Windows install

[pippy0512]

Just a quick qeustion, i want to move a Laptop hard drive from one laptop to amother, do i need to reinstall windows and if so will i loose all my data? with almost a TB to move off the hard drive im trying to avoid it!

 

[KSoD]

Yes you will have to reinstall Windows. Windows when installed does so with a hardware profile of the system it is installed with. So if that profile doesn't match exactly, it will require a reinstall or the system will not work or be completely unstable for use. The drivers used for use with the hardware are installed for that specific system.

Most likely it will cause you to lose your data. It is best to do your best to back it up.

 

[carnageX]

Just a quick qeustion, i want to move a Laptop hard drive from one laptop to amother, do i need to reinstall windows and if so will i loose all my data? with almost a TB to move off the hard drive im trying to avoid it!

Depends.

With XP, you can perform a repair install and it should rebuild the hardware profile (may not always work, so back your important data up prior).

If you're running Windows 7 Pro, you should be able to swap the drive (done this twice with Win7 Pro install of mine). I've been able to just swap out the harddrive, boot up, and install drivers in 2 separate laptops.

Can also try using Sysprep, and selecting the OOBE option to build the hardware profile on boot after you swap the drive over.