Need to move HD to new computer - how?

  • Thread starter Thread starter PlucknGro
  • Start date Start date
P

PlucknGro

Hi,
I am getting a new computer. I need to move the hard drive on the
old machine onto the new machine without loss of data on it.

If I disconnect the said hard drive from its power supply, can i then
just move it over to the new motherboard and plug it in? Will the
data all be there or will it be wiped out as soon as I disconnect the
power? Is the HD just like a floppy which you can pop out and take to
a new machine and put it in?

I need to know for sure before I open up the case, remove the hd and
move it over. I cannot afford to lose my precious data!

Please advise only if u know for sure. Thank u.
 
Fisrt at all, back up data

If you are not planing to bootup new computer from this hard drive and
your new computer will have compatable OS and your new computer support
type of hard drive your have, then yes, moving is no problem. But you
can not book your new computer from OS installed on old computer without
additional work.
 
If you are not planing to bootup new computer from this hard drive and
your new computer will have compatable OS
Click to expand...

So just to clarify, when I unplug the HD from the old computer, the
data will still be there right?

Now when you say it has to be a 'compatible OS', does it have to be
the same OS version? E.g. Old hard drive has Win 98SE, new hard drive
will have Win XP... will i then just be able to change drive letters
and access the data?
 
PlucknGro said:
Hi,
I am getting a new computer. I need to move the hard drive on the
old machine onto the new machine without loss of data on it.

If I disconnect the said hard drive from its power supply, can i then
just move it over to the new motherboard and plug it in? Will the
data all be there or will it be wiped out as soon as I disconnect the
power? Is the HD just like a floppy which you can pop out and take to
a new machine and put it in?

I need to know for sure before I open up the case, remove the hd and
move it over. I cannot afford to lose my precious data!

Please advise only if u know for sure. Thank u.
Click to expand...

Data should be no problem. If you have a new computer that already has a HD
it will be known as C: by default. If you remove the HD from the old system
(no, you won't lose any data unless you do something stupid like dropping it
or messing up the circuitry somehow) and install it in the new system as
either the slave on the main IDE channel or as either the master or slave on
the secondary channel, it should show up as drive D: or E: or F: or ?:
(depending on what drives are already on the new system) with no work on
your part.

Note that I said "data should be no problem" -- this means that applications
which were on the old HD will probably not run on the new system because all
of the registry entries will be wrong. There are supposed to be utility
programs that are able to fix this sort of problem but, not having tried
them I don't know if they work or not. I have moved drives many times and
have a system in my basement right now which has drives from three different
old computers in it and all the data is available on all the drives. Have
fun but like another poster said, backing up is always a good idea, just in
case...
--
John McGaw
[Knoxville, TN, USA]

Return address will not work. Please
reply in group or through my website:
http://johnmcgaw.com
 
zalzon said:
So just to clarify, when I unplug the HD from the old computer, the
data will still be there right?
Yes


Now when you say it has to be a 'compatible OS', does it have to be
the same OS version? E.g. Old hard drive has Win 98SE, new hard drive
will have Win XP... will i then just be able to change drive letters
and access the data?
Click to expand...

Yes, this should be no problem. Other way would be a problem. When you
will install drive in to your new computer it will be assign an
evailiable letter (probubly D or E), you can just use it, or change it
to any other.
 
If you already have a hard drive in the other computer, your new drive will
have to be jumpered to master-IF you want to boot from it and run the
programs on it. That will also mean that the programs that came with the new
computer won't run anymore, because the Registry will be using information
from the drive you're about to put in, and not from the drive that the new
computer started with.
IF you make the new drive the SLAVE, your programs on it rive won't run,
because the Registry won't be pointing to them. In either case your data
files will be intact, even though you won't be able to look at some of them
since the programs that open them won't run.
One possibility is a dual-boot arrangement, using Partition Magic, so that
you can boot to the old drive or the new one.
In any case, the old drive may lockup if and when you first boot to it,
since the drivers will most likely conflict with your new hardware. Safe
Mode could help avoid this-initially.One note- if you try to fix this
installation by reinstalling, say Win 98 on a system with say Win XP, Win XP
will have to be "repaired after you do this.
Peter Cowie
 
PlucknGro said:
Hi,
I am getting a new computer. I need to move the hard drive on the
old machine onto the new machine without loss of data on it.

If I disconnect the said hard drive from its power supply, can i then
just move it over to the new motherboard and plug it in? Will the
data all be there or will it be wiped out as soon as I disconnect the
power? Is the HD just like a floppy which you can pop out and take to
a new machine and put it in?
Click to expand...

You are confusing a hard drive's ability to store data Permanently with RAM
which loses everything in its memory when power is turned off.
 
Back
Top