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Old hard drive, new mobo, can it be done?

Forum Storage : Hard Disks - Old hard drive, new mobo, can it be done?

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rapko   10-13-2009 at 05:11:03 AM

Hello, I'm new to pc building. My current PC is a Gateway FX542s that I bought a year ago. The specs can be viewed here:

http://support.gateway.com/s/PC/FX [...] Rsp3.shtml

Motherboard specs:
http://support.gateway.com/s/MOTHE [...] Rsp2.shtml

Its a fairly decent rig for gaming but I've recently gotten the urge to build my own system for a new challenge. I purchased quite a few parts including an 850w PSU, samsung dvd drive, evga gtx 275, coolermaster Case nvidia version, etc. I haven't decided on a MOBO/CPU yet but was considering a 750i FTW mainly due to price...gonna upgrade later to p55 or something. However, I thought I was going to be able to take my old hard drive out and use it on the new mobo but after some research, I realize that may be harder than I thought since the motherboard isn't identical to my current one.

My first question is can I uninstall the chipset and audio drivers and save myself from buying a new hard drive? The other problem is that the operating system from gateway is vista 64, but they didn't include a disc or anything. Is there a way to put that OS on a new hard drive or would I have to buy a new OS with a new hard drive? If thats the case, then I would just get an an i5 w/evga p55 sli with a new hard drive and windows 7 when it comes out but I was hoping I could save a ton of cash by using my old drive somehow. ANY INFO is appreciated.


Message edited by rapko on 10-13-2009 at 05:12:40 AM
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visa   10-13-2009 at 05:27:45 AM

The chances the old hard drive will work with new hardware is probably pretty slim. You could still try and it might work but I would make sure any valuable data is saved elsewhere.

I would recommend just getting a new hard drive and Windows 7 or loading Windows 7 on that hard drive. The only other way I could see would be to take some imaging software like Acronis and taking a hardware independent image and then slap that image back on the hard drive. Even with that I think you'd be better off with Windows 7.

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rapko   10-13-2009 at 05:46:44 AM

I would get a new hard drive if absolutely necessary but if I could wipe this drive and then install win7 with the new mobo, I'd prefer to do that. The drive is only a year old and not even half full.

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