can i use a windows installation in another laptop?

Question

probably an obvious answer too this but can't find a clear answer on net.

I'm having trouble installing windows onto a laptop (laptop wont recognise correct size of partition and wont fully format before installation). The hard drive is perfectly fine. The laptop is a Toshiba Equium A60. If i install a copy of windows XP on my other laptop, Dell Inspiron 6000, will it work on the Toshiba once i put the hard drive back in?

i mean:

Take the Hard drive out of Toshiba laptop.
insert it into my Dell Laptop.
Install its version of Windows XP on toshiba hard drive in my Dell Laptop.
Put the hard drive back into the Toshiba laptop

will the windows boot/load on the Toshiba laptop?
Would i have to configure the boot record?

Answer 1

No-one has really answered your question properly here have they. You said, take your hardrive out of your toshiba and put it into your dell, will it work?

Well, if its a pirated copy, then it might. If it isn`t, then it`ll boot up with a blue screen. This is because all the drivers for your toshiba are loaded onto the hard drive. This information is held in the MBR (Master Boot Record), it knows what BIOS you`re using and the BIOS knows what drivers to load first. Sound, graphics etc. Your dell is more than likely using differnet chips for each of those, and the drivers will be loaded on the hard drive. Your dell can`t use the same drivers if it has differnet chips.

However, thats not to say it won`t work. I have installed a pre installed windows hard drive into another desktop and it booted up and found drivers for all the hard ware. What happened then, it asked to be re-activated and then I invalidated the copy of windows on that computer, and when putting the hard drive back into the original computer. I invalidated windows on that one too. Not a wise move...

Had to buy another copy of windows....

XP is pretty cheap if you buy an OEM copy from Ebuyer.com.
You may have to buy a cheap piece of hard ware to go with it though...

Hope that helps..

Answer 2

this is a common question,as many p.c users dont want to have to spend out on another xp disk when they allready have one,this to me is a valid point
basically phil,i would just go ahead and install the windows xp on the other laptop,whats the worst that can happen
i once had this problem and to save having a laptop thats sitting there doing nothing i just used the windows without activating it,you get 30 days of usage
there is another way of transfering the activation info from one laptop to another,follow these instructions
Double-click My Computer
Double-click on the "C" drive
Go to the C:\Windows\System32 folder (you may have to click on the link that says "Show The contents of this folder")
Find the files "wpa.dbl" and "wpa.bak" and copy them to a safe location. You can copy them on a floppy drive or burn it onto a CD or DVD.
After you have reinstalled Windows XP on your reformatted hard drive, click "No" when asked if you want to go ahead and go through the activation process
Reboot your computer into SafeMode (you can either press F8 as Windows is booting up to see the Windows Advanced Options menu and select SAFEBOOT_OPTION=Minimal or follow the instructions in Starting Windows XP in SafeMode
Double-click My Computer
Double-click on the "C" drive
Go to the C:\Windows\System32 folder (you may have to click on the link that says "Show The contents of this folder")
Find the file "wpa.dbl" and "wpa.bak" (if it exists) and rename them to "wpadbl.new" and "wpabak.new"
Copy your original "wpa.dbl" and "wpa.bak" files from your floppy disk, CD or DVD into the C:\Windows\System32 folder
Restart your system (if you followed the directions in Starting Windows XP in SafeMode you may need to go back into MSCONFIG to turn off booting into SafeMode)
this is a tried and tested method,however it was originally used one the same p.c,s but it should work across 2 laptops
hope this helps
good luck mate!

Answer 3

I suggest that u format your hdd on the laptop that sees it fine at the start of the installation, then stop it when the partition(s) are done well.

then when you start the install on the another one skip the partitioning/formatting. Leave the file system(s) unchanged and install windows on the pre-made partition.

Good luck!

Answer 4

Unless you're using a corporate [volume licensing] disc, it will not install on a new hard disk -- the product activation will fail. Use Win2k or lower or buy a new license www.newegg.com

Answer 5

You can install windows from a disk on as many computers as you want but only one computer can go on line as registered.

Answer 6

You have one copy of windows XP, legally you can only have it running on one computer at a time.

Answer 7

Usually the disks will allow you to install on one PC and one laptop.