Taking out hard drive w/ XP and put in new computer

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Does anyoe know if I can take the hard drive out of my computer and put it in
a new bare bones system? Will Windows XP SP2 just update itself to the new
system?
 
shane said:
Does anyoe know if I can take the hard drive out of my computer and put it in
a new bare bones system? Will Windows XP SP2 just update itself to the new
system?
Click to expand...


Normally, and assuming a retail license (many factory-installed OEM
installations are BIOS-locked to a specific chipset and therefore *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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safety deserve neither liberty nor safety. -Benjamin Franklin
 
Does anyoe know if I can take the hard drive out of my computer and put it in
a new bare bones system? Will Windows XP SP2 just update itself to the new
system?
Click to expand...

You'll need to have the driver CD for the new system. If you boot to
safe mode and install the driver CD you'll probably be fine.
 
Does anyoe know if I can take the hard drive out of my computer and put it
in
a new bare bones system? Will Windows XP SP2 just update itself to the
new
system?
Click to expand...

Bruce gave you the long version. I have tried this, and unless the new mobo
has the exact same chipset it won't work at all.

This is one of the reasons a separate system partition makes sense. You
could wipe that partition clean, put the drive in a new case, and reinstall
XP and your apps in a couple hours. Data sits there just waiting for you on
the second partition.

-John O
 
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