Terry Marshall was asked if he can move his old disk hard, unchanged, to its new PC built, start its existing, the installation of XP "very stable" and ignore completely from Windows 7.
In short, the answer is no. Here is why:
Windows is an operating system very hardware specific. When you install on a computer, it configures the hardware. Unless the two computers are physically identical, the hard drive of one and use to start another application problems. The result will be very unstable - if it runs in all.
If your computer did not come with Windows preinstalled, you must install the operating system from scratch. And then you must install your applications and move on your data.
There is another issue: Microsoft puts limits on what you can do with a single copy of Windows. If it appears suddenly runs on new hardware, it will be opposite.
Does this mean that you should give up your beloved XP? Not necessarily. If you have installed a full, a copy of the retail of XP on your old computer, you can use the same CD to install on your new one. The Setup program will probably object when you enter the license number, because the copy is on another computer, but you can call the 800 number and explain the situation.
As long as you agree to remove the old computer XP in the near future and this promise, there should be no difficulty.
But if XP came with the old PC, the licence is strictly for this computer. You may not transfer. You can, however, still buy XP - even if Microsoft is selling is no longer. A Google Shopping or Pricegrabber research will bring you a lot of choices.
For more information on the preparation of your computer, see Set Up a new PC and migrate to a new PC.
Contributing editor Lincoln Spector wrote about technology and cinema. Send your tech questions to him at answer@pcworld.com, or validate them a community of helpful people on the forum of the response PCW line. Follow Lincoln on Twitter.
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