PC w/o OS. Can I move harddrive to this and get my OS?

[okiniku]

I am buying a new pc w/o an OS on it, but it has had one installed and tested on the PC. Can I take the harddrives out from my current PC, and permanently put them in this new one, and have my new PC use this authentication of Windows?

[Geek-9pm]

Simple answer is NO.
Long answer after a lot of yadda yadda will also en in NO.
But the Long Answer has one catch. Here is part of it: IF the new PC is a clone of the old PC in every way, the windows installation may run on the new replacement computer.

Now do you really want the whole long answer?
Maybe somebody else will give it to you!

[squall_01]

Attucally I think he should be able to.  Yes, its easy to say NO and the matter of it being is still no but partly yes too.  I assume its xp what will happen is it will ask for a reactivation but it wont have the right drivers.

[okiniku]

Yes it is XP. Well I guess all i can do is try? Argh.

[Dias de verano]

Yes, its easy to say NO

Because it is the mostly correct answer.

[squall_01]

But not so much at the moment

[Dias de verano]

But not so much at the moment

Have you ever tried doing what he is asking about? I have.

[fgdn17]

I am buying a new pc w/o an OS on it, but it has had one installed and tested on the PC. Can I take the harddrives out from my current PC, and permanently put them in this new one, and have my new PC use this authentication of Windows?

NO..NO..NO

it will NOT use this authentication of Windows...that authentication is for different hardware...

BUT...if you have an OEM copy of xp you can do a repair/install on the new machine...then
activate it and it should be fine...IMO

Good Luck

[squall_01]

right but it should look for the diff and ask to reactivate.  Maybe cause its so differnt it mite not work.  Dias I am and thats what I was told.  IBID.

[fgdn17]

right but it should look for the diff and ask to reactivate.  Maybe cause its so differnt it mite not work.  Dias I am and thats what I was told.  IBID.

if the hardware is different, the disk most likely WILL NOT BOOT...therefore you do
a repair/install to pickup the new hardware...IMO

[squall_01]

you come here and do my OS class then.

[fgdn17]

ok...give everyone in the class an activated xp disk from an emachine system....

have them take it to a dell machine and install it....

let me know when it is working...without going through the steps I mentioned...

(insert your favorite brand of different computers for source/destination systems)

[squall_01]

that should work.  Eventually they see that its running the same activation and turn them off.

[fgdn17]

think you just failed the class...LOL!!!!!!!!!!!!

[squall_01]

how did I?  I did exatly as is.  Unless we used other active codes.