Question Old HDD/"New" laptop

[JemimaDuckface]

Hi,

I am sure it's probably been asked before so apologies.

I had an old Sony laptop that died on me,got given an old Dell which does the job.

What I want to know is will I lose whats on the old HDD if it try it in the newer laptop ? Or will it simply not work due to software/hardware conflicts ?

Thanks.

 

[Barty1884]

You won't "lose" anything - what's installed on the laptop is still there.

However, booting from the old HDD may or may not work. If it works, it's likely to be quite buggy, predominantly due to driver conflicts.

I would suggest backing up the data you cannot afford to lose on the HDD (to an external, or the cloud, or something) and reinstalling Windows.

 

[jojesa]

You could retrieve your data (file, documents, videos, pictures, etc) by connecting the old HDD to a SATA to USB adapter.
Connect the adapter to any computer via USB and browse thru the folders and retrieve your data.

 

[JemimaDuckface]

Thanks alot guys.

Much appreicated.

 

[jsmithepa]

will I lose whats on the old HDD if it try it in the newer laptop ?

Won't lose any data... spreadsheet, word document blah-blah.

Or will it simply not work due to software/hardware conflicts ?

NOW we are talking about system stuff. You are correct.

OS cannot be simply "swap over." Specifically Windows, you are advised to re-install OS and Apps anew.

I dare to read your mind: U want to move the HD over, boot it and BAM! Dell is gonna boot exact, look, feel, all customization intact as if you were on Sony. HIGHLY IMPROBABLE this would work. That's too magical to be real.