[SOLVED] Installing old XP HDD to a Win7 computer

[PastaFeast]

I had a WinXP PC from around 2004 that died some years back. I now am using a Win7 PC but the HDD is getting full. I salvaged my XP system's HDD and would like to add it to my current Win7 computer, but I'm not sure how to do this or if it would even work. Is there going to be a conflict of my computer not knowing whether to boot up using 7 or XP, or possibly even trying to do both? I don't want to wipe the XP's HDD because there are old files on there I'd still like to have, even though I don't need the OS anymore. Any guides or videos you could point me to to explain how to install a HDD with an obsolete OS to a newer PC without problems?

 

[Obiwancanabi]

the old drive, is it one that has headers to set as a boot drive? or is it sata? it might be as easy as connecting the second drive with the system shut down of course, rebooting and then navigating in an explorer window, if you have the headers set right it wont recognise it as a boot drive and you might be able to navigate thru to save the folders you want, its gonna be a slow drive in comparison to anything of todays standard if its that old, i wouldnt trust it for anything you want to keep if the platters havent spun for a while idk how reliable they gonna be especially as you say it died already, id take what i could off it and scrap it personally and be thankful it let me do that lol

 

[DSzymborski]

If there's a problem, you can always go into BIOS and make sure the boot priority goes to your normal drive.

Also, if these are files you'd still like to have, you really need to be backing these up. You should never be in a position in which losing a hard drive would lose you anything of value past the physical cost of the hard drive itself.

 

[PastaFeast]

I don't know what headers or sata is. It was an off the shelf PC I got in 2004 with just the one drive in it, so I imagine the HDD is programmed to start with XP automatically. I don't care about speed so much as just having more space. I could go just buy a new 2 TB drive, sure, but I have this one lying around so figure I might as well use it while I still can. It's not the HDD that died, it was the PC's power on/off button stopped working. I was in the middle of a move, it was fine the night before, and after hooking it up in my new place it just wouldn't start anymore. The button had been getting stuck for years so I guess it finally gave. Most of the stuff on that drive (the most important stuff) was backed up, but it had a been a few months so some pictures and such I hadn't gotten around to yet. If they're gone then it's no big deal, but I saved the drive just in case I could one day get it going again.

 

[Obiwancanabi]

I don't know what headers or sata is. It was an off the shelf PC I got in 2004 with just the one drive in it, so I imagine the HDD is programmed to start with XP automatically. I don't care about speed so much as just having more space. I could go just buy a new 2 TB drive, sure, but I have this one lying around so figure I might as well use it while I still can. It's not the HDD that died, it was the PC's power on/off button stopped working. I was in the middle of a move, it was fine the night before, and after hooking it up in my new place it just wouldn't start anymore. The button had been getting stuck for years so I guess it finally gave. Most of the stuff on that drive (the most important stuff) was backed up, but it had a been a few months so some pictures and such I hadn't gotten around to yet. If they're gone then it's no big deal, but I saved the drive just in case I could one day get it going again.

Ahh ok sorry i figured it was partially responsible for it dying, i mean it might be fine for things you dont want to access too much, videos n such will play ok without any issue you might find it take an extra 10-15 seconds opening a file tho for example, and they can be quite loud you might not notice it but the little clicks and whines will drive you mental once you notice things, i would defo not run anything you want snappy from it.