Hard drive transfer questions

dbenintendi

Honorable
May 23, 2013
20
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10,510
So My question is can I take an existing hard drive out of one computer and put into a different computer if it has an OS on it? I am giving my wife my computer since I have a new but I don't want to have to transfer her stuff over to her new one so I was thinking it would be easier to take her hard drive out and put into the new one but it has an OS on it. It would be a secondary HD and would not be the boot drive so I didn't know if it's even possible. The computer all ready has main drive with Windows 7 Ultimate that works great. I have her files backed up and could do it that way but it's a good drive and need some advice. Thanks for the help everyone.
 
Solution
So My question is can I take an existing hard drive out of one computer and put into a different computer if it has an OS on it?

If you want this to be a boot drive, sometimes yes, sometimes no.
The only actual way to know is to try.

If this is a secondary drive, you will still have to reinstall any applications that you think are on there. The new OS knows nothing about those.
For the 'data' on it, you can use that. You may run into permission issues, but generally easily circumvented.

But if you already have her stuff copied elsewhere, installing and wiping that drive...and then copying her data back would be easiest.
So My question is can I take an existing hard drive out of one computer and put into a different computer if it has an OS on it?

If you want this to be a boot drive, sometimes yes, sometimes no.
The only actual way to know is to try.

If this is a secondary drive, you will still have to reinstall any applications that you think are on there. The new OS knows nothing about those.
For the 'data' on it, you can use that. You may run into permission issues, but generally easily circumvented.

But if you already have her stuff copied elsewhere, installing and wiping that drive...and then copying her data back would be easiest.
 
Solution