crashed xp

[alanrr]

Hello, my computer crashed. Can I:
1. Buy cheap hard drive and install it as the primary drive and un-install
old drive.
2. re-install XP.
3. re-install the old drive as the secondary drive and retrive all programs,
folders and files???
Thanks, Alan

 

[nass]

Hello, my computer crashed. Can I:
1. Buy cheap hard drive and install it as the primary drive and un-install
old drive.
2. re-install XP.
3. re-install the old drive as the secondary drive and retrive all programs,
folders and files???
Thanks, Alan

Yes you can if you have a full Retail XP CD not an OEM machine.

http://xphelpandsupport.mvps.org/how_do_i_install_windows_xp.htm
http://www.webtree.ca/windowsxp/clean_install.htm
After successful clean Installation hook the Old drive as Slave and rescue
your Data (Note Scan for viruses first to be safe with an up2date Anti-virus
application).
HTH.
nass

 

[Frank Saunders MS-MVP IE,OE/WM]

Hello, my computer crashed. Can I:
1. Buy cheap hard drive and install it as the primary drive and un-install
old drive.
2. re-install XP.
3. re-install the old drive as the secondary drive and retrive all
programs,
folders and files???
Thanks, Alan

The programs will have to be reinstalled. Copying them over won't make the
necessary Registry changes.

 

[Ken Blake, MVP]

Hello, my computer crashed. Can I:
1. Buy cheap hard drive and install it as the primary drive and un-install
old drive.

Yes.


2. re-install XP.

Yes.


3. re-install the old drive as the secondary drive

Yes.


and retrive all programs,

No.

Except for a very occasional small program, all programs have pointers
to where they are located in the Windows registry (and elsewhere) as
well as supporting files. If you try to use a program that wasn't
installed in that copy of Windows, those pointers will be wrong and
the supporting files will be missing, and the programs will not work.

folders and files???

Yes.

 

[Gilgamesh]

Yes you can if you have a full Retail XP CD not an OEM machine.

Given they are just replacing the hard drive and not the motherboard it will
also work for OEM versions.

 

[nass]

Given they are just replacing the hard drive and not the motherboard it will
also work for OEM versions.

Some brands will not allow you to do so,as the OEM been locked on the CD for
a serial number for the HDD

 

[Patrick Keenan]

Hello, my computer crashed. Can I:
1. Buy cheap hard drive and install it as the primary drive and un-install
old drive.
2. re-install XP.
3. re-install the old drive as the secondary drive and retrive all
programs,
folders and files???
Thanks, Alan

First, what do you mean by "my computer crashed"?

Second, yes you can install a new drive and install XP to it if you have the
install media you need. If your system depended on a recovery partition,
you have a problem (which you can overcome with cloning software, presuming
that the old drive still functions). To do that, you will need another
system with XP and a way to mount both drives, the old and new, at the same
time. USB2 drive cases are good for this.

But you cannot, once you've reinstalled XP, recover the *programs or
settings* from the old drive. Programs have to be reinstalled; you can use
the Program files folder on the old drive as a reminder of what you need to
reinstall, but you generally can't just copy the files over.

Data can be copied, but be aware that many core programs keep their data in
folders helpfully set as hidden. Many email programs do this. You have
to set Explorer to show hidden/system folders and know where to look, or at
least what you're looking for.

Finally, don't buy a "cheap" hard drive. Buy a *good* one, which won't
likely cost much more.

HTH
-pk