New computer: swap hard drives or transfer programs?

[3DPiper]

My kids computer crashed and I'm gonna go buy a new one.. The hard drive and all data is fine..

Can I just pull the hard drive and put it in the new computer?

Or is there an easy way to transfer all the accounts/programs/etc to the new computer?

I'm worried about drivers and such for the new motherboard/monitor/etc, or specific programs that were installed just for that system..

Thanks

-Matthew

 

[ignatzatsonic]

My kids computer crashed and I'm gonna go buy a new one.. The hard drive and all data is fine..

Can I just pull the hard drive and put it in the new computer?

Or is there an easy way to transfer all the accounts/programs/etc to the new computer?

You can just move the drive. How well that will work out is another matter. Some here report that Windows 7 is more tolerant of this than earlier operating systems. It might work out for you, but I'd plan on it failing and be prepared to do a clean install.

I assume you are no longer able to make an image of the original system?

Windows has something called "Easy Transfer" to transfer configuration settings to a new PC, but it never worked well for me.

 

[Corazon]

As ignatzatsonic said, you can try and see what happens.

However, you didn't go into detail as to why the old computer crashed; was it a major hardware failure or a problem with Windows or applications that you couldn't resolve? If there's a software problem and you put the old drive in the new PC then you're also taking the problem right along with it.

With that in mind, you may want to consider a fresh reinstall anyway.

 

[3DPiper]

Thanks guys..

The computer that failed was my former notebook.. It was a hardware malfunction with the video card (I had had this problem before).. I have a full version of W7U64 on it, with 6 accounts and various programs (office, games, etc).. I really hope I can just pull the drive and put it in the new machine.. The new machine will have it's own version of W7P64, but I won't need it..

 

[lhorwinkle]

Not a good idea. I presume the new computer is new and the old one old? In that case:

• The drive from the old computer may be smaller and slower than that on the new one.
• The drivers needed by the new computer can't be found on the old drive.

 

[3DPiper]

Easy Transfer doesn't actually transfer any programs..

Looks like I'll be re-installing everything..

 

[badger906]

if you put it into a new computer as a master drive it probably wont work. if it was a system builder copy of windows it will only work in the hardware that was initially present when installed. if its just as a slave it should be fine.

if it was a full version then it shouldnt be an issue.

 

[3DPiper]

I bought the PC..

I usually build my own and install a clean fresh W7.. But there was so much hardware to upgrade etc it was easier to buy a ready to go system..

While it is nice that there are some things already installed (Adobe flash, PDF reader, etc), there is also a lot of bloat that really slows everything down (HP stuff, norton, etc)..

Thanks for the advice guys.. I'll start re-installing all the programs tonight (will be up late!)..