Problems Choosing Which HDD to Boot From


  1. Posts : 2
    Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit
       #1

    Problems Choosing Which HDD to Boot From


    After my old computer's motherboard bit the dust, I moved that hard drive onto a new PC. This is where I'm running into major issues, or rather, a major issue that is giving me a headache.

    When I tried to make that hard drive the primary one, Windows wouldn't run; it just kept taking me to System Repair. I know that Windows 7 is on there.

    This hard drive, which is a data drive right now, is where all my programs and files are, and the hard drive that came with this PC doesn't have nearly enough space for all of it (new hard drive is only 80 GB, the one I'm trying to get to boot is 500 GB, of which 220 GB is filled). I don't have a Windows disk (that and I had to sacrifice my DVD drive to get the second hard drive connected. Is there a way of fixing this issue?

    Thank you, and also, hello, everyone. :)
      My Computer


  2. Posts : 25,847
    Windows 10 Pro. 64/ version 1709 Windows 7 Pro/64
       #2

    Installing a old hard drive with Windows 7 installed into a computer with a new (different) motherboard/new PC in my opinion should have a Clean Install of Windows 7.

    ***Did your old computer come with Windows 7 installed?***

    ***Did your new computer come with Windows 7 installed?***

    Back up the things you want to save to a external drive.

    Read through these tutorial by Brink carefully.

    You will need a new COA for Windows 7 unless you are using a Retail version.


    Clean Install Windows 7

    Clean Install with a Upgrade Windows 7 Version
      My Computer


  3. Posts : 143
    Windows 7 Home Premium 64 bit
       #3

    You can't easily/simply move a hard drive from one computer over to another (with dissimilar chipsets/cpus/drivers/GPU/integrated MB components, etc., and simply expect to boot and run Windows from it....

    If you can access your data and files, back up what you need from it, delete the partitions/repartition as you desire, and do a clean install....you will thank yourself later.
      My Computer


  4. Posts : 12,012
    Windows 7 Home Premium SP1, 64-bit
       #4

    Rubyfruit said:
    After my old computer's motherboard bit the dust, I moved that hard drive onto a new PC.............

    This hard drive, which is a data drive right now, is where all my programs and files are.........
    If this hard drive had a Windows OEM license and installation, you should expect problems when putting it in a "new PC".

    The license won't be valid on this new PC.

    Or do you have a non-OEM license?
      My Computer


  5. Posts : 2
    Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit
    Thread Starter
       #5

    Thanks a lot. I can still access all of my files. But issues I'm having with running games on that Hard drive is probably an issue for a different board. That was most of the reason why I think I needed to be able to make my old hard drive bootable.
      My Computer


 

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