So, I want a better performing computer and the one I have is quite old (for a computer).

Is it possible for me to buy a new computer, like something with 4gb RAM, a good new fast processor, decent video card, etc -- BUT put my current HDD in it?

I don't want Vista and the current HDD I have now is 200g and runs WinXP.

Basically, what I'm wondering is can I put this hard drive in a new computer instead of the Vista HDD in the new computer AND IT KEEP ITS CURRENT SPEC

[Edited on January 19, 2008 at 2:01 AM. Reason : .]

1/19/2008 2:00:14 AM

I've always heard its best to totally format and reinstall windows when adding all new hardware.

1/19/2008 2:23:06 AM

If you do this, there will be pain and suffering.

Mark my words.

If you don't reformat the XP install expect unpleasantries.

1/19/2008 2:40:00 AM

32 bit processors don't support 4 gigs of Ram

1/19/2008 2:55:52 AM

^ what about in linux

1/19/2008 3:07:55 AM

reformat or suffer blue screens.

1/19/2008 8:03:38 AM

^^ need 64-bit anything for 4gb or higher. 32-bit OS's may only see 2 or 3gb of it. 32-bit motherboards may not even work with 4gb.

1/19/2008 8:40:31 AM

Quote :

"32 bit processors don't support 4 gigs of Ram"

was just asking if i bought a new computer, could i put an old hard drive in it? nothing having to do with switching a processor or anything... just the HDD.

Quote :

"reformat or suffer blue screens."

But ya think I should format the hard drive first and start with a fresh copy of XP?

1/19/2008 8:54:18 AM

I think that's what they're saying

1/19/2008 10:30:56 AM

You could just buy a new drive and slave the old one so you can get all your stuff off of it.

1/19/2008 11:47:29 AM

just go and buy a brand new small but fast drive (10k raptor) and fresh install OS on that.

1/19/2008 12:03:13 PM

You could just buy a new drive and slave the old one so you can get all your stuff off of it.

1/19/2008 1:25:44 PM

32 bit processors should be able to address 4 gb, however video cards, maybe other things, take up memory addresses!

1/19/2008 2:07:37 PM

To take full advantage of 4GB of RAM you'll need the 64 bit version of Windows XP... and a processor that will support it of course.

You won't get away with simply dropping in a hard drive that has been configured on a different machine. You WILL get a blue screen. You're much better off doing what everyone has said... format a new drive, install XP on it, and put the old hard drive in the computer as a slave so you can get all of your data off of it.

So, is this 200GB hard drive an IDE/PATA drive or SATA? If the former, you're going to want to get a new hard drive anyway. Especially if you're buying a new CPU that will more than likely have very limited IDE ports.


[Edited on January 19, 2008 at 2:20 PM. Reason : -]

1/19/2008 2:18:05 PM

ehh... You'll get better performance from a fresh install. I took my old IDE drive out with XP on it out of a pc that was 6yrs old (the install wasn't that old but just for a comparison of hardware) and put it in my athlon 64x2, ran a Windows repair and it runs fine. It's been about a year now and it has never blue-screened, hung, or had any other problems. It would probably run slightly better if I had done a fresh install but I didn't want to at the time.

Since then I've put a raptor in it and occasionally run XP 64 off of that. But I mostly use the drive with XP on it because I wanted to make sure I didn't run into any problems with XP64 and I've been too lazy to make the switch. I will eventually move everything over to XP 64 on the raptor though because it is far better speed-wise and I've had no problems with the 64bit OS and I use 64bit programs.

So, yes you probably can move it over (run a windows repair). But it would be best to start fresh.

If it's just that you don't want to lose your documents, pics, music, etc. then do what has been mentioned and install the drive as a slave. and run the OS off of the new hard drive.

[Edited on January 19, 2008 at 4:12 PM. Reason : .]

