First build, keeping old HD w/Vista home premium 32-bit OS

[motel420]

Hi, thanks for reading. I have a bunch of new parts on the way for a new build pc (my first one) and I am curious if I can just plug in my old 160 GB HD with Windows Vista on it into a new MSI 990FXA-GD80 Mobo with all new parts, and expect it to boot into the OS on the disk.
Secondly, feel free to critique my build. It wanted something that will allow me to play SWTOR when it comes out, but be ready for tons of scaling up if i want to. Possible upgrades i planned on = AMD Bulldozer, more AMD cards for crossfire, faster drives etc.

Old hard drive w/Vista home premium 32-bit OS is from an emachines W6409 sitting on an intel mobo. According to my system properties, this drive is a Seagate ST3160212A Barracuda 7200.9 (ST3160212A20TPK) 160 GB Hard Drive.

Here's what I want to boot it up with ...

Case = Rosewill CRUISER Black Gaming ATX Mid Tower
Power = Rosewill Xtreme Series RX750-S-B 750W Continuous Power Supply
Motherboard = MSI 990FXA-GD80
CPU = AMD Phenom II X3 720 Black Edition Heka 2.8GHz Socket AM3 w/Cooler master geminII cooling
RAM = CORSAIR Vengeance 8GB (2 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (can i use old DDR or DDR2 RAM on this mobo/setup?)
Graphics = HIS H679F1GD Radeon HD 6790 1GB 256-bit GDDR5 PCI Express


So, being my first build ever, i guess my question is what is the worst that can happen here?
Secondly, should i prep the drive first, before plugging it into a 100% new environment?
Thirdly, did I screw up big-time or get a nice head start on a decent machine? All opinions welcome (cept dozer vs sandy - deal is done)

Thanks in advance if you want to give me a hand & thanks for reading

 

[dhicks19]

if you are installing a new motherboard then you will need to reinstall the operating system for the new build. worst case is that it will try to boot but get a blue screen. Just get your serial from vista and reinstall os on your new build. Use magicbean key finder if you dont have the serial.

 

[motel420]

Thanks for the advice - few possible hitches tho. As far as I remember, my machine came with xp & free upgrade to Vista. I am sure I don't have any of that software still around, but I do have the case with the XP serial # on it.

On a second note, I don't think my HD is original equipment on my old emachines W6409. Either way, I forgot how much I like this HD - it's super-fast (by my standards), silent & has all my old stuff on it.

Any more advice? I am thinking of just getting a new HD & operating system but I already broke the bank

Best case scenario I can install the Vista-loaded HD on the new mobo (somehow) but I have no idea how to do that without the original XP & then Vista upgrade discs.

Worst case scenario i have to get a new drive + new OS and have an all brand new system. This is probably best-case for everything except my bank account.

Thanks again for any advice

 

[dhicks19]

Use the magicbean key finder on the vista machine and note the serial down anyway. If its different to the xp serial then you should be able to download and install vista with the serial you noted down. If not then install xp and then try install vista using the upgrade option and your xp serial. Its worth a try as it can save you buying a new hd and a new os.

As i said when you have a new mobo you have to install the os again because of the drivers.

Good luck

 

[motel420]

So, both your suggestions were great and appreciated considering my OP, but I had a horrible horrible idea in the first place in trying to keep vista & a dinosaur ide hard drive. Fact is I would have had to buy a special card to go in the 'legacy PCI' slot on my board to interface the ide drive in anyway (nightmare). Long story short i got a new 'cudda & windows7 & man I'm glad i did. Thanks anyway, dhicks19, and I appreciate your time & advice.

 

[motel420]

Best answer selected by motel420.

 

[dhicks19]

Best answer selected by motel420.

n
nglad u got it sorted mate and no problem, happy computing