[linzer_kay]

I put a new hard drive in my HP media center pc and was wondering if I could use my backup disks to install windows since I have no actual Windows boot disk. Not sure if it would help, but I still have the old hard drive with windows installed only it barely boots windows before it freezes up. Any help or suggestions are GREATLY appreciated....i just want my computer back! Thank you in advance.

Lindsay

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what do u mean by barely boots? maybe we can fix that disk and u can use the new one for extra storage.

[Tru Techie]

what do u mean by barely boots? maybe we can fix that disk and u can use the new one for extra storage.

[troppo]

well pretty much you will have to purchase a genuine copy of windows and install that fresh
a back up disk may work depending on the way you backed up the drive

if its an image file then im pretty sure that it would work but im not to sure

its probably best to install a fresh copy anyway because if your copy on their already is corrupt and not booting there would be no point in installing or copying a bad or corrupt copy that defeats the purpose of having a fresh new hard drive
once you have installed the new drive plug your old one into the slave slot and then copy what you want from it and then format it then you will have more storage and an extra drive free

troppo

Edited by troppo, 15 August 2006 - 12:07 AM.

[linzer_kay]

sorry...i didn't really give much background. Roommates used my computer during a huge storm....power went on and off several times over a few days. I come home (after being gone for 3 weeks) and my computer is on and frozen. Restarted and ran the diagnostic program that comes w/ windows and had all sorts of read errors and surface disk errors on my hard drive. The computer would freeze within minutes of turning it on (usually before scan disk finished scanning my mutilated drive). I checked out the errors and found out I pretty much just needed to replace the hd, so I did. Then tried to install from my backups, which didn't work. I'm getting an XP installation disk (although not Media Center like before) and then hopefully can put in my backup disks, which I burned from my computer when it would stay on long enough before freezing. Will that work? Do you not recommend that I reinstall from my backup? I'm not entirely stupid about computers, but I'm obviously not too smart about them either. After getting the hd I just don't have $40 to give to HP to send me a boot....nice how they don't send them w/ new computers anymore.......

thanks for replying and any more suggestions would be appreciated.

[troppo]

well sometimes it can be best to start of fresh

think of it this way it will be free from problems, virus' (if any) and will give you a performace gain

if you install windows then you can always use your back up disks to get any info that you want of the old hard drive and the you dont loos any imprtnat files but you will have a fresh install of windows on a new hard drive and still have all of your old files

exept for installed programs

troppo

[Facedown98]

Just for future reference, if you back a complete drive image using say, Norton Ghost, it will make an identical copy of your hard disk, which will include the operating system. So if your computer on one drive was nice and fresh with XP, then this new drive could be copied right to it, however, I would only use it on that same computer if you intend on booting, becuase drivers and such will be copied as well.