what are the chances....?

baldzone · 1 Sep 2008 at 19:13

I'm toying with the idea of removing my hdd from my old rig and putting it straight into my new rig.

What are the chances of getting away with it?

I'm intending to wipe all the drivers from device manager first.

Will it work or am I wasting my time?

semi-pro waster · 1 Sep 2008 at 19:17

It'll depend partly on what changes you've made between the systems but I'd say the chances are not good because a motherboard change should trigger a reactivation. However if you do that then it may well work, it obviously won't be as clean as a full reinstall but that is up to you.

Greenlizard0 · 1 Sep 2008 at 19:17

You mean do you reckon you could use windows in your new setup?

Generally speaking new motherboard = fresh install.

baldzone · 1 Sep 2008 at 19:20

I'm not likely to do a full reinstall for a few weeks. Got a lot on much to my disgust (always when I want to play!!).

I'm happy to reactivate Windows if need be.

Would it be worth waiting or give it a try? Always got my trusty lappy as backup

p4radox · 1 Sep 2008 at 19:27

Repair installation. Job done.

At least, this has worked for me in the past.

baldzone · 1 Sep 2008 at 19:32

Cheers. I'll give it a go

Meloco · 1 Sep 2008 at 19:41

So you can't simply install an old hdd (ide) without windows vista screaming at you?

semi-pro waster · 1 Sep 2008 at 19:46

Meloco said:
So you can't simply install an old hdd (ide) without windows vista screaming at you?

As the main (boot) drive? Probably not, Windows will not be happy generally with that. If however you want it as a storage drive then it won't matter a jot what is on it provided your boot order is set correctly.

baldzone · 1 Sep 2008 at 21:15

well, it seems to be working happily. just updating drivers!

Although for some reason it's not allowing me to access the ide hdd. The original sata boot worked fine and the dvd rom is fine but the ide is saying it needs a format. any ideas?