I would like to know if I can use my 80 gig HD with WINDOWS XP already installed in a new computer tower?

Question

I purchased a more suitable tower on ebay, it has a 40 gig HD but no OS installed. My old machine is just that, old. So I thought if I could put the HD in the new tower I would still have all my stuff and no hassle. But ,,,,my boy says I may run into Microsoft licensing issues and it may not work. And if I try to swap HD's and it doesnt work,, will my HD reinstall into my old computer and still work? Please be thorough with your answer offer me a link if you know of one to find help if it is out there.

Answer 1

It is not that easy because your 80Gb HDD contains the chipset drivers of your old motherboard. The motherboard on your tower most likely has a different chipset that requires different drivers.

Here's how others do it. Read the article fully because the feedback at the end is important.
http://www.theeldergeek.com/replace_motherboard.htm

That 80Gb drive will work again on your old computer once you reinstall the right chipset driver.

Answer 2

you should be able to but windows may detect that it has been transplanted and will ask you for your product code
also be aware that it will have all the drivers loaded for the PC you are harvesting it out of so you are going to need to spend some time finding new drivers for the hardware installed in the new PC.
when it first boots, windows will try to load drivers for your new PC that may make it difficult - though not impossible to re-install it in your old PC. its well worth a try.

i would personally install xp from scratch [maybe buy a bigger hard drive new 200 gigs or so is only £50.00
then temporarily [or even permanently ]
install your drive as a primary slave [DON'T FORGET THE JUMPER SETTINGS] I if jumper settings are an issue, install it on the second ide channel, temporarily removing the CD or DVD drive.
that way you can browse your old drive and choose what you need to transfer then you can return it to your old PC and you will have 2 working machines not 1 and a pile of scrap metal!
feel free to email me if you need further help
All the best#
Andy

Answer 3

Plug and pray. It may just detect a few new hardware changes, like video and sound. It doest hurt to try. Or you could load the 40GB with a fresh OS, and slave the 80GB drive as a second drive. With the newer Windows, it does key in on the specific hardware for the one machine, and when you boot it from another machine it will ask to be reactivated. Which you can, may have to call Microsoft and tell them you upgraded your hardware and they will give you a new code.

Answer 4

It can be done, look on the Internet for installation details, you should be able to by asking the company of HD or any place on the NET with that info, ask a question like;"How to swap HD's" or something like that then press Enter on Keyboard. Good luck, good answer above, Jimmy.

Answer 5

sure. you'll have to set the 80 GB HD to master, and the 40 GB to slave, and change the settings in the bios to use the 80 GB HD as the boot device. access the BIOS, then find the boot menu, then set the order as 1) floppy, 2) CD, 3) [name of 80 GB HD].