Posted: 6/8/2011 4:25:28 AM EDT
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Hi guys,
I have 2 Windows 7 64 machines. Similar chips and other specs. One is basically new with nothing on it. The other is stone dead (processor bricked) but has all kinds of useful programs installed and lots of data I'd like to keep. Can I just pull the HD from the dead machine and put it into the good machine, replacing the good machine's HD and have all my data and programs back? Could it be that simple, or would there be problems or hoops to jump through? |
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if the hardware is the same then your good to go.. if they differ at all its a crap shoot. It wont hurt anything to plug it up and and see what happens. Best case scenario is you willl need to install new drivers.. worst case scenario it blue screens and wont boot.. I would try it and see it just all depends on how similar the systems are.
Edit: If it does work expect your key to freak out and you would need to re register on different hardware. Depending on the key and the hardware it may or may not work and may require a call to MS. |
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No. It will not like that. You will likely have to reinstall windows at the very least. -Foxxz What if I put the old HD into the new box as a slave? Would that allow the programs installed there to run? No. the registry entries wont be mapped the same.. You could access the data on the drive like that but the programs will not run. |
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No. It will not like that. You will likely have to reinstall windows at the very least. -Foxxz What if I put the old HD into the new box as a slave? Would that allow the programs installed there to run? Possibly. You may have to reinstall some programs. But your other data on the hard drive will still be usable. |
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Quoted: Quoted: No. It will not like that. You will likely have to reinstall windows at the very least. -Foxxz What if I put the old HD into the new box as a slave? Would that allow the programs installed there to run? Simple programs would run but many programs wouldn't as their registry entries and settings would be missing plus they would be looking for their libraries/graphics/other files in the wrong places. I would put the old drive on your new PC and just use it for data, plus reinstall all your programs (you may them be able to save some of your programs settings if you know which files to copy from the old drive to the new one. |
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No. It will not like that. You will likely have to reinstall windows at the very least. -Foxxz What if I put the old HD into the new box as a slave? Would that allow the programs installed there to run? Simple programs would run but many programs wouldn't as their registry entries and settings would be missing plus they would be looking for their libraries/graphics/other files in the wrong places. I would put the old drive on your new PC and just use it for data, plus reinstall all your programs (you may them be able to save some of your programs settings if you know which files to copy from the old drive to the new one. this would be the correct course of action to take.. Making it work and it what is the best course of action are not allways the same.. Hardware failure is a bitch. |
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No. It will not like that. You will likely have to reinstall windows at the very least. -Foxxz What if I put the old HD into the new box as a slave? Would that allow the programs installed there to run? Simple programs would run but many programs wouldn't as their registry entries and settings would be missing plus they would be looking for their libraries/graphics/other files in the wrong places. I would put the old drive on your new PC and just use it for data, plus reinstall all your programs (you may them be able to save some of your programs settings if you know which files to copy from the old drive to the new one. this would be the correct course of action to take.. Making it work and it what is the best course of action are not allways the same.. Hardware failure is a bitch. So, is there a consensus that pulling in the old HD as a slave in the new machine is the best course of action? |
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Quoted: Quoted: Quoted: Quoted: Quoted: No. It will not like that. You will likely have to reinstall windows at the very least. -Foxxz What if I put the old HD into the new box as a slave? Would that allow the programs installed there to run? Simple programs would run but many programs wouldn't as their registry entries and settings would be missing plus they would be looking for their libraries/graphics/other files in the wrong places. I would put the old drive on your new PC and just use it for data, plus reinstall all your programs (you may them be able to save some of your programs settings if you know which files to copy from the old drive to the new one. this would be the correct course of action to take.. Making it work and it what is the best course of action are not allways the same.. Hardware failure is a bitch. So, is there a consensus that pulling in the old HD as a slave in the new machine is the best course of action? If all you're interested in is the data, then yes. Programs can be reinstalled if you have the media. |
| I've pulled a windows 7 64bit computer hard drive from an older computer and put it into a new computer. Windows 7 had to change some drivers and discover new hardware but beyond that everything else worked just fine. This was done at work on a test computer rig that I wanted all my old stuff on the new hot hardware, plus to see how well it would work. Windows 7 is much much more forgiving of different hardware then previous Microsoft OS. Heck if you were seriously concerned about registry issues, just put the hard drive in the working computer and then sysprep the drive. It's not going to hurt anything to replace the HD in the new computer with your old computer's hard drive and see how well it runs. |
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Windows 7 should handle it just fine as long as it is not an OEM edition. The OEM editions are tied to the motherboard, and require a reformat and phone activation to get working on a new system. I had a good one the other day... working on a pc that didn't come with any media, the "recovery" was a partition on the HD. The problem was the HD had completely crapped out. The guy had bought a new HD for it but how on earth can you get a copy of Windows 7 to install on the fresh HD that will utilize his product key (legit license) from the sticker on the case? |
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Hi guys, I have 2 Windows 7 64 machines. Similar chips and other specs. One is basically new with nothing on it. The other is stone dead (processor bricked) but has all kinds of useful programs installed and lots of data I'd like to keep. Can I just pull the HD from the dead machine and put it into the good machine, replacing the good machine's HD and have all my data and programs back? Could it be that simple, or would there be problems or hoops to jump through? Define "similar chips and other specs". |
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I've pulled a windows 7 64bit computer hard drive from an older computer and put it into a new computer. Windows 7 had to change some drivers and discover new hardware but beyond that everything else worked just fine. This was done at work on a test computer rig that I wanted all my old stuff on the new hot hardware, plus to see how well it would work. Windows 7 is much much more forgiving of different hardware then previous Microsoft OS. Heck if you were seriously concerned about registry issues, just put the hard drive in the working computer and then sysprep the drive. It's not going to hurt anything to replace the HD in the new computer with your old computer's hard drive and see how well it runs. How did you boot it up? This one goes into "Startup repair". Ran it through that once, and if aid it couldn't fix the problems. |
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No. It will not like that. You will likely have to reinstall windows at the very least. -Foxxz This has NOT been my experience, and I do it regularly with many different systems. There will likely be little or no problem if the processor/chipset/video card are all identical or at least similar. If they are not similar, then booting to SAFE MODE and installing drivers for the stuff in the good system will help. |
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at work we order machines in batches. if they are close enough in the run, windows doesn't even request a re-register.
