Cant load any system but the one that came with dell 8400

[Parlipthonemon_14]

I recently upgraded the harddrive in my Dell 8400(XP home system)
Formatted the disk on another computer.
No problem partitioning. I then put the hard drive into my dell 8400.
All it would see was the very small partition in the boot sector.
would not load xp pro. However using the original system disk,
I could load the old system fine. Is there something Dell put into
the bios to keep from changing systems?

Seems like it set up for the original system only. Computer works fine,
but this may prevent any upgrade to Windows 7 in the future.

 

[o1die]

Yes. There is a bios code that tells your dell recovery disks that the board is a genuine dell. Sometimes, though, if you have a dell xp cd then you can use another brand motherboard and windows may activate. On my compaq pc, when I tried to change motherboards, I couldn't use my backup disks to reinstall windows. And sometimes microsoft will detect the difference with the coa sticker number and won't activate when the disk info and coa number don't match for oem motherboards.

 

[jsc]

Computer works fine, but this may prevent any upgrade to Windows 7 in the future.

No. All you need is a retail or generic OEM copy of Win7.

 

[damien12g]

exactly. i had an old Dell XPS 300 i think. i erased the HD and loaded Win7...worked like a charm
no bubbles no troubles

 

[Parlipthonemon_14]

Best answer selected by Parlipthonemon_14.

 

[Parlipthonemon_14]

This verifies my conclusion. Thanks