Adopt a hard drive into the family?

[Keygrip]

Trying to be PC (pun intended).

I have an old and dying desktop machine, holds one EIDE hard drive which has various goodies on it that I would still like to keep.

The drive also holds a full, licensed and verified copy of Windows XP Pro.

I have a new desktop - Vista Ultimate. 64 bit. This machine currently holds two (but can hold four) SATA drives and has a space and connection for an EIDE drive.

Can I import the drive only from the old PC and have the new one adopt it as a third data drive (either with or without access to the XP Pro operating system)?

Sigh. I hate compyooters when they don't work the way I want them to.

Do you even understand my question? I'm not sure I do - and I wrote it.

[Parapunter]

Should be straightforward enough. Either drop it in & import the data across to a healthy drive or alternatively you could ghost it or true image it across to a ready fresh drive & carry on with xp pro. The obvious quick thing to do is just to fire the wanted files across to an external drive & then plug that in to the vista machine - like a basic backup, unless you really want to keep the copy of xp.

[Keygrip]

Bluddy heck! That was quick. Thanks.

[seacue]

Is the HD drive on your old PC showing signs of age, or is it the machine as a whole? If the drive itself appears to be in good health, I think that I would just buy one of those inexpensive external drive cases which you can plug into a USB hole on your new computer. This approaching doesn't require copying anything, though of course you probably can't execute any of the software on the old drive.

I've done that with the HD from my machine which suddenly completely died. Turned out there was nothing wrong with its hard drive.

[Bushfiva]

Before removing it from the original computer, you may want to isntall and run something like System Information for Windows SIW; there are several other products that do the same thing). The licenses and secrets tabs will reveal your XP key, other keys and passwords to various applications and user accounts.

[mixture]

The drive also holds a full, licensed and verified copy of Windows XP Pro.

Assuming the computer this drive is coming from had a hard drive in it with a bundled, pre-installed, copy of Windows XP ....

It is only "full, licensed and verified" for the computer it came inside.

Take it out of the computer and it becomes unlicensed, and technically Microsoft's considers attempts to use it in another PC as a form of software piracy.

See question 10 in this document

http://download.microsoft.com/downlo...42/OSLicQA.doc

[Keygrip]

Incorrect assumption, mixture.

It was bought, paid for, I have the disk, the case and the key etc. (also have a Millenium Edition (but don't normally admit to it)).

I believe - possibly incorrectly - that if disabled from one PC, it may be resurrected on another PC.

I most certainly stand to be corrected if wrong.

[Bushfiva]

I believe - possibly incorrectly - that if disabled from one PC, it may be resurrected on another PC

If it's a full retail version and not academic, OEM, etc., then yes you can remove it from one machine and install it on another. It will either activate over the internet or ask you to make a phone call. The latter route is fast and simple.

[mixture]

Keygrip,

I think you're quite correct then, with a full boxed copy, you can transfer it from computer to computer as much as you like.

Sorry to hear about your Millenium Edition ....