Replacing a hard drive into a newly build pc

[dannybhoy100]

so ive just built a new pc for christmas and im wondering if i can pop my old harddrive in so it saves me from installing windows and stuff, will this work??

 

[Dark Lord of Tech]

No it doesn't , you will need a fresh install of windows and possibly a new license.

 

[alexoiu]

It depends on the old and new board models. It's better to reinstall.

 

[dannybhoy100]

No it doesn't , you will need a fresh install of windows and possibly a new license.

So you are saying i couldnt wipe the current hdd and put windows on it to then put in my new pc?

 

[Dark Lord of Tech]

Yes you should format and perform a clean install on the new PC.

 

[DOSlover]

Unless you new PC has the same motherboard (as a minimum) and hardware as the PC the old hard drive was installed in initially, then you really need to go for a fresh install of Windows. You can probably still use your old hard disk for storage, as long as the new PC has compatible interfaces (i.e. SATA) with the old hard drive. Throwing the old drive in as the bot drive without a fresh install of Windows, is likely to result in either a machine that will not boot or will be highly unstable.

 

[dannybhoy100]

Yes you should format and perform a clean install on the new PC.

How could i do this as ive took apart my old pc for selling, should i put it back together to reinstall or connect it to a laptop

 

[Dark Lord of Tech]

No you perform the fresh install while the drive is in your new PC.

Boot , format , clean install.

 

[dannybhoy100]

No you perform the fresh install while the drive is in your new PC.

I know that but how could i wipe my drive if i have nothing that can do it, like how can i remove everything on it to replace windos for a fresh install

 

[dannybhoy100]

No you perform the fresh install while the drive is in your new PC.

I know that but how could i wipe my drive if i have nothing that can do it, like how can i remove everything on it to replace windos for a fresh install

 

[DSzymborski]

You don't need to, you do a full wipe on the hard drive with a complete Windows install on the new PC.

 

[USAFRet]

Yes you should format and perform a clean install on the new PC.

How could i do this as ive took apart my old pc for selling, should i put it back together to reinstall or connect it to a laptop

If it fails to actually boot up in the new hardware (a strong possibility), then you can wipe the drive during the new OS install.

Which OS is this? You may also run into activation issues.

 

[DOSlover]

Yes you should format and perform a clean install on the new PC.

How could i do this as ive took apart my old pc for selling, should i put it back together to reinstall or connect it to a laptop

 

[DOSlover]

The old machine is only relevant in relation to the drivers installed on the windows installation. I seriously doubt the old motherboard is driver compatible with the new PC. You need to bite the bullet and simply fork out for a new hard drive, do a windows installation on it, plug in your old hard drive and use it as a slave/storage drive. The only exception to that is if you have your working files stored in a different partition on the old drive from the OS and application files. Either way, you are looking at having to perform a fresh installation of Windows, along with all the applications. If you try doing this on the old drive, make sure you back up EVERYTHING before you start.