2.5inch drive in desktop

[Peking Duck]

rescently bought a cheap desktop that runs windows xp i would like to know if it is possible to put the 2.5inch hdd from my old laptop whos mother board failed into my desktop and acess data off of it ?

thanks in advance-

 

[raybay]

Yes, you can access the drive...
You need an adapter to make all components fit the cables system in the new unit.

What we prefer to do is to insert the laptop drive into an external USB enclosure... then plug it into the new computer's USB port. After a short adjustment, your new system will give the laptop drive an ID, such as E, J or whatever... then you can go look at anything on the drive... copy files, and so on.

There is more to the install, if you want the laptop drive to work as the main drive in the desktop, but it is possible to do that, as well, by running the Windows Disk that setup the laptop drive in repair mode... to set it up in the desktop... then adding drivers and such.

 

[Peking Duck]

thanks very much i was actually thinking of attempting to use the 2.5inch as the main drive considering it has vista installed and all my data already present while the new computer is only running xp and i enjoy vista alot more.

 

[raybay]

It will work fine, but VISTA will detect that the drive location has changed. You then run your VISTA disk in repair or restore mode, and soon you are back in business... but you do have to remove or disable some drivers, as you install the drivers for the new case.

 

[Peking Duck]

just out of curiosity is it possible to mirror or move the content including the OS from the 2.5 to a bigger hdd. i hear the 2.5inch hdds have shorter life spans and with it already being 3 years old i dont want to risk making the 2.5inch my main drive and having it die on me. again sorry for going onto a different topic sorta.

 

[raybay]

In that case, I would buy a Seagate or Western Digital Black, then Acronis or other disk duplicating software to migrate the entire drive to a new install. There are a few tricks, so read up on whatever you plan to use, and the methodology.
I see no reason to avoid using a Seagate or Western Digital hard drive that has 5400 rpm and is not too large... Those two have taken care of most early failure issues.

 

[compdata]

I do have to point out that moving the Vista OEM license is technically a violation of the EULA and you are likely to have validation issues. I would consider this illegal, but at a minimum it absolves MS of any requirement to provide you updates or support.

http://discuss.pcmag.com/forums/1004364651/ShowPost.aspx

Here is an excerpt from MS QA:
http://oem.microsoft.com/script/contentpage.aspx?PageID=552846#faq1
"Q. Can my customers transfer or sell their OEM software licenses?

A. After an OEM software license has been installed on a PC, the license may not be installed on or transferred to another PC. However, the entire PC may be transferred to another end user along with the software license rights. When transferring the PC to the new end user the software media, manuals (if applicable) and certificate of authenticity label must be included. It is also advisable to include the original purchase invoice or receipt. The original end user cannot keep any copies of the software.

The end user license agreement (EULA) is granted to the end user by the System Builder and relates to the license on the PC with which it was originally distributed. Because the System Builder is required to support the license on that original PC, a System Builder can not support a license that has been moved from a PC they manufactured to one that they did not. This is one of the key reasons why an OEM System Builder license can't be transferred. For more information, click here."

 

[compdata]

Here is another good link on Tom's Hardware guide that has a nice chart explaining the difference between an OEM and retail OS license.

http://www.tomshardware.com/forum/235074-44-attn-difference-vista-retail-license

 

[Peking Duck]

oh hah i didnt even think about liscensing issues i was just curious as far as the technical aspect is concerned if i can do it. but it seems a bit of a hassle to save a buck i guess ill just acess the data i need and along the road sometime buy a copy of retail windows seven and upgrade. one last question however there is an upgrade path from winxp straight to seven right?

 

[compdata]

The upgrade path is there in terms of licenses (ie you can buy a win 7 upgrade disk and use it), however you can not do an upgrade install coming from XP. You either need to do an upgrade to Vista and then to Win 7 or just do a clean Win 7 install. Clean install is recommended anyway so should't be too different. You can use the Windows easy transfer utility to move files and settings http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/...31-973A-45C7-A4EC-4928FA173266&displaylang=en but you will have to reinstall all your programs.