Hard Drive Change

[Guest]

Had Complete Mobo/processor melt down .Can i put hard drive in to replacment
machine with new mobo and processor and use it as primary to boot up and run
this machine . thus not having to buy new operating system for replacment
machine.

 

[David B.]

If the hard drive controllers are very similar, yes, if not you'll have to
perform a repair install to get it to boot.

 

[Gary S. Terhune]

Maybe, maybe not. If your version of XP was purchased retail, it will be OK.
If it was some brand name computer, then probably not. The latter may be
"bios locked" to the motherboard.

In any case, you'd have to do a Repair install of XP. Such an operation is
fraught with possible complications. Make sure your data is well backed up
before you try it. Once you've managed the Repair installation, you'll then
have to reactivate. Only then will you find out if you can do so, due to the
licensing restrictions.

You don't have the original installation disk? I assume you got a new HD
with the new machine? If not, I recommend you get one, even a small one. You
can clean install XP to that, then put in the old HD as a second device,
retrieve the data, reformat the disk and use it for storage. If the Windows
disk you have won't install to the machine and activate, then transferring
the old drive won't likely work either.

 

[Gary S. Terhune]

A lot more than hard drive controllers are involved.

 

[Patrick Keenan]

Had Complete Mobo/processor melt down .Can i put hard drive in to
replacment
machine with new mobo and processor and use it as primary to boot up and
run
this machine . thus not having to buy new operating system for replacment
machine.

You will have to do a repair install of XP, unless the replacement machine
is exactly the same as the old one. Key XP files are built to reflect
installed hardware, and it will not boot or function properly if the
hardware it expects is not there or is really something else.

If your XP version is OEM, it's possible that it will not install on
hardware from another manufacturer.

HTH
-pk

 

[David B.]

Not true at all. Granted you will have to install the drivers for the new
hardware AFTER XP boots, but whether it successfully boots or not after a
motherboard swap is 100% related to the old and new hard drive controller.

 

[David B.]

Not correct, the only piece of hardware that has to be the same or similar
is the hard drive controller, and there are ways around that.

 

[Guest]

thanks
crashed machine was a home build
new machine is a packard bell refirbished by pcworld

 

[David B.]

Also this is not taking any license/activation issues into account.

 

[Gary S. Terhune]

Something I didn't know... Noted.

 

[David B.]

One of the tricks I use when upgrading to a completely different motherboard
with different chipsets, install a PCI hard drive controller and install the
drivers, shut down the PC and connect the hard drive to the PCI controller
and make sure it boots from it with no problems, install new motherboard,
including the PCI controller, XP should boot up. Install motherboard
drivers, shut down and connect hard drive to new motherboard, and you've
saved yourself a repair install and the need to reinstall all the Windows
Updates.

 

[Gary S. Terhune]

Kinda hard to set up if the first motherboard is fried, isn't it?

 

[David B.]

That's the situation where pretty much nothing's going to help you
unfortunately, but it's a hell of a timesaver for an upgrade situation.

--

 

[Gary S. Terhune]

I'll try to remember it, for sure. Probably won't though, <sigh>.

 

[Bruce Chambers]

Had Complete Mobo/processor melt down .Can i put hard drive in to replacment
machine with new mobo and processor and use it as primary to boot up and run
this machine . thus not having to buy new operating system for replacment
machine.

Normally, and assuming a retail license (many factory-installed OEM
installations are BIOS-locked to a specific chipset and therefore are
*not* transferable to a new motherboard - check yours before starting),
unless the new motherboard is virtually identical (same chipset, same
IDE controllers, same BIOS version, etc.) to the one on which the WinXP
installation was originally performed, you'll need to perform a repair
(a.k.a. in-place upgrade) installation, at the very least:

How to Perform an In-Place Upgrade of Windows XP
http://support.microsoft.com/directory/article.asp?ID=KB;EN-US;Q315341

Changing a Motherboard or Moving a Hard Drive with WinXP Installed
http://www.michaelstevenstech.com/moving_xp.html

The "why" is quite simple, really, and has nothing to do with
licensing issues, per se; it's a purely technical matter, at this point.
You've pulled the proverbial hardware rug out from under the OS. (If
you don't like -- or get -- the rug analogy, think of it as picking up a
Cape Cod style home and then setting it down onto a Ranch style
foundation. It just isn't going to fit.) WinXP, like Win2K before it,
is not nearly as "promiscuous" as Win9x when it comes to accepting any
old hardware configuration you throw at it. On installation it
"tailors" itself to the specific hardware found. This is one of the
reasons that the entire WinNT/2K/XP OS family is so much more stable
than the Win9x group.

As always when undertaking such a significant change, back up any
important data before starting.

This will also probably require re-activation, unless you have a
Volume Licensed version of WinXP Pro installed. If it's been more than
120 days since you last activated that specific Product Key, you'll most
likely be able to activate via the Internet without problem. If it's
been less, you might have to make a 5 minute phone call.



--

Bruce Chambers

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They that can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary
safety deserve neither liberty nor safety. -Benjamin Franklin

Many people would rather die than think; in fact, most do. -Bertrand Russell

 

[Bruce Chambers]

Not true at all. Granted you will have to install the drivers for the
new hardware AFTER XP boots, but whether it successfully boots or not
after a motherboard swap is 100% related to the old and new hard drive
controller.

100%? Since when? The hard drive controllers are only one factor, and
far from the most significant.

--

Bruce Chambers

Help us help you:



They that can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary
safety deserve neither liberty nor safety. -Benjamin Franklin

Many people would rather die than think; in fact, most do. -Bertrand Russell

 

[David B.]

It is the difference in the hard drive controller that causes the BSOD after
a motherboard swap, that is the only thing that makes it necessary for a
repair install, the procedure I stated above proves this and I have used it
many times to avoid the need for a repair install (in an upgrade situation).
I would do a bit of testing before making the statement you did, you will
find out that your wrong.

--

 

[John John]

That is not correct. It may be correct to say that drive controller
differences is the most common cause but there are other issues that can
cause Windows XP not to boot when it is moved to different hardware,
especially if you move it form fairly old to much newer hardware.

While it is correct to say that in 100% of cases if the drive controller
is different Windows will not boot, it is incorrect to say that
different controller are the sole and only cause and that they are 100%
responsible for boot failures when moving Windows XP to new hardware.
0x7B errors are not exclusively, 100% the sole possible error when
moving Windows XP to new hardware, and it is not the only 100% thing
that makes it necessary to reinstall Windows!

John

 

[David B.]

In rare cases maybe, I have had probably a 95 to 99% success rate using the
method I outlined.

 

[Plato]

Had Complete Mobo/processor melt down .Can i put hard drive in to replacment
machine with new mobo and processor and use it as primary to boot up and run
this machine . thus not having to buy new operating system for replacment
machine.

Yes, in theory, but you would most likely have to run a "repair install"
once the hard drive is in a different PC.