get corrupted.

[Zytek_Fan]

As RacingManiac said, get a new drive for OS and just use the old one as a slave and storage drive

[fisetdavid26]

When you activate Windows (you have to unless you have a copied version) it sends information about your computer to Microsoft (processor, amount of memory, video card) and your CD key is associated with those specifications. If you just put the hard drive with Windows in your "new" computer Microsoft will think you installed it on a second computer and Windows will stop working after 30 days, unless you pay for another license. To avoid that, just install a fresh copy of Windows with your new hardware and everything will be fine. Unlike components, Windows is not "Plug and Play" and as TheOne said, Windows installs the required drivers during setup and there are slim chances it will work with your new hardware.

I tried to put my old hard disk in my new computer to copy data, and Windows XP was on it. I forgot to change the boot order and the computer tried to boot with Windows XP instead of Windows Vista. I made it to the log on screen but that's as far as I could go, XP would crash everytime I tried to log on.

If you have Windows XP it's gonna be easier, but if you have Windows Vista it's a mess. I added a video card and I got a message from Microsoft telling me that my Activation key voided because I tried to install it on a "new" computer. I just added one component in the same computer!

So buy a new hard drive and install a fresh copy of Windows with your new hardware, or keep your old hard disk but reinstall Windows on it.

[Clivey]

When you activate Windows (you have to unless you have a copied version) it sends information about your computer to Microsoft (processor, amount of memory, video card) and your CD key is associated with those specifications. If you just put the hard drive with Windows in your "new" computer Microsoft will think you installed it on a second computer and Windows will stop working after 30 days, unless you pay for another license. To avoid that, just install a fresh copy of Windows with your new hardware and everything will be fine. Unlike components, Windows is not "Plug and Play" and as TheOne said, Windows installs the required drivers during setup and there are slim chances it will work with your new hardware.

I tried to put my old hard disk in my new computer to copy data, and Windows XP was on it. I forgot to put it in slave mode and the computer tried to boot with Windows XP instead of Windows Vista. I made it to the log on screen but that's as far as I could go, XP would crash everytime I tried to log on.

If you have Windows XP it's gonna be easier, but if you have Windows Vista it's a mess. I added a video card and I got a message from Microsoft telling me that my Activation key voided because I tried to install it on a "new" computer. I just added one component in the same computer!

So buy a new hard drive and install a fresh copy of Windows with your new hardware, or keep your old hard disk but reinstall Windows on it.

That sucks so badly! Is there any way that dydzi could install a fresh copy of Windoze without losing all his files and settings?

[fisetdavid26]

That sucks so badly! Is there any way that dydzi could install a fresh copy of Windoze without losing all his files and settings?

You can reinstall Windows without formatting, it will keep all your files. But I'd make a backup to be sure, Microsoft products are not bug free as everyone knows

I'd just burn all the files on CDs/DVDs, put the hard drive with the new hardware, format it, and install a fresh copy of Windows. Then transfer the files back.

[dydzi]

thanks all for your involvement. eventually i reinstalled the system - for such occassions i prepared a special partition only for system issues. the only thing i don't know now is how to install an audio card which is integrated in the mainboard

[Sledgehammer]

If you have your origional M/B (motherboard) cd, the audio drivers should be on that.

[Matra et Alpine]

If you have your origional M/B (motherboard) cd, the audio drivers should be on that.

and if not ... or just stuck in that limbo of "wtf did I put it" ... then go to mobo manufacturers web site and download them from there