Windows XP wont boot up after installing hard drive

[luck0923]

Hello,
I had a hard drive crash on me so a friend gave me another hard drive with windows xp installed on it. I hooked up the hard drive, Bios auto detected it but Windows won't come up just a line that blinks with a black screen

 

[popatim]

you can try starting up in safe mode, depending on the version of XP (oem or retail) it may or may not bootup. What did this harddrive come out of?

 

[newnerd]

Hi luck0923:
Once Windows is installed on a computer it is not configured correctly to run on a different computer unless every piece of hardware and the bios were pretty much identical and even then the Microsoft EULA says that it can only be installed on one PC if it is an OEM version of Windows. Full retail versions of Windows can be removed from the original PC and installed on a different PC from the original Windows media but that will likely require a phone activation. Your best bet would be to remove the bad hard drive and install the replacement and then re-install Windows from your own Windows media that came with your PC. If your PC came from a PC builder, they usually supply Windows installation disks or have you make your own disks when you first get a new PC.