Using old hard drive with new comp?

[Emultra]

I don't have my WindowsXP CD with me right now (to install on new hard drive), so I want to use my old 40GB hard drive with WindowsME already installed on it with my new computer.

Apart from fastening the HD in the chassi and plugging it into the motherboard with an old IDE cable, what must I do to get it to work? How do I choose to boot my computer with the old hard drive with WinME instead of the new one with only some useless data on it?

I know I can choose hard drive as primary boot in BIOS, but can I choose which one to use? Will there be issues with compatibility since I'm using the HD with brand new hardware?

 

[Wicked2010]

I think you need to have the bootable HD as primary drive and not slave.

 

[Emultra]

Okay, and then it will automatically be selected?

 

[Wicked2010]

Yes.

Just make sure the drive with the operating system on it is the primary drive and you should be good to go.

Your BIOS should already be setup to boot from the HD somewhere in the boot sequence.

 

[Emultra]

It's second in line after CD, I think. I'll just disable that and I should be good to go. If the old HD fits in the chassi under the new one: it just so happens to be that it has a hole on top of it that says "DO NOT COVER THIS HOLE"; I don't know if it leaves enough space.

Oh well, worth a shot.

 

[Fern]

Originally posted by: Emultra
I don't have my WindowsXP CD with me right now (to install on new hard drive), so I want to use my old 40GB hard drive with WindowsME already installed on it with my new computer.

Apart from fastening the HD in the chassi and plugging it into the motherboard with an old IDE cable, what must I do to get it to work? How do I choose to boot my computer with the old hard drive with WinME instead of the new one with only some useless data on it?

I know I can choose hard drive as primary boot in BIOS, but can I choose which one to use? Will there be issues with compatibility since I'm using the HD with brand new hardware?

Unless the old mobo used with the old HDD is very simialr to the new mobo, you're gonna have a chipset driver conflict.

In other words, if the chipset drivers in the ME install on the old HDD are different than the chipset drivers required for the new mobo, it prolly wont boot.

There's an AT article for how to do this for XP & win2k, but I don't know of one for 98se/ME.

Somebody here did this b4, but it was a while back seemed a helluva problem. Forgot the members name now.

All I can think of to get around the chipset driver prob is, after hooking up the HDD to the new mobo, try booting into safe mode and removing the chipset (and gfx?) drivers. Upon reboot install the drivers for the new mobo.

I doubt it will work since it seems too easy, but maybe worth a try.

Fern

 

[Emultra]

OK, so I've now installed it, but I can only run WindowsME in safe mode.

If I try to run it in normal mode, the computer just plainly shuts off.

I uninstalled the previous graphics and sound drivers, but it still doesn't work.


How do I uninstall the chipset driver?

BTW, my previous mobo was a VIA MSI 266 or something like that, from 2001 and used with an AthlonXP 1600+.

New one is an Asus A8N-SLI Deluxe with A64 3200+.

 

[Fern]

Hey man, I dunno if this is gonna work.

The other guy doing this had to do a lot of work on his registry/system.

You might try installing the new chipset drivers over top of the old ones. Or, maybe Driver Cleaner or a similar proggie can remove the old ones?

You got 2 threads going on this huh

Fern

 

[Emultra]

Yeah, I'm firing covert shots, my very name means "Anxious".

I don't know where to find the chipset drivers. Graphics and sound is easy, but I've never touched anything regarding chipsets. OMG HEPL PLZ!11!!

 

[bookman]

I have a similar question. I currently have an old PII (from 1998!) with two PATA hard drives - the original one withe Windows 98, and a data HD. Can I just plug the data HD into a new PC that has Windows XP on a SATA HD?

 

[Emultra]

Originally posted by: Emultra
I don't know where to find the chipset drivers. Graphics and sound is easy, but I've never touched anything regarding chipsets. OMG HEPL PLZ!11!!

 

[Fern]

Originally posted by: Emultra

Originally posted by: Emultra
I don't know where to find the chipset drivers. Graphics and sound is easy, but I've never touched anything regarding chipsets. OMG HEPL PLZ!11!!

If the drivers are for the Asus board, just go to their website, they should be in product support or downloads.

Or, you can google "A8N-SLI Deluxe drivers" and it'll lead you to Asus's site.

Since this is an nForce4 board, you can also get the drivers from nVidia's site. This is prolly the better place to get them.

Fern

 

[GregMal]

In safe mode, goto the device manger and delete everything except
plug-n-play.
Reboot..................

 

[Raduque]

OP: GregMal has it. You'll probably need your Windows ME CD.

Originally posted by: bookman
I have a similar question. I currently have an old PII (from 1998!) with two PATA hard drives - the original one withe Windows 98, and a data HD. Can I just plug the data HD into a new PC that has Windows XP on a SATA HD?

As long as your SATA drive is in the list before IDE (or HD0,1,2,etc), which it most likely should be (will probably be listed as "SCSI" or "RAID"). Even if it isn't, if there's no OS on your Data drive, and if the computer is new enough (should be, if it has SATA) it will boot off the first available drive with an OS. Basically, just plug it in and it should work =)

 

[Emultra]

So I should just overwrite the old chipset drivers with the new ones for my new motherboard?

 

[BespinReactorShaft]

Originally posted by: Raduque
Basically, just plug it in and it should work =)

That's what I did also when transplanting my old HDD+Win98 onto a new rig as primary boot drive (the old HDD was in a Pentium-133 system before, the new one is a P3-500MHz). Work out any problems from there on. In my case I only had to change the display and sound drivers.