New build

[Stephen904]

So I'm building a new computer and I'm wanting to use the hard drive I'm on now on it. I'm buying a SSD and Another windows 7. When i have the computer built and boot it up will i be able to use the hard drive or will i have to format it?

 

[manofchalk]

You should be fine to just hook it up, you could format it if you wanted. Make sure its not connected when you install Windows, can lead to issues.

 

[Stephen904]

So I should install windows on the SSD first and then hook up the hard drive? A lot of people have been telling me that i would need to format the hard drive because it was registered on a previous motherboard or something.

 

[manofchalk]

Yep, Windows on the SSD then hook it up afterward.
Iv used several drives from old systems, some from Vista machines, havnt had any issues because of permissions or OS conflicts or anything.

Only thing I can think of is if you were to pull a drive out of a Mac, which uses a different file system to Windows machines. So essentially the drive would be formatted in a way Windows doesn't understand.

 

[Stephen904]

Best answer selected by Stephen904.