[notquiteanexpert]

Hi guys,

I am looking at buying a new computer, but really don't want to be fussed with needing to re-install all my applications etc etc.

My question is whether or not an existing hard drive (IDE) can be simply transferred into the new machine and set up as the primary, with the blank hard drive (SATA) that comes with the new system set up as slave.....will Windows XP Home that is currently installed on the existing hard drive be able to cope with all the new hardware changes, or will it have a heart-attack and just be unstable?

I have had it suggested that the SATA hard drive would be better (faster) as primary, but do you think the speed benefit of doing this will be worth all the pain of re-installing all my apps, copying over work files etc etc??

To give you some idea as to the hardware changes.......my current system is practically obsolete....I think it is an AMD 1400 or something like that, with 512mb RAM...(machine is about 4 years old...hence why I need the upgrade!!). New one will be vastly different.

Sincerely appreciate for your guidance.....

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I'd recommend you to reinstall ALL programs and drivers onto the new one, and if you want, use the old one as a slave. Using an IDE for a primary is going to pull your computer down. Also, if you install the old one in as the primary, the programs would malfunction as the registry keys are not in the new computer's registry. Correct me if I am wrong.

SATA is MUCH faster than IDE, that's why you don't see new computers installed with IDE ATA drives.

EDIT: Taken from www.pcbuyerbeware.co.uk:

The third standard, serial ATA (SATA), potentially the fastest of them all, could transfer data as fast as 600MB/s now, but the current internal mechanisms of hard drives limit it to being not much faster than standard IDE ATA drives, which can only sustain about 60MB/s in practice.

I hope this helps.

~Kelvin

Edited by Kelvin, 15 December 2007 - 03:00 AM.

[Kelvin]

I'd recommend you to reinstall ALL programs and drivers onto the new one, and if you want, use the old one as a slave. Using an IDE for a primary is going to pull your computer down. Also, if you install the old one in as the primary, the programs would malfunction as the registry keys are not in the new computer's registry. Correct me if I am wrong.

SATA is MUCH faster than IDE, that's why you don't see new computers installed with IDE ATA drives.

EDIT: Taken from www.pcbuyerbeware.co.uk:

The third standard, serial ATA (SATA), potentially the fastest of them all, could transfer data as fast as 600MB/s now, but the current internal mechanisms of hard drives limit it to being not much faster than standard IDE ATA drives, which can only sustain about 60MB/s in practice.

I hope this helps.

~Kelvin

Edited by Kelvin, 15 December 2007 - 03:00 AM.

[The Skeptic]

I agree with Kelvin for the following reasons:

1: Sata is faster. The maximum that you can get from IDE is 133 MB/s whereas in sata the minimum (sata 1) is 150 MB/s.

2: The old operating system will not work, most probably, on the new hardware. You can clone the old disk to the new one using your old computer, then install the new drive in the first sata connection in the new computer. But then You must perform a repair installation of XP to enable the program to work with the new computer. I am strongly against this because quite often the repair fails or is not fully successful. You will have to reinstall the motherboard drivers of the new computer and all your updates. That in itself is not so bad. The worse situation is that you discover other problems along the way. Windows repair is not an innocent procedure and I really don't like it, especially not on a new computer where you expect trouble free service from the new purchase.

If you still want to do the repair you can use the link in my signature for instructions.

[happyrock]

In general, OEM software may not be transferred from one system to another system. However, the computer system can certainly be updated with new components without the requirement of a new software license. The only exception to this is the motherboard .. If the motherboard is replaced the computer system is deemed "new" and a new license would be required. Other PC components may be upgraded, including a hard drive. Though if the hard drive is replaced/upgraded, the operating system must first be removed from the old hard drive. To restate: the operating system is "married" to the computer system on which it is originally installed.



Product Activation

Windows Product Activation is what Microsoft calls the technology it created to cut down on so-called casual copying of its software--for example, installing the same license on several PCs in a home or small office. WPA creates a numeric identifier of a PC's hardware by looking at ten different components.
those components on your "new" system would ALL be different...I don't remember them all by heart but the CPU ...NIC...CHIPSET...HARD DRIVE are part of them

That data is transmitted to Microsoft along with the product key, the 25-character code found on the installation CD that users enter during installation. (Those who don't have Internet access must call Microsoft and read both long numbers to a representative). Subsequently, if the OS is reinstalled--say, after an upgrade--WPA generates the numeric identifier again and sends it to a Microsoft server that checks it against the original identifier. If the two are significantly different, the PC can't be used until another call is made to Microsoft.

People who buy new PCs with Windows XP preinstalled are even less likely to run into Windows Product Activation challenges. When XP is factory-installed on a PC, it identifies the machine solely by looking at its BIOS. Users would have to swap out the motherboard for one from a completely different vendor before the PC would identify the action as a reinstall and require contact with Microsoft to continue.

Edited by happyrck, 15 December 2007 - 10:03 AM.

[happyrock]

about the ide to sata comparisons...there are only a couple of hard drives that even come close to saturating the theoretical limits..IDE 133 and sata 150...most don't even get to half the bandwidth available...
the screenshots show the difference between my 120 GB WD and a 10 K 36 GB raptor

Edited by happyrck, 15 December 2007 - 12:23 PM.

[The Skeptic]

Here is an interesting link for a discussion about HD transfer rates that was brout up by happyrck.

[happyrock]

here is a link to see the benchmarking of PATA and SATA drives together...check out the max and sustained rates...these are the newer drives too...down at the bottom you can use the forward and back to see all the tests...

[notquiteanexpert]

Hi Guys,

I really appreciate all your help and knowledge regarding this. I take that trying to save myself a couple of hours by avoiding a complete reinstall is probably just going to cost me a multiple of that time in the future........I'll probably end up getting frustrated and reinstalling everything anyway!!

I'll go with the SATA as primary and setup my IDE as slave.

Thanks for all your help everyone.