Windows question

Started by archonforest, January 06, 2016, 11:44:23 AM

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archonforest

Does anybody knows what will happen if I took the main HDD out from one Dell Workstation and install it into another Dell Workstation? Does the new workstation will able to boot? The 2 Workstation has different specs.
Dell T5500 with Dual Hexa Xeon CPU 3Ghz, 32Gb ram, GTX 1080
Amiga 1200 8Mb ram, 8Gb ssd

zaxxon

The short answer:no. It will work as a second drive  for data, but will not serve to launch most of your installed programs. To make it your 'Boot' drive you will need to reinstall your OS.  :(

archonforest

Quote from: zaxxon on January 06, 2016, 12:29:39 PM
The short answer:no. It will work as a second drive  for data, but will not serve to launch most of your installed programs. To make it your 'Boot' drive you will need to reinstall your OS.  :(
Thx, I had the same idea.
Dell T5500 with Dual Hexa Xeon CPU 3Ghz, 32Gb ram, GTX 1080
Amiga 1200 8Mb ram, 8Gb ssd

Kadri

#3

In the past i used the same Windows XP HD on different mainboards with different RAM and graphics cards etc.
I had so many programs, that i used the same OS maybe nearly for 10 years
without any reformat in many different hardware configurations.
There was one HD migration too even for example...
There might be a chance that it will work but not sure if the hassle is worth it.
Don't tried it with the newer Windows versions.



archonforest

Telling the truth I would expect Windows to do this. Yeah first boot might be rough and long in order to replace all the data about the new hardware and stuff but I think it is not impossible.
Actually one time I installed a new XP on a drive and upon completion I put that drive into another machine and it worked. Windows loaded up without problems. No other programs were installed though...
Dell T5500 with Dual Hexa Xeon CPU 3Ghz, 32Gb ram, GTX 1080
Amiga 1200 8Mb ram, 8Gb ssd

Kadri


Mostly starting first in safe mode and then restarting and installing all the different drivers was enough.
Most programs worked too.The aggressive protected ones needed a little more attention of course.
Purists don't like it and want a fresh install but it worked for me for a long time without any serious problem.
 

WAS

#6
Swapping HDDs with a Windows installation WILL WORK.

You will have to uninstall and reinstall drivers for the new system though. Expect numerous errors and prompts first boot.

I've done this on numerous occasions. (I do computer repair and management for a living)

The only real issues is if the Windows installation has specific Bios drivers installed for the system it was on. This hasn't really been a issue with newer systems and the bios are flashed to the board.

If you are swapping to the same-type dell workstation, you won't have issues. I've swapped HDDs from the same acer laptops with not a single error.

archonforest

Quote from: WASasquatch on January 06, 2016, 04:39:43 PM
Swapping HDDs with a Windows installation WILL WORK.

You will have to uninstall and reinstall drivers for the new system though. Expect numerous errors and prompts first boot.

I've done this on numerous occasions. (I do computer repair and management for a living)

The only real issues is if the Windows installation has specific Bios drivers installed for the system it was on. This hasn't really been a issue with newer systems and the bios are flashed to the board.

If you are swapping to the same-type dell workstation, you won't have issues. I've swapped HDDs from the same acer laptops with not a single error.

Hmmm...and the installed software will work?
The two station is not the same. They are both Dell Workstations but one is a T5400 and the other is a higher model.
Dell T5500 with Dual Hexa Xeon CPU 3Ghz, 32Gb ram, GTX 1080
Amiga 1200 8Mb ram, 8Gb ssd

WAS

#8
Quote from: archonforest on January 06, 2016, 04:48:35 PM
Quote from: WASasquatch on January 06, 2016, 04:39:43 PM
Swapping HDDs with a Windows installation WILL WORK.

You will have to uninstall and reinstall drivers for the new system though. Expect numerous errors and prompts first boot.

I've done this on numerous occasions. (I do computer repair and management for a living)

The only real issues is if the Windows installation has specific Bios drivers installed for the system it was on. This hasn't really been a issue with newer systems and the bios are flashed to the board.

If you are swapping to the same-type dell workstation, you won't have issues. I've swapped HDDs from the same acer laptops with not a single error.

Hmmm...and the installed software will work?
The two station is not the same. They are both Dell Workstations but one is a T5400 and the other is a higher model.

As long as the software isn't specific to any device attached to the old computer.

If you are not installing the device as a "master" HDD then the software could all be pointing to the wrong folder (IE it was C drive, now it's E drive) but that can be fixed by editing the registry entries for the software to point to the correct place by swapping C for E. But, a lot of software is intelligent enough to rewrite the registry when you launch it directly.

If you are planning to use it as a OS, then it should make itself C regardless and be just fine. But in order to use it as a slave you may need to edit your boot to include the new OS and harddrive. But again, most modern motherboards are intelligent enough to detect more then one OS and give you the option to boot into either. This I've seen as far back as 2001.