putting hard drive with xp pro into different computer case

[robert]

how can i get my hard drive to boot in different computer case with a
different main board.
When error appears will deleting start up info allow xp pro to start and run?

 

[Ken Blake, MVP]

how can i get my hard drive to boot in different computer case with a
different main board.

You may or may not be able to do this. Unless the two computers are
almost identical, the hard drive will not simply work on the second
computer. At the least, you will have to do a repair installation
after installing the drive in the new computer. Worst case, if the
computers are different enough, the repair installation won't be
enough, and you have to clean install from scratch.

 

[Jerry]

More than likely XP will not boot because it has no drivers info on the new
motherboard.

What you do is boot from the XP CD and do a repair install. And the XP CD
must be of the same service pack as the version of XP on the drive.

 

[JS]

Using your original Windows Setup CD,
boot from the CD and follow all the instructions until you get to the point
where Setup finds your current Windows installation.

Just follow the instructions posted at one of the web sites below,
read each of the steps carefully so you understand what you will be doing a
step by step before you actually start the repair process.
Windows will keep your previous settings, including applications and
device drivers.

Word of warning: Always backup any important data files just incase
things don't go as expected. Read all three articles mention below
"carefully" and see if a Repair Install meets your needs

See: http://www.michaelstevenstech.com/XPrepairinstall.htm
and: Windows XP Repair Install - How extreme can you go
http://www.pagestart.com/repairinstall.html

Note: IE7 and IE8 users read this before you start:
"How to perform a repair installation of Windows XP if a later version of
Internet Explorer is installed"
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/917964

If the PC boots and you are able to logon, then check 'Device Manager' and
look for any Yellow ?
You may need to re-install the device drivers or if you are moving to a new
computer then
have your drive disk ready as you will need to install the Chipset drivers,
LAN, Sound any possibly
others.

Finally go to Windows Update site and install all the updates as they will
need to be reinstalled.

Also read:
Non Destructive Repair of XP by Fred Langa:
http://www.informationweek.com/windows/showArticle.jhtml?articleID=189400897

How to perform an in-place upgrade (reinstallation) of Windows XP
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/315341
Fred Langa:
http://www.informationweek.com/news/windows/showArticle.jhtml?articleID=189400897

 

[Anna]

More than likely XP will not boot because it has no drivers info on the
new motherboard.

What you do is boot from the XP CD and do a repair install. And the XP CD
must be of the same service pack as the version of XP on the drive.

robert...
As Jerry has indicated it is likely that you will need to run a Repair
install of the XP OS in order for the later PC to boot to the HDD
transferred to that PC.

But it is entirely possible there will be *no* problem with the new system
booting to the transferred HDD. It's quite possible that immediately after
you install the HDD in the other PC it will boot straightaway. This is by no
means a rare event. There's really no way to tell if the new system will
boot to the HDD; you just have to try it. And there's no harm in doing so
with the understanding that a Repair install of the OS will (at the minimum)
be necessary.

So if you're fortunate you'll have little difficulty with that aspect of
things. But you *do* understand that even if the system boots without
incident you will very likely need to install the new motherboard drivers
contained on the motherboard's installation CD. You do understand that,
right?

Can we assume that you're familiar with the XP OS Repair process if it comes
to that? Here are some links if you're not...
http://www.michaelstevenstech.com/XPrepairinstall.htm#RI
http://www.webtree.ca/windowsxp/repair_xp.htm
http://www.geekstogo.com/forum/index.php?showtopic=138
http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;en-us;315341

The process is relatively easy - roughly comparable to fresh-installing the
XP OS. Presumably you'll have an XP OS installation CD that allows you to
undertake the Repair install.

One thing to keep in mind if you do undertake or plan to undertake the
Repair install of the XP OS. If there's any important data (files/folders)
on the HDD that you plan to transfer, copy such to some removable media
*before* undertaking the Repair install. Ordinarily there's no problem with
data loss or data corruption even should the Repair install fail, but it's
always a possibility. So that's a cautionary note to keep in mind.

