Moving system into a new case: Will my OS be wiped off?

A

Atham

Posts: 454   +0
Hello Techspot,

I am going to get my self a new case and a PSU. I would like to move my current system into it. Will the information on my HDD be wiped off or not.

And if there is any way please tell me. I checked the guide on Techspot but it is a bit outdated and I am not changing my motherboard.

Thanks
 
It is magnetic storeage just like a floppy or tape and is thus not power dependent. Unless you erase it ot it is exposed to an extreamly powerful magnet the data on your HDD will be fine.
 
You won't have any problems if you transplant all you current pc into a different case, with the same PSU or a new one.
But if you changed any of the major components, e.g. Motherboard, graphics card etc, then you would have problems. Reason is that each time you boot Windows, it does some checks on the part numbers of boards that make up your PC, and compares with what they were the last time you booted it.
If numbers are the same as before, all is well. If some of the part numbers are different, Windows sees your PC as a different machine, so then your copy of Windows is now on 2 PC's, and that's not allowed ! (by M.Soft.)
But the Pc case has no part numbers,(that are checked) so it won't make any difference.
Also you don't lose data by unplugging the hard drive.
When you fit the new motherboard, take time fitting the 'Stand-off's into the case, to fix the board to. Have a good look at the old case, and see how the board was fixed. (Could be four or six stand-off's.)
Many 'Non-booting' PC's are traced to this area.
 
I will add a new discreet GPU as I have an IGP. Would that change something, if I boot up first with the IGP and then boot up with the GPU?
 
Atham said:
I will add a new discreet GPU as I have an IGP. Would that change something, if I boot up first with the IGP and then boot up with the GPU?
Click to expand...

Yes, you will have driver conflicts resulting in system crashes. If you are going to add a dedicated GPU card you must disable the onboard video in the BIOS.
 
Probably best to transfer your existing system components to the new case first as is. After you've verified that there are no issues then install the new video card and appropriate drivers for Windows 7.
 
"On-board" graphics vs. PCI-E card.

If you have an empty graphic card slot, probably PCI-Express type, you can fit a graphic card, in which case your bios should automatically detect that.
But sometimes it doesn't happen. If you buy the graphic card new, then you will get a CD with the driver on it, but past experience says it could be an old version, so you will need to go to the makers site, and download the latest version.
Will be Nvidia or AMD (for ATI drivers.)
In the BIOS you will need to set, "integrated graphics=disabled" (or "off").
In my Dell, I set integrated graphics to "auto", which works, and detects if I have a graphic card in, or not.
(*Some motherboards don't have an "on-board" graphic chip, so it's worth paying a bit more for one that does, just in case your PCI-E card packs up one day, you can then drop back to the integrated option, and still use the PC.)
 
All of the above.

Plus

1) If you unplug anything, do note how to plug it back again
2) Check all plugs/cables that nothing has become loose
3) If in a dry area, do not touch the RAM without anti-static
 
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