So i have a lot of personal files on my old rigs HDD and i just built a new computer. Can i hook up my old HDD (even though it has windows installed on it) onto my new rig that has the same version of windows with different product numbers.
Do i just slave the drive and how do i do that.
Or do i just install it and it will be fine. Or am i forced to wipe it.
Last edited by SevSaint; 03 Sep 2014 at 15:53.
Don't wipe it, then you lose your files. Put it into an external USB caddy or an internal bay - the you can access it with the new installation.
I assume it is a 3.5" disk. Here are some sample caddies. The ones under $20 will do.
Newegg.com - usb2 hdd enclosure 3.5"
So i cant just mount it and connect it directly? I have to use the caddy?
No, you don't have to use the caddy.
You can mount it internally if you want. It will have some drive letter other than C.
You can drag files from it as you see fit or reformat it or whatever you want. You can delete the Windows partition from it.
The advantage of the USB HDD caddy is you can keep it that way and use it for additional storage if the HDD doesn't have to go back into the computer.
So i can mount and connect. When it boots it will boot from the drive. Do i need to tell bios which to boot from?
Is your old drive an IDE or SATA HD ? If Sata make sure it is not in the first MB sata header connection, that should be for your new installed HD.
Okay i have 6 Sata connectors on my mobo. My HDD is on 6, my Optical is on 5. Where should i plug my other older drive in at.
Ideally, you want your Windows boot drive to show as "Drive 0" in Windows Disk Management. Whether it is or not is dependent on which motherboard port is used for the boot drive.
Frequently, those 6 SATA connectors will have different controllers. Maybe 2 of one type and 4 of another. You'd probably want hard drives to be on the faster controllers and opticals to take whatever's left. Consult your motherboard manual for info on the controllers and motherboard ports.
If things are set up properly, you'd have the new drive set as the first choice in the BIOS boot order. Or you might want to have your DVD set as first to accommodate those cases when you want to boot from the DVD drive. If the DVD drive is empty, it will simply be bypassed during the boot process and the PC will boot from the second device. You might find that preferable to manually selecting the DVD drive as the first choice when it's needed. It's just personal preference.
I assume you have a Windows installation on the old drive that you don't need. You can simply delete that partition in Windows Disk Management when you are satisfied that the PC can boot without it.
If the 'old' drive is a PATA/Parallel ATA you should have a 40-pin socket on the motherboard for it and you'll need the data cable for it. You should also have the 4-pin Molex plug from the power supply or have to get an adapter.
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