How can I install windows on my old HD for my new build?

[DMoo89]

Built a new rig, how can I wipe my old HD for my new mobo?

Thanks

Sorry about being vague, I know I can't just put the old HD straight in but wandering how I would format it for the new build.

Once I've installed BIOS on my new motherboard, can I plug the old HD in to wipe it? (which has win7 already installed)
Then change the boot menu to CDrom? (I have windows CD and Key)
Won't it cause a BSOD if I just plug in my old HD?

 

[l0ckd0wn]

There shouldn't be an issue with plugging in your old HD into your new build. (There is an assumption made that the HD is a SATA drive and not an IDE drive.)

The plan you have should work fine without causing a BSOD (BSODs are a symptom of Windows and/or the drivers).

When you boot off your CDRom to install Windows it will give you an option for installing new and will move the old Windows installation to a C:\Windows_old folder (Win7 onward).

If you attempt to boot Windows off the old drive without installing anew, then you will probably run into problems with it properly booting into Windows, which may/will result in a BSOD on boot.

If you are installing Windows 7 over top, then proceed with;
1.) Installing the drive,
2.) Instruct BIOS/UEFI to boot off ROM,
3.) Choose advanced setup for Windows installation,
4.) Choose drive for installation and the Setup will detect the old version of Windows, giving you the option to continue and put it into a new folder or to stop installation,
5.) Continue installation and finish Windows setup.

One thing to keep in mind is the partitioning method on the drive, and if you are upgrading to a later version of Windows (8-10) then you may want to consider moving to GPT partitioning to utilize UEFI properly without having to have legacy hooks enabled.

More information on GPT & UEFI are at this MS KB article: https://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/hh824839.aspx?f=255&MSPPError=-2147217396

More information on Installing Windows using MBR vs GPT MS KB article: https://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/dn336946.aspx

 

[DMoo89]

There shouldn't be an issue with plugging in your old HD into your new build.

The plan you have should work fine without causing a BSOD (BSODs are a symptom of Windows and/or the drivers).

When you boot off your CDRom to install Windows it will give you an option for installing new and will move the old Windows installation to a C:\Windows_old folder (Win7 onward).

Sorry about the pure noobness.

So if I put in my old HD from an old PC into the new one, I can just change the boot up menu? If I didn't catch the cue to press the boot menu key would that cause a problem?

Seriously apologise about this.

 

[DMoo89]

There shouldn't be an issue with plugging in your old HD into your new build.

The plan you have should work fine without causing a BSOD (BSODs are a symptom of Windows and/or the drivers).

When you boot off your CDRom to install Windows it will give you an option for installing new and will move the old Windows installation to a C:\Windows_old folder (Win7 onward).

If you attempt to boot Windows off the old drive without installing anew, then you will probably run into problems with it properly booting into Windows, which may/will result in a BSOD on boot.

If you are installing Windows 7 over top, then proceed with;
1.) Installing the drive,
2.) Instruct BIOS/UEFI to boot off ROM,
3.) Choose advanced setup for Windows installation,
4.) Choose drive for installation and the Setup will detect the old version of Windows, giving you the option to continue and put it into a new folder or to stop installation,
5.) Continue installation and finish Windows setup.

One thing to keep in mind is the partitioning method on the drive, and if you are upgrading to a later version of Windows (8-10) then you may want to consider moving to GPT partitioning to utilize UEFI properly without having to have legacy hooks enabled.

More information on GPT & UEFI are at this MS KB article: https://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/hh824839.aspx?f=255&MSPPError=-2147217396

That's brilliant, thank you very much

Sorry to be a pain but once more thing. hypothetically speaking if I do miss the bootup prompt can I just restart the system? Will that be alright for the mobo?
Finally, I'm not wanting to upgrade to 8 or 10 (seriously don't like them lol) does that mean I can just make a normal partition?

I promise to leave this now haha!

 

[l0ckd0wn]

No need to apologize; not everyone spends as much time in front of PCs as some of us.

There should not be any problem restarting the PC even if you miss the bootup menu; the only time there is a potential for data loss is when the system is writing to the drive, and on bootup it's all reading.

If you are staying with Windows 7 then you can keep the partitioning the same as what it was on the last installation from your old build without a problem. Many newer systems are still able to communicate with legacy configurations because there is so much in the wild, but if you do get errors or the Windows Setup tells you that it cannot install to the drive, you may have to go into the BIOS and choose to boot via legacy.

As I said, if you do run into trouble and Windows does not allow you to install, when you open the Bootup menu make sure to pick the CDRom option WITHOUT 'UEFI:' in front of the device description.

Hope this helps.

 

[DMoo89]

No need to apologize; not everyone spends as much time in front of PCs as some of us.

There should not be any problem restarting the PC even if you miss the bootup menu; the only time there is a potential for data loss is when the system is writing to the drive, and on bootup it's all reading.

If you are staying with Windows 7 then you can keep the partitioning the same as what it was on the last installation from your old build without a problem. Many newer systems are still able to communicate with legacy configurations because there is so much in the wild, but if you do get errors or the Windows Setup tells you that it cannot install to the drive, you may have to go into the BIOS and choose to boot via legacy.

As I said, if you do run into trouble and Windows does not allow you to install, when you open the Bootup menu make sure to pick the CDRom option WITHOUT 'UEFI:' in front of the device description.

Hope this helps.

Thank you very much brew. Thank you for spending this much time helping me. You've certainly made me feel more confident to go ahead. much appreciated man. ^_^