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Using old HD with new comp

E

Emultra

Golden Member
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?
 
First of all, yes there will be issues using a harddrive with windows already on it.

It may or may not even load windows depending on the hardware changes.

You can try it though. If you know what position your harddrives are on the cables (master vs slave), you should be able to tell your computer which one to boot to.

Primary master will be 0 (or 1)
Primary slave will be 1 (or 2)
Secondary master will be 3 (or 4)
Secondary slave will be 4 (or 5)

I'm not sure if all motherboards follow this scheme, but that's how it went on the ones I have used.
 
OK. My new HD uses a SATA cable and the old one is IDE. How do I tell the priority of those two when they're different?
 
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.
 
It's all the same answer. Leave it alone. If it doesn't work, there's only one thing to change, the boot priority in BIOS. Tell it to boot to the drive you want. (SATA)
 
oops, I forgot which drive you were trying to boot to. I thought you wanted to boot to the SATA.

Did you uninstall the motherboard/chipset drivers too? Those would be causing the majority of the problem I'd think.
 
Originally posted by: Emultra
I don't know how to. Where are they located?
Click to expand...

Hmmm.... I just checked my Add/Remove programs. On my older computers I used to see motherboard drivers in there...

You might be able to remove them by putting the installation disk from your old motherboard in. It might have an uninstall option.


Again, overall this is a pretty crappy idea. A fresh install of windows (even ME) would be much better than this half-a$$ed attempt to get it to work.
 
I'm only doing it because I want something to do until I find the WinXP disk. 🙂

It's just that those IDE cables are the size of air strips...and just as flexible too.
 
I don't see anything mobo/chipset related in Add/Remove.

Can't I just remove the Motherboard from the devices list?
 
If you move an old harddrive onto a different motherboard, you most likely have to reinstall your OS.

Suggest you try reposting in the Operating Systems section of this forum, to get a more specific help on OS issues.

Good Luck
 
Unless your new motherboard is identical to the old one,

It's quite a slim chance that you'll be able to boot into the WinME installed in your old harddrive

But you're right -- WinME in itself doesn't pose a problem for the new hardware.
 
Don't waste any more time. You cannot move hard drives between motherboards and expect them to work correctly. Sometimes it will work but that is with XP, etc. Windows ME is complete garbage and you just need to find your xp cd and format.
 
Originally posted by: amdskip
Don't waste any more time. You cannot move hard drives between motherboards and expect them to work correctly. Sometimes it will work but that is with XP, etc. Windows ME is complete garbage and you just need to find your xp cd and format.
Click to expand...


Agreed. Even with Windows XP, if the mobo you're swapping to has a chipset which requires different drivers, Windows won't like it very much and it'll make your life a living hell.
 
I'll just format and reinstall the drive then.'

Hey, at least I can read my text files at 640x480xXVI colours...with my new Athlon64 CPU and one gig of RAM. Hoorah.

Next week, mmm...



Thanks for the help, all. 🙂
 
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