Posted: 11/25/2007 9:31:29 AM EDT
| I was getting ready to upgrade my pc,after i did my research ,i found out that i can get the same system built cheaper than i can do a rebuild. heres the problem,my old OS is windows xp,my new system factory build only comes with vista.anyway i can transfer files off old HDD to new one? like hook up old HDD with new HDD,then transfer files? also how much trouble is it to dump vista and install xp? thanks |
no, what im talking about is buying a new xp os,installing it after i dump vista.as to transferring files, mobo in old pc took a crap. thats the reason for the upgrade.i was wondering if i could hook up old HDD with new HDD and transfer files that way. |
Installing XP in my new laptop worked just fine... you'll need the key XP came with. If this is a desktop PC, I'd buy a new HDD install XP (with the key) and save the Vista OS on the HDD that came with the new pc. OR- take swap HDD's from the old pc to the new PC boot up... see if you can get the drivers. Remember when buying HDD's... Western Digital drives come with " tools " which will enable you to completely back up a Western digital drive to " another " Western Digital drive. |
 You're so wrong, I don't even know where to start. |
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Well you had better start because if it is an manufacture OEM version that shipped with the computer chances are he riight and you are wrong. |
I suggest you try Vista before spending another $100 you don't need to. ETA: Download and run PC Decrapifier on the new machine to get rid of the crapware the manufacture may install and can slow down the computer. pcdecrapifier.com/ |
1) If the old system is kaput you can use that XP license on the new machine. If you have to call Bill to activate it, just tell his version of a ATF thug that your machine caught on fire and had to be completely rebuilt. They will activate it no problem. I had to do this twice because I swapped out my DVD drives 4 times.  2) Install the old hard drive into the new system as slave it will show up as another drive in what ever bull shit Vista calls "My Computer" these days. Just find you're old files on copy them to the new hard drive if desired. Or if the system is kaput keep the old hard drive as a slave in the new machine. |
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Quoted: 1) If the old system is kaput you can use that XP license on the new machine. If you have to call Bill to activate it, just tell his version of a ATF thug that your machine caught on fire and had to be completely rebuilt. They will activate it no problem. I had to do this twice because I swapped out my DVD drives 4 times. 2) Install the old hard drive into the new system as slave it will show up as another drive in what ever bull shit Vista calls "My Computer" these days. Just find you're old files on copy them to the new hard drive if desired. Or if the system is kaput keep the old hard drive as a slave in the new machine.[/quot] thanks, this was the answer i was looking for. 
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You can only use the XP license on the new machine if it is a retail boxed version of XP. If you bought the original computer with XP installed Microsoft will not activate that copy of XP on the new computer. Manufacture OEM copies of Windows XP are licensed only for the computer they came on. |
And even further, the larger OEMs (Dell, HP, etc.) ship versions that are keyed to their BIOSs, and won't install on other machines. A *RETAIL* version of XP or Vista can be legally uninstalled from one machine and installed on another. That's one of the reasons the retail versions cost more. An UPGRADE version requires an older, qualified version of Windows to be installed. By "qualified", I mean it needs to be a recent OS; you can't use a Vista Upgrade to upgrade a Win 98 PC, for example. An OEM version of XP or Vista costs about half of the Retail version, but is only licensed for the PC it is originally installed on, and if it came from a major OEM, it won't run on other computers at all. Microsoft generally won't let you re-activate an OEM version on a new PC, or even your "old" PC if significant components are replaced. That's the trade-off for the lower price of the OEM version. -Troy |