Moving physical hard drive to a new computer

[Guest]

I have a good 40gig hard drive in an older Dell chassis. I got a new dell
dimension 4500 from my sister and decided to pass it on to my son. But the
new Dell is more than twice as fast and I want to put my hard drive in that
computer. Windows XP will not load. I get to the screen that says "We
apologize for the inconvenience..." and gives option to start in safe mode
etc. and then just reboots to that same screen. Can I not move my hard drive
ever?

 

[Carey Frisch [MVP]]

Not if you have an OEM license from Dell.
The original Dell license is non-transferrable
to a different computer.

--
Carey Frisch
Microsoft MVP
Windows Shell/User

---------------------------------------------------------------

I have a good 40gig hard drive in an older Dell chassis. I got a new dell
dimension 4500 from my sister and decided to pass it on to my son. But the
new Dell is more than twice as fast and I want to put my hard drive in that
computer. Windows XP will not load. I get to the screen that says "We
apologize for the inconvenience..." and gives option to start in safe mode
etc. and then just reboots to that same screen. Can I not move my hard drive
ever?

 

[Lanwench [MVP - Exchange]]

I have a good 40gig hard drive in an older Dell chassis. I got a new
dell dimension 4500 from my sister and decided to pass it on to my
son. But the new Dell is more than twice as fast and I want to put my
hard drive in that computer. Windows XP will not load. I get to the
screen that says "We apologize for the inconvenience..." and gives
option to start in safe mode etc. and then just reboots to that same
screen. Can I not move my hard drive ever?

You can, but you can't just expect Windows to boot up & run when you're
using entirely different hardware. You'll need to boot from your XP
installation media and do a repair install....

http://www.michaelstevenstech.com/XPrepairinstall.htm

 

[Patrick Keenan]

I have a good 40gig hard drive in an older Dell chassis. I got a new dell
dimension 4500 from my sister and decided to pass it on to my son. But the
new Dell is more than twice as fast and I want to put my hard drive in
that
computer. Windows XP will not load. I get to the screen that says "We
apologize for the inconvenience..." and gives option to start in safe mode
etc. and then just reboots to that same screen. Can I not move my hard
drive
ever?

It sounds like you are trying to boot from that 40 gig drive.

The new system has different hardware, so it's not too surprising that it
doesn't boot. It's trying to load drivers for the old hardware, and that
isn't agreeing with the new hardware.

You have to, at very least, do a repair install from the XP Install CD,
which will address this. You'll want to back up that drive first.

There is a licensing issue, as the Dell OEM licenses are not transferable
from system to system.

HTH
-pk

 

[Guest]

Thanks !!!!!

It sounds like you are trying to boot from that 40 gig drive.

The new system has different hardware, so it's not too surprising that it
doesn't boot. It's trying to load drivers for the old hardware, and that
isn't agreeing with the new hardware.

You have to, at very least, do a repair install from the XP Install CD,
which will address this. You'll want to back up that drive first.

There is a licensing issue, as the Dell OEM licenses are not transferable
from system to system.

HTH
-pk

 

[Guest]

Thanks !!!!!

You can, but you can't just expect Windows to boot up & run when you're
using entirely different hardware. You'll need to boot from your XP
installation media and do a repair install....

http://www.michaelstevenstech.com/XPrepairinstall.htm

 

[Guest]

It's not OEM so I should be able to do the repair install. Thanks very much !!!

 

[Bruce Chambers]

I have a good 40gig hard drive in an older Dell chassis. I got a new dell
dimension 4500 from my sister and decided to pass it on to my son. But the
new Dell is more than twice as fast and I want to put my hard drive in that
computer. Windows XP will not load. I get to the screen that says "We
apologize for the inconvenience..." and gives option to start in safe mode
etc. and then just reboots to that same screen. Can I not move my hard drive
ever?

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

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

The philosopher has never killed any priests, whereas the priest has
killed a great many philosophers.
~ Denis Diderot

 

[Guest]

Thanks very much. I was thinking it over right before I started and it
occured to me that "my" hard drive is not OEM but the one with which I was
going to swap is. I guess I'm screwed. Actually, the real block for me to
just swap files on the drives is the Office license on "my" hard drive. The
OEM does not have office, and I can't find the disc to install and move
Office files to other drive. I might just have to suck it up and buy Office
again. Thanks again.

 

[FrankV]

Try contacting Microsoft with the ID number which you can find in the help
of any Office program and ask for a replacement disk. I do not know if this
would work and is just a suggestion.

Frank

 

[Bruce Chambers]

Thanks very much. I was thinking it over right before I started and it
occured to me that "my" hard drive is not OEM but the one with which I was
going to swap is. I guess I'm screwed. Actually, the real block for me to
just swap files on the drives is the Office license on "my" hard drive. The
OEM does not have office, and I can't find the disc to install and move
Office files to other drive. I might just have to suck it up and buy Office
again. Thanks again.

Before you purchase Office again:

If it was a retail license and you have proof of purchase:

How to Replace Lost, Broken, or Missing Microsoft Software or Hardware
http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=KB;en-us;326246

Alternatively, for the budget-minded (who also don't need all of
Office's specific features), there's the free, open source OpenOffice:

http://www.openoffice.org/


--

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

The philosopher has never killed any priests, whereas the priest has
killed a great many philosophers.
~ Denis Diderot