BTW, Jerry is mistaken in that it is unnecessary that the Repair install
*must* be undertaken with an XP OS installation CD having the same SP
version that's on the HDD. That is not a requirement. Should your HDD, for
example, contain the XP OS with SP3, you could still undertake the Repair
install with an XP OS installation SP containing SP2 for example. Naturally
if the Repair install was successful you would later install SP3 in that
case.
Anna

 

[DL]

Its not going to work unless you have a retail version of winxp

 

[Bruce Chambers]

how can i get my hard drive to boot in different computer case with a
different main board.

Normally, and assuming a retail license (many factory-installed OEM
installations are BIOS-locked to a specific motherboard 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.

When error appears will deleting start up info allow xp pro to start and run?

Probably not.


--

Bruce Chambers

Help us help you:


http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx/kb/555375

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

 

[Daave]

BTW, Jerry is mistaken in that it is unnecessary that the Repair
install *must* be undertaken with an XP OS installation CD having the
same SP version that's on the HDD. That is not a requirement. Should
your HDD, for example, contain the XP OS with SP3, you could still
undertake the Repair install with an XP OS installation SP containing
SP2 for example. Naturally if the Repair install was successful you
would later install SP3 in that case.

Anna, suppose someone upgraded from IE6 to IE7 while still in SP2.
*Then* they installed SP3. What would happen to IE if they performed a
Repair Install using a CD with SP2? I wold imagine that simply
uninstalling SP3 would work fine, but I do wonder how the above Repair
Install scenario would pan out.

IIRC, I helped out a friend a while back who had this exact situation
and IE became all screwed up as a result of running the Repair Install.
It wasn't a big deal since I had imaged the hard drive beforehand and
was able to restore the image and try another tack.

 

[dadiOH]

Its not going to work unless you have a retail version of winxp

An OEM XP works just fine with the caveat that using it for a repair install
may be necessary.

dadiOH
_____________

 

[Bill in Co.]

I thought someone mentioned that the OEM versions weren't able to do a
repair install (i.e, only a complete new install)?

 

[Daave]

Just because somebody makes a statement doesn't mean it's factual.

 

[dadiOH]

I thought someone mentioned that the OEM versions weren't able to do a
repair install (i.e, only a complete new install)?

So I shouldn't do repair installs anymore?

dadiOH
___________

 

[Ken Blake, MVP]

I thought someone mentioned that the OEM versions weren't able to do a
repair install (i.e, only a complete new install)?

That's true of an OEM restoration disk, but *not* true of a OEM
installation disk.

 

[Anna]

Anna, suppose someone upgraded from IE6 to IE7 while still in SP2. *Then*
they installed SP3. What would happen to IE if they performed a Repair
Install using a CD with SP2? I wold imagine that simply uninstalling SP3
would work fine, but I do wonder how the above Repair Install scenario
would pan out.

IIRC, I helped out a friend a while back who had this exact situation and
IE became all screwed up as a result of running the Repair Install. It
wasn't a big deal since I had imaged the hard drive beforehand and was
able to restore the image and try another tack.

Daave...
You raise a valid point and I should have been more explicit in my comment
above. The following comments are, of course, based upon my experience.

The scenario you describe, i.e., the user upgrades from IE6 to IE7 while the
XP OS contains SP2, then *later* installs SP3, and still later (for one
reason or another) decides to undertake a Repair install of the OS (possibly
to rectify a corrupted OS) *does* constitute a problem should the user
attempt to undertake the Repair install with an XP OS installation CD
containing SP2.

Under those circumstances the Repair install will fail early in the setup
process because the system is apparently unable to install the required OS
files and will report that failure (on a file-by-file basis) to the point
where there's no choice left for the user but to abort the process.

