Possible to use all old hard drive's in new PC?

[firebirdude]

Yeah. I'm a noob compared to most of you guys. Sorry for the rookie questions.

Basically, I love my PC. It's really been flawless to me for atleast 4 years now. However, as time passes, I feel the need to upgrade has come. There is about 400 faster processors out there than what I have (Barton XP 3200+). However, this is the fastest CPU my mobo will support (Asus A7N8X). Basically, I want the exact same PC as I have now, but faster. I have well over 200G worth of programs etc that I have compiled over the years. I do not want to lose, backup or change them in anyway.

So can I just build another PC, but use the same hard drives I have now? I think I've heard in the past that you cannot do this. Some info about the mobo is stored on them etc. I donno. Like I said, I'm a noob at all that.

 

[DaveSimmons]

Odds are very low that you will be able to make Windows run well after changing the motherboard chipset and CPU family.

You might want to build a new PC, buy a $30 KVM switch, and use both PCs until you evenutally shift over to the new one.

 

[jkresh]

the drives themselves will work (though new boards tend not to have alot of ide ports so you may have an issue if you have a bunch), but going to a new processor architecture (either athlon64 or core2) means that you will have to reinstall xp (and a clean install will work much better then trying to repair your old install to work with it). That being said there are programs that are designed to transfer your programs/files/settings to a new pc so if you biuld a new pc with at least 1 new large sata drive you may be able to copy everything over without reinstalling and resetting all your programs (but the transfer software may not work perfectly).

 

[TD77077]

You normally will have to erase the old drive to use it on your new comp. It might be possible to upgrade with a new motherboard/processor if you remove all motherboard-related devices from the device list , replace the motherboard, and then get the new motherboard drivers loaded. This is difficult and sometimes still won't work because of software links to the original motherboard devices. I have successfully done it but you need to know what you are doing, and it still might not work. Best chance would be to replace the motherboard with a new one using a chipset from the same maunfacturer as the original one (Nvidia).

The new motherboard might need new RAM if the old RAM is incompatible (pretty likely), and it is hard to find a new motherboard that still uses AGP video cards, so you will likely need a new video card also, even though your 9800 Pro is still a decent card.

I suggest posting info on the type of RAM you are now using (PC2700 or 3200) and how much you are willing to spend and people from this website can help you choose a compatible replacement.

If this all sounds too difficult/expensive - your existing system is still a good system unless you need more power for latest games or serious video work.

Good luck. TD

 

[firebirdude]

Thank you all SOO much for your responses. Everyone put some serious thought into helping me out and I greatly appreciate that!

Originally posted by: TD77077
If this all sounds too difficult/expensive - your existing system is still a good system unless you need more power for latest games or serious video work.

Honestly..... I don't need to upgrade at all. There's nothing wrong with my PC and I really don't think its slow at all. There has never been a time where I'm thinking.... damn this is taking forever. I just know its been awhile and there is a ton of new stuff out now. I haven't played a real demanding game in....probably over a year. (HL2 I think) I mainly use my PC for surfing the web, simple word or pp documents for school, some video and audio converting.

I have DDR400 for the record

So I guess.... either A) leave it the hell alone.....lol.... or B)Backup as much as I can and go for it. I KNOW I'm gonna lose a lot of programs, documents, etc. Trust me. I've had this thing for years and use it hours every single day. Over 220G and no real movies or long video clips saved. Just tons of useful misc programs etc.

 

[zodder]

You might want to build a new PC, buy a $30 KVM switch, and use both PCs until you evenutally shift over to the new one.

Excellent idea

 

[firebirdude]

Originally posted by: zodder

You might want to build a new PC, buy a $30 KVM switch, and use both PCs until you evenutally shift over to the new one.

Excellent idea

It was an excellent idea and if I do decide to build a new Pc, I guess that's probably the best option for me.