Win XP will not load on different computer

G

Guest

My Old computer recently crashed.
there was smoke coming out of the motherboard but luckly everything else is
fine.
the short took place in the power switch circuit and did not effect anything
but the motherboard. I don't know how but that is the only thing that was
damaged

Anyway I wanted to make sure my hard drive was still good and windows would
still boot.
So I took my Hard drive out and put it in my mom's computer and set it as
master.
But windows xp won't boot it just stays at the load screen and won't change.
I thought mabey the hard drive was bad but after seting it to slave and
running some software to check the hard drive every thing turned out fine.

My Question: is this some thing Microsoft built in to prevent theft or is
there something wrong?
I bought a new Motherboard and am waiting for it to arrive.
 
M

MikeP

The differences between your hardware and your mom's computer (the
motherboards) is what is
causing XP to hang during boot. The drive is probably fine, but when you
put it in your restored computer you will probably have to do a repair
install unless you use the exact same motherboard replacement.

I changed motherboards in my two computers recently and repair installs were
needed to boot.
 
C

Carey Frisch [MVP]

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

How to Perform a Windows XP Repair Install
http://www.michaelstevenstech.com/XPrepairinstall.htm

[Courtesy of MS-MVP Michael Stevens]

--
Carey Frisch
Microsoft MVP
Windows XP - Shell/User
Microsoft Newsgroups

Be Smart! Protect Your PC!
http://www.microsoft.com/athome/security/protect/default.mspx

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

:

| My Old computer recently crashed.
| there was smoke coming out of the motherboard but luckly everything else is
| fine.
| the short took place in the power switch circuit and did not effect anything
| but the motherboard. I don't know how but that is the only thing that was
| damaged
|
| Anyway I wanted to make sure my hard drive was still good and windows would
| still boot.
| So I took my Hard drive out and put it in my mom's computer and set it as
| master.
| But windows xp won't boot it just stays at the load screen and won't change.
| I thought mabey the hard drive was bad but after seting it to slave and
| running some software to check the hard drive every thing turned out fine.
|
| My Question: is this some thing Microsoft built in to prevent theft or is
| there something wrong?
| I bought a new Motherboard and am waiting for it to arrive.
 
B

Bill James

In most cases you cannot boot Windows in a new computer because the hardware is too different. If you actually want to use the install on a different computer, you will have to do a Repair install so Windows can configure to the new hardware. The way to check that the drive is OK is by adding the drive as a Slave drive, boot to Windows using the existing install. You will see a new drive letter which you can browse using Windows Explorer. However, there is some risk that this will screw up the MBR on the other computer, but that's not too hard to fix if it does happen (boot with Windows 9x floppy and type fdisk /mbr at the command prompt, then reboot).


--

Bill James
Microsoft MVP - Shell/User

Windows VBScript Utilities » www.billsway.com/vbspage/
Windows Tweaks & Tips » www.billsway.com/notes_public/
 
M

Michael Stevens

In
xpuser said:
My Old computer recently crashed.
there was smoke coming out of the motherboard but luckly everything
else is fine.
the short took place in the power switch circuit and did not effect
anything but the motherboard. I don't know how but that is the only
thing that was damaged

Anyway I wanted to make sure my hard drive was still good and windows
would still boot.
So I took my Hard drive out and put it in my mom's computer and set
it as master.
But windows xp won't boot it just stays at the load screen and won't
change. I thought mabey the hard drive was bad but after seting it to
slave and running some software to check the hard drive every Click on the
link below, or copy and paste the link into the address box
if using the web based newsgroup.
Move XP to new hardware.
http://michaelstevenstech.com/moving_xp.html
--
Michael Stevens MS-MVP XP
(e-mail address removed)
http://michaelstevenstech.com
For a better newsgroup experience. Setup a newsreader.
http://michaelstevenstech.com/outlookexpressnewreader.htm

thing
 
B

Bruce Chambers

xpuser said:
My Old computer recently crashed.
there was smoke coming out of the motherboard but luckly everything else is
fine.
the short took place in the power switch circuit and did not effect anything
but the motherboard. I don't know how but that is the only thing that was
damaged

Anyway I wanted to make sure my hard drive was still good and windows would
still boot.
So I took my Hard drive out and put it in my mom's computer and set it as
master.
But windows xp won't boot it just stays at the load screen and won't change.
I thought mabey the hard drive was bad but after seting it to slave and
running some software to check the hard drive every thing turned out fine.

My Question: is this some thing Microsoft built in to prevent theft or is
there something wrong?


No and no. This is perfectly normal.

I bought a new Motherboard and am waiting for it to arrive.


Normally, and assuming a retail license (many OEM installations
and licenses 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

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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