Building another new computer - question

[Jeremy]

So I bought parts for another build. The only things I'm using from my old rig are the hard drives and power supply.

My question is - can I just plug my current hard drives into the new rig and be able to boot into Windows safely to update drivers and such to match the new hardware (mobo, graphics card, etc)? Seems like thats what I did last time but I just want to make sure since I'm slammed with work and if my PC goes down for even 1 day I am screwed!

Before you ask - I went with a Gigabyte board and Intel CPU this time

[Bowtie]

It would help if you want in and stripped the HAL before swapping them. If you have already moved them over, boot to safe mode first, strip what you can and then boot normal and it should be good. Be prepared to reactivate windows once you do all of this.

[ElderGeek]

I went with a Gigabyte board and Intel CPU this time

Great!

To answer your question, maybe.



I'm not a big fan of this practice, especialy on a mission critial box. I have heard people who have done this and not have any problems. But seeing as how you are changing out the board and the CPU, you should do a clean install.

I don't think the 'hash' on your new configuration will match the old. Then Windows will say your OS is not legit. Plus possibly a bunch of other 'inf' and 'controller' issues.

Do you have two, or more drives? Is one for the OS/boot drive, (or C:\ drive) and the other(s) for data storage?

If so, the way I would do it, being in your situation of not being able to have the PC down for any amount of time, get one more new or used-empty drive to be your new boot drive. Swap out the power supply and install the OS on the new system. Get everything up and running and tested.

Then swap out your data drives to the new PC. If there is any data on the C:\ drive that you want on the new PC, move it to the data storage drive(s) before moving them.

This way the only thing you need to do if the new PC runs into a problem is to but the PS & data drives back in the old box and boot it up.

Do you know how to grab your Favorites, My Documents, Outlook .pst files, .wab files, etc.? If not I can remote in and get them moved for you.

[Bowtie]

I'm not a big fan of this practice, especialy on a mission critial box. I have heard people who have done this and not have any problems.

Agreed, but he will get stuck reinstalling everything and all of his software.

I just did it the way I described 2 weeks ago (and plenty of other times) and went from an AMD 939 and BFG mobo to a Intel quad core and Asus mobo with 0 hiccups thanks to a faulty power supply taking out the mobo. As long as he removes all the vital hardware, it will go back in painless. Just make backups of all the important data just in case it doesn't work and you have to do a fresh install.

[Jeremy]

I currently have 2 HD's....one for the OS and programs and another for my data.

Windows copy is not a legit copy I don't think but does pass validation (I can do updates). I'd like to switch to a 64 bit OS on the new system though so I can utilize all of my RAM (4GB and 8GB soon probably) but it does not have to happen right away.

What is the HAL?

[Bowtie]

Hardware Abstraction Layer - is an abstraction layer, implemented in software, between the physical hardware of a computer and the software that runs on that computer. Its function is to hide differences in hardware from most of the operating system kernel, so that most of the kernel-mode code does not need to be changed to run on systems with different hardware. On a PC, HAL can basically be considered to be the driver for the motherboard and allows instructions from higher level computer languages to communicate with lower level components, such as directly with hardware. (I borrowed this from Wiki because I didn't feel like typing it out)

Right click on my computer, select properties, hardware, device manager, in there start uninstalling all the hardware, don't let it reboot. leave the codecs in place, go after the big stuff like display, network, proc, sound card, then unplug everything usb. Only have the keyboard and mouse plugged in on the new board, don't hook up the opticals and swap the drive and boot. It should go with no issues, and after your initial boot and you re-hook up the opticals, have your cds ready to install drivers.

If your going to swap to 64 bit, go buy a cheap drive, or use an old one and load the 64 bit OS and all your software, and then you can ghost the drive to your faster one later when you are ready for the full swap or go get a WD Raptor drive, they are awesome!

[bucknaz]

Windows is offering a limited time download of Windows 7 (which I've been testing for over a year and is as good as windows XP IMO). You can register for a free version. You'll need to actually purchase the software before June 1st 2010 or you can preorder a copy of Home Premium Upgrade for $49 and Professional for about $99.

You'll love Windows 7. It's TITS!

http://windows.microsoft.com/en-US/w...ome?os=nonwin7

Click on the link about the Release Candidate.

[Jeremy]

I might just sack up and do a clean install with the RC on my main OS drive. Its downloading now.

So if I do that I should build the new computer, install my hard drives, and set it to boot from the DVD drive with the RC cd in it?

[Bowtie]

correct, assuming that you burn a bootable version of the RC

[bucknaz]

Ya, the download is an ISO file. I use the free version of Vitual Clone Drive to mount my ISO files as another drive letter, then open your burning software and do a DVD copy from Virtual Clone Drive to your DVDRW Drive.

Once you have the DVD created, simply put it in the CD drive of the new pc and when it boots it should recognize that there is no OS and start the installation. You might need to "Press any key to boot from CD/DVD...."

If your looking for a freebie Antivirus, I really like the NOD32 or Avast. They have been the best in terms of performance from my experience. NOD32 actually has the smallest memory footprint of any AV I've found...Bowtie and Elder might have good suggestions from thier experiences as well.