HD swap

[lewy]

I have a new computer running win 8.1,
I now want to take the old hard drive [win7] from a non functioning computer and put it in the new computer. Is this just a plug and play exercise with the old drive recognised by the new computer.

[loanrangie]

Unlikely, some OS's will allow that but i have never come across one that will work with a straight swap.

[lewy]

bugger,was hoping it would recognise the drive like it would a usb drive etc

[LRDan]

Are you hoping for it to run win7 or just use it as a second drive?

[Debacle]

If you just want to use it as storage, plug it in and format it. Should be ok. If you want to dual boot the different o/s it's a bit more complicated.

[lewy]

basically all i want to do is get the pics off it,so just access it for that dont need to use it after that as it is pretty old anyway.I can get an external housing as well but if it is just a matter of fitting it inside the case connecting up the plugs would be great.ideally just go to this pc in win 8.1[my computer in win 7]and select the old drive.

[LRDan]

That should work fine. Depending on the brand of new computer etc. taking the covers off sometimes can void warranty (or used to anyway). Safest bet would be buying a compatible external caddy if you're not 100% confident in playing inside the PC.

[theresanothersteve]

The only caveat is the connection...

A machine from the Windows 7 era should be SATA, show you can mount the drive in a spare drive bay. You might need aniother SATA connection cable (couple of bucks) but the system should recognise the new drive.

If, however, the drive is from a Ned Kelly Axe system (strated as a Win 9x box, updated to XP etc) it might not be as easy, you will need to find a way to connect it so an older external drive enclosure would be necessary.

I'd go for an internal installation if possible. Once you have recovered the data you need, format the old drive and use it as one of your backup media. While it will not replace the need for an external backup you can store off-site, it will provide the fastest way to restore lost files. (You can never have enough diversified backups...).

I have done the same thing on my machine. I installed a SSD, cloned W7 to the new drive (since upgraded to Win8) and converetd the old hard drive to a backup system. Works great!

HTH