Redetect All New Hardware?

[kennedystephen]

I have a hard disk drive that came out of a motherboard that got
cooked. The hard drive is fine though. I want to put that hard drive
into a completely new computer. Can I expect Windows to just except the
fact that it's in a new computer, and boot correctly?

I don't care about having to re-activate Windows. I can do that just
fine. I don't want to be called a pirate. I just want Windows to boot.
I have a feeling that I need to tell Windows to forget about all what
it knew about existing hardware, and go through a new series of
installing, configuring, and initializing new hardware.

I DO NOT, repeat DO NOT, want to reinstall and reconfigure software.
That may take years to get it done right. I just want to tell Windows
to re-detect this new hardware.

Is that possible?

 

[Guest]

Normaly windows will start and will ask for new drivers...So you need to
have near you windows drivers for motherboard, video...on manufacturer cd...

 

[Rock]

I have a hard disk drive that came out of a motherboard that got
cooked. The hard drive is fine though. I want to put that hard drive
into a completely new computer. Can I expect Windows to just except the
fact that it's in a new computer, and boot correctly?

I don't care about having to re-activate Windows. I can do that just
fine. I don't want to be called a pirate. I just want Windows to boot.
I have a feeling that I need to tell Windows to forget about all what
it knew about existing hardware, and go through a new series of
installing, configuring, and initializing new hardware.

I DO NOT, repeat DO NOT, want to reinstall and reconfigure software.
That may take years to get it done right. I just want to tell Windows
to re-detect this new hardware.

Is that possible?

No XP is not like previous OS software. You cannot take an installation
from one computer and expect it to run in another unless the two systems are
very similar in hardware. The installation is configured for the type of
hardware present.

If the new drive doesn't boot then do a repair install. This should retain
programs, data and settings. It's best to do the repair install before even
trying to boot from the that drive in the new computer, as I have heard of
instances were trying the boot first - which didn't work, somehow prevented
the subsequent repair install from working correctly necessitating a clean
install.

You will need an XP installation CD, not a vendor recovery CD to do the
repair install.

Here is a link on how to do a repair install:
http://www.michaelstevenstech.com/XPrepairinstall.htm

I have also included a link on moving a hard drive to a different computer
http://www.michaelstevenstech.com/moving_xp.html

Most people would like to avoid a clean install, but sometimes it's not a
matter of what you would like to do, no matter how much you would like not
to. In case a clean install is necessary here is a link for it.
http://www.michaelstevenstech.com/cleanxpinstall.html

 

[Ken Blake, MVP]

I have a hard disk drive that came out of a motherboard that got
cooked. The hard drive is fine though. I want to put that hard drive
into a completely new computer. Can I expect Windows to just except
the fact that it's in a new computer, and boot correctly?

No.


I don't care about having to re-activate Windows. I can do that just
fine. I don't want to be called a pirate. I just want Windows to boot.
I have a feeling that I need to tell Windows to forget about all what
it knew about existing hardware, and go through a new series of
installing, configuring, and initializing new hardware.

Activation isn't the issue. The issue is that unless the old computer is
identical to the new one, it won't simply work like that. You will have to
do *at least* a repair installation after moving the drive. See "How to
Perform a Windows XP Repair Install"
http://www.michaelstevenstech.com/XPrepairinstall.htm

That often works, but in some situations it isn't enough, and you may find
that you have to do a clean installation.

I DO NOT, repeat DO NOT, want to reinstall and reconfigure software.
That may take years to get it done right. I just want to tell Windows
to re-detect this new hardware.

Bear in mind that it may not be a matter of what you *want* to do. You may
in fact, have to do exactly that.

 

[Bruce Chambers]

I have a hard disk drive that came out of a motherboard that got
cooked. The hard drive is fine though. I want to put that hard drive
into a completely new computer. Can I expect Windows to just except the
fact that it's in a new computer, and boot correctly?

I don't care about having to re-activate Windows. I can do that just
fine. I don't want to be called a pirate. I just want Windows to boot.
I have a feeling that I need to tell Windows to forget about all what
it knew about existing hardware, and go through a new series of
installing, configuring, and initializing new hardware.

I DO NOT, repeat DO NOT, want to reinstall and reconfigure software.
That may take years to get it done right. I just want to tell Windows
to re-detect this new hardware.

Is that possible?

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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[Jonny]

I have a hard disk drive that came out of a motherboard that got
cooked. The hard drive is fine though. I want to put that hard drive
into a completely new computer. Can I expect Windows to just except the
fact that it's in a new computer, and boot correctly?

I don't care about having to re-activate Windows. I can do that just
fine. I don't want to be called a pirate. I just want Windows to boot.
I have a feeling that I need to tell Windows to forget about all what
it knew about existing hardware, and go through a new series of
installing, configuring, and initializing new hardware.

I DO NOT, repeat DO NOT, want to reinstall and reconfigure software.
That may take years to get it done right. I just want to tell Windows
to re-detect this new hardware.

Is that possible?

That is possible on 98/98SE/ME PCs. Basically stripping all the installed
drivers from the system in safe mode, rebooting and allowing the OS to find
drivers in normal mode. Not possible in XP.

Some 3rd party software may install a pertinent driver, this software must
be uninstalled first in the above situation. Backup software for some tape
drives as an example. Non-native printer drivers as part of printer
installation software as another.