Want computer upgrade, don't want to lose programs

CrazyAnimator

Posts: 7   +0
The warranty on my computer is about to go, and I've been having so many issues with it that it's not worth even trying to call customer support to try to get them to fix it. I had to replace the motherboard and power supply like 6 months ago for the THIRD time, I even put in a new heatsink and cooling fans this time, and I'm having the same issues all over again.

If I build a new computer, is there a way that I can just transfer the hard drive so I keep my system intact? I have all my files backed up on external drives, but there's a few programs and software plugins that I can't get again. Somewhere in moving, I've moved like three times in the last year, I've lost the discs and can't afford to re-buy the software and I need them for audio and computer graphics work.
 
When booting for the first time your old HDD on a new system, try booting in Safe Mode first. Most of the time this will work, then boot in normal mode.
 
try what winxpert said just keep that old hdd or you could even get a hdd to usb converter and use it like an external hdd drive or just secondary drive
 
If you are worried about loosing software due to expense, try a key crawling programme which will scan your PC for the keys of software, then you could get in touch with the company and request a new CD quoting your serial.

But yes transferring the disk to the new machine is the best plan, i am just thinking more long term (Hard drives don't last forever)
 
you won't be able to reuse the OS on the new system, but you CAN recover data files by pulling the old hard drive and using it as an external drive. Copy the files before pulling it. Then format the drive. Then pull it and use it as an external.
 
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