I just installed a new Windows 7 on my new computer and, I wanted to move the old programs, from my old computer. How do I do this? Also could I just move the hard drive from the old computer and install it into the new one and run from there?
Programs (most) cannot be copied over to the new installation. They must be "installed" using the program's installation process. You can copy user data such as pictures, music, documents, etc.
Installing the old hard drive in the new PC is the easy way to do it, if you can. If not, put it in an external USB connected enclosure and do it that way.
For future advice, you can always backup your program setups into an external device or on a cloud service such as Google Drive or Skydrive. It's a great way to get everything you need as you can just go into the account and download everything at will. There should always be backups everywhere, really, you never know when something's going to go wrong if you aren't careful.
Could I run Steam, games, and other programs from that drive without re-installing all the games, and programs?
Last edited by Razor505; 03 Jul 2013 at 13:04.
Some games can run from an old installation but eventually they should be reinstalled to be most stable.
It isn't necessary to reinstall everything at once. In fact it's better to have some time after each program install to see if it affects performance.
There are other tips here to assure a perfect install, same for retail: Clean Reinstall - Factory OEM Windows 7
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