HDD compatability

phytal

phytal

phytal

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Joined
6 May 2009
Posts
290
Hey
Wanted to ask a question. I have a HDD on a computer (P3) with Xp os installed. If I plug the HDD from the old pc to my dual core pc with the computer boot. Just wanted to konw if HDD's are compatible with every mobo? i.e if an HDD installed in a pc will work in another new pc... help pls
 
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'Cos it's an older PC i'm guessing it's an IDE drive and not SATA. You need to find out your mobo, and see whether they have an IDE connector. If so, then yes you can use it with the newer PC. If the hd in your newer PC is IDE also, then you'll need to set it to master and the old one to slave using the jumpers on the hd's.
 
Yeah I konw razor but I Don't want it a salve HDD but the master, cos it's the only HDD i going to use. Yeah its IDE its ****ing 8 years old looooooooool
 
Your OS wont work because when you install your OS it recoginisis all the components in your system and sorts all the drivers out ect, so when you put it into a new system it wont recognise any of your hardware thus making it not work.
 
awsomeness said:
Your OS wont work because when you install your OS it recoginisis all the components in your system and sorts all the drivers out ect, so when you put it into a new system it wont recognise any of your hardware thus making it not work.
Click to expand...

Yeah it'll just crash before you can get into windows to change all the drivers to your new components.
 
If you use your old motherboard, cpu and RAM (new power,graphics and DVD won't matter) it should be fine and boot up like it did before - this is useful if you need to backup stuff from your old HDD.

That said , I don't recommend using the 8 year old HDD as your boot drive, it will be significantly slower than any current £40 HDD.

However, if you just want the data off it - you should be able to happily run it as a 2nd hard disk in your new system. As long as you have a new HDD with the OS on (ensure it is 1st boot priority drive in the BIOS). Then it will act as a big memory stick and you can mess with the files in it to your hearts content.
 
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Just to reitterate what andi and others have said.

Your HDD will be compatable with your new rig, but it will be very unlikely that it will boot the current installation of Windows. Your best bet is to reinstall and start fresh.

If you use all the other componants in the old machine it will be fine, although it is unlikely that your old motherboard will support a new GFX or the new RAM.

Best think to do is reinstall. That said, using an old drive is a bit silly as it will be a rule bottleneck on a new system and HDD are so cheap these days.
 
I am not going to use but for getting the data from it. So i don't have to format it for the new pc to recognise and I'll be able to retrieve data. Is that right to make thigns crystal clear. I'll just setting the jumper to slave and I'll be ready to go..........
 
Get a new HD, install Windows on it.
After you're all done, power down, plug in the old HD (as slave), boot up and the drive will appear. All your data will be readable.
 
phytal said:
I am not going to use but for getting the data from it. So i don't have to format it for the new pc to recognise and I'll be able to retrieve data. Is that right to make thigns crystal clear. I'll just setting the jumper to slave and I'll be ready to go..........
Click to expand...

Yeah if you get a new drive and do a fresh install of windows onto there you can then use your old drive as a slave and just take the data off it whatever you need. Leave the old drive out while installing windows so you don't get them mixed up and format the wrong one, once you've finished and done all the drivers etc turn off your pc and plug the old one in as slave, will just be in 'my computer' as a 2nd drive for data only.

*edit, lol beaten to it
 
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