1/19/2008 4:07:18 PM

^

1/19/2008 7:57:32 PM

^^ Thx.. and its not that i want to keep my docs and all.. its just that I want to run Wix XP on a Vista built machine

1/20/2008 12:26:23 AM

do realize that if you're buying a pre-built machine with vista already on it, that there's a good chance xp drivers aren't available for the hardware OR that they'll be hard to find...if you're building from scratch, then it shouldn't be difficult to find xp drivers

1/20/2008 12:50:13 AM

no, I didn't... hence why I asked this question.

thanks

1/20/2008 7:57:58 AM

Quote :

"32 bit processors don't support 4 gigs of Ram"

Quote :

"need 64-bit anything for 4gb or higher. 32-bit OS's may only see 2 or 3gb of it. 32-bit motherboards may not even work with 4gb."

32-bit addresses DO support 4 gb of RAM (exactly).

Quote :

"All of the Intel x86 family processors since the Pentium Pro include a memory-mapping mode called Physical Address Extension (PAE). With the proper chipset, the PAE mode allows access to up to 64 GB of physical memory. When the x86 executes in PAE mode, the memory management unit (MMU) divides virtual addresses into four fields."

http://www.brianmadden.com/content/article/The-4GB-Windows-Memory-Limit-What-does-it-really-mean-

When compiled with PAE enabled 32-bit Linux will support up to 64 GB of RAM. Each process is given its own 4 GB virtual address space. While no single process can consume all that memory, you can have 16 processes each taking up 4 GB.

Of course, advanced-server and datacenter versions of 32-bit Windows support PAE (and 64GB of RAM) as well.

1/22/2008 10:30:43 AM

Another option would be to use a tool called sysprep on your current install, then move the hdd to the new system and bring it up. Sysprep will strip out all of the hardware-specific info for your old system, leaving a stripped-down windows install, plus all your programs, docs, and whatnot. minisetup will run again and you'll have the opportunity to add in your new drivers, etc. and *in theory* you should be good to go. This is a very common way to prepare a disk image that can be installed on multiple types of hardware in business/academic IT settings.

Not the most user-friendly thing in the world, but it might work for you. I'd back up anything you're afraid to lose before you do this, just in case something goes wrong.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sysprep has a VERY basic description, plus a link to some useful microsoft sites on the subject.

It would probably be easier, faster, and more stable long-term to buy a new system drive and just leave your old drive in there as a data volume. But you would have to shell out the cash for the drive and reinstall your programs.

1/22/2008 12:54:03 PM

Quote :

"32-bit addresses DO support 4 gb of RAM (exactly)"

Like I said, they support 4gb worth of address space, but all of this isn't necessarily available for your RAM.

1/22/2008 1:45:31 PM

sysprep is an option

i would think that installing the old hard drive into the new computer, then booting to the windows install CD and performing a "repair" operation on your current OS install would work too (backup just in case), but i wouldn't try it...id just install a fresh copy on a secondary hard drive and then pull data from the old hard drive as needed.

1/22/2008 1:58:08 PM

Don't waste your money on a Raptor...just get a new 7200 rpm drive from NewEgg and be done with it. You can get them for $60 shipped all day long.

1/22/2008 2:45:22 PM

^^i agree w/ synapse

why doesn't anyone try going to the source?
http://www.microsoft.com/whdc/system/platform/server/PAE/PAEmem.mspx

Quote :

"Operating systems based on Microsoft Windows NT technologies have always provided applications with a flat 32-bit virtual address space that describes 4 gigabytes (GB) of virtual memory. The address space is usually split so that 2 GB of address space is directly accessible to the application and the other 2 GB is only accessible to the Windows executive software."

using the /3GB switch in the boot.ini, it will enable 3GB to be used for applications and 1GB for the windows executive software.

4GB IS COMPLETELY USABLE in a windows 32-bit install.

[Edited on January 22, 2008 at 3:22 PM. Reason : /]

1/22/2008 3:19:52 PM