Re: Moving physical hard drive to a new computer
- From: Bruce Chambers <bchambers@xxxxxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Thu, 15 Nov 2007 19:15:31 -0700
elitebass wrote:
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
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