I agree, worst case is it requires finding a few drivers. blue screen or no boot would happen if the hd are not the same or connected the same. IE, SATA vs IDE, or some odd boot partition thing. |
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Install the HDD from the the dead comp into the new one as a slave drive. This is the path I have now chosen. My lingering problem is that the machine wants me to esc out of booting and pick the Hitachi hard drive to boot from even though it is the top of th elist of items. |
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How did you boot it up? This one goes into "Startup repair". Ran it through that once, and if aid it couldn't fix the problems. I put the old hard drive in the new computer and it booted right up into windows 7. You may be experiencing a hardware issue with your old hard drive or some hardware incompatibility. http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/dd744291(WS.10).aspx "The detection of boot failure relies on boot completion and not on whether an error occurred in Windows 7. One example of a false positive is when power is lost during the boot process, and Windows RE is launched even though the Windows installation is bootable." http://windows.microsoft.com/en-US/windows-vista/Startup-Repair-frequently-asked-questions "Startup Repair cannot fix hardware failures, such as a failing hard disk or incompatible memory, nor does it protect against virus attacks. " Does it keep going to the recovery screen after choosing reboot? And/Or does it not boot into safe mode? If so, you will likely not be able to use your old hard drive as the boot drive in your new computer. Use your new hard drive as the boot drive and your old hard drive as a secondary drive. Others will probably chime in with some more detailed suggestions on what you can try. I'm just trying to give some very basic options. Disclaimer: I do not repair printers or live in my parents basement. |
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Put HDD in working computer as a slave? That's what I'd do, at least. This is what I've done. It gets confused though and I have to ESC out of regular windows startup and select the boot menu and choose the primary drive. I don't know why. Could i have connected the 2nd drive incorrectly? |
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Quoted: Quoted: Put HDD in working computer as a slave? That's what I'd do, at least. This is what I've done. It gets confused though and I have to ESC out of regular windows startup and select the boot menu and choose the primary drive. I don't know why. Could i have connected the 2nd drive incorrectly? Check your boot priority in the BIOS settings. Likely it got changed when you added the second drive. |
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Put HDD in working computer as a slave? That's what I'd do, at least. This is what I've done. It gets confused though and I have to ESC out of regular windows startup and select the boot menu and choose the primary drive. I don't know why. Could i have connected the 2nd drive incorrectly? Check your boot priority in the BIOS settings. Likely it got changed when you added the second drive. Ok, thanks. Have done some googling on the term. What order do I want overall? |
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Quoted: Quoted: Quoted: Quoted: Put HDD in working computer as a slave? That's what I'd do, at least. This is what I've done. It gets confused though and I have to ESC out of regular windows startup and select the boot menu and choose the primary drive. I don't know why. Could i have connected the 2nd drive incorrectly? Check your boot priority in the BIOS settings. Likely it got changed when you added the second drive. Ok, thanks. Have done some googling on the term. What order do I want overall? Personal choice, but most people set it: 1. DVD or CD-ROM 2. Floppy (if applicable) or USB device 3. Hard drive you want to boot from Most BIOS's let you disable certain devices from being bootable at all. The CD-ROM first allows you to boot from a Windows CD if needed, otherwise it skips to the next item if the drive doesn't have a bootable CD or DVD. Again, this is all based on your personal preference. |
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Quoted: Quoted: Windows 7 should handle it just fine as long as it is not an OEM edition. The OEM editions are tied to the motherboard, and require a reformat and phone activation to get working on a new system. I had a good one the other day... working on a pc that didn't come with any media, the "recovery" was a partition on the HD. The problem was the HD had completely crapped out. The guy had bought a new HD for it but how on earth can you get a copy of Windows 7 to install on the fresh HD that will utilize his product key (legit license) from the sticker on the case? Call the manufacturer and have them send you one. Cost me $15 last time. |