In the scenario above in order for the Repair install to proceed (using a XP
OS installation CD containing SP2) it would *first* be necessary for the
user to uninstall IE7 before undertaking the Repair install with that XP OS
installation CD containing SP2. Should the ensuing Repair install be
successful (of course it's not always for a variety of reasons other than
the issue under discussion), then IE6 would be installed as a result of the
Repair install.

Nearly needless to say that IE7 uninstalling process would be awkward to
undertake at the least and (in most cases in our experience) virtually
impossible since in the great majority of cases (again, in our experience)
the Repair install of the OS is undertaken when the system is unbootable. So
there's really no practical way to uninstall IE7 given that situation.

On the other hand if the user had installed SP3 *before* upgrading from IE6
to IE7, then there is no problem (along the lines described above) using a
XP OS installation CD containing SP2 to undertake the Repair install.
Assuming no other problems negating a successful Repair install the OS will,
of course, revert to XP-SP2 and include IE6. Obviously the user could then
install SP3 and/or IE7 should he/she wish to do so.

Also, should the user be working with IE6 and have no interest in installing
IE7 then there's no problem with undertaking the Repair install with an XP
OS installation CD containing an earlier SP.

In any event it would seem that when all is said & done, as a practical
matter it would be best (as Jerry has indicated) in virtually every case for
the user to use a "slipstreamed" XP OS installation CD containing SP3.

Since I haven't had any substantive experience with IE8 I haven't commented
on any problems/issues relative to that version as it impacts the issue
under discussion. While I would assume the above scenarios would be roughly
the same as described above I don't know that as a fact. I would be
interested in hearing of the experience of others in this regard.
Anna

 

[Daave]

Daave...
You raise a valid point and I should have been more explicit in my
comment above. The following comments are, of course, based upon my
experience.
The scenario you describe, i.e., the user upgrades from IE6 to IE7
while the XP OS contains SP2, then *later* installs SP3, and still
later (for one reason or another) decides to undertake a Repair
install of the OS (possibly to rectify a corrupted OS) *does*
constitute a problem should the user attempt to undertake the Repair
install with an XP OS installation CD containing SP2.

Under those circumstances the Repair install will fail early in the
setup process because the system is apparently unable to install the
required OS files and will report that failure (on a file-by-file
basis) to the point where there's no choice left for the user but to
abort the process.
In the scenario above in order for the Repair install to proceed
(using a XP OS installation CD containing SP2) it would *first* be
necessary for the user to uninstall IE7 before undertaking the Repair
install with that XP OS installation CD containing SP2. Should the
ensuing Repair install be successful (of course it's not always for a
variety of reasons other than the issue under discussion), then IE6
would be installed as a result of the Repair install.

Nearly needless to say that IE7 uninstalling process would be awkward
to undertake at the least and (in most cases in our experience)
virtually impossible since in the great majority of cases (again, in
our experience) the Repair install of the OS is undertaken when the
system is unbootable. So there's really no practical way to uninstall
IE7 given that situation.
On the other hand if the user had installed SP3 *before* upgrading
from IE6 to IE7, then there is no problem (along the lines described
above) using a XP OS installation CD containing SP2 to undertake the
Repair install. Assuming no other problems negating a successful
Repair install the OS will, of course, revert to XP-SP2 and include
IE6. Obviously the user could then install SP3 and/or IE7 should
he/she wish to do so.
Also, should the user be working with IE6 and have no interest in
installing IE7 then there's no problem with undertaking the Repair
install with an XP OS installation CD containing an earlier SP.

In any event it would seem that when all is said & done, as a
practical matter it would be best (as Jerry has indicated) in
virtually every case for the user to use a "slipstreamed" XP OS
installation CD containing SP3.
Since I haven't had any substantive experience with IE8 I haven't
commented on any problems/issues relative to that version as it
impacts the issue under discussion. While I would assume the above
scenarios would be roughly the same as described above I don't know
that as a fact. I would be interested in hearing of the experience of
others in this regard. Anna

Very thorough. Thanks!