My computer died - question about transfer of hard drive.

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pewe

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As the title says, my Acer laptop died on me.
I have ordered a new laptop which is an HP.

If I transfer my existing hard drive with win 8.1 and all my programmes installed from the Acer to the HP, what problems will I encounter, and are they surmountable.

Thanks in advance for any input.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Win 8 Pro - 64Bit
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Acer 8930
    Memory
    6GB
    Hard Drives
    WD 300GB, WD 500GB
If your new PC was also an Acer with the same type of CPU, you might get away with a HD swap, But since the new one is an HP with probably a totally different CPU, you're stuck with using the new PC with the HD that came with it.

There are several different ways, that your old HD can be connected to your new PC, via a USB cable, so that you can access and copy all the files from the old HD to the new one. Programs themselves cannot be copied, but you have to be installed from the original media.

Almost any decent Computer Shop can hook up your old HD to their own computer, access all your data files and burn them to a DVD for you.
I do that quite often for my own customers. As long as they give me the old PC, I don't even charge for the data recovery service.

Good Luck!
TechnoMage :cool:
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Win-8.1/Pro/64
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Acer X-1200
    CPU
    AMD 2 Core
    Motherboard
    Acer
    Memory
    Crucial, 4GB
    Graphics Card(s)
    NVIDEA GeForce 9200
    Sound Card
    On Board
    Monitor(s) Displays
    24" Acer
    Hard Drives
    Sandisk, SSD 500GB
    PSU
    Acer
    Case
    SFF Slimline
    Keyboard
    emachines 101 key
    Mouse
    Logitech Wireless
    Internet Speed
    5 Meg
    Browser
    Firefox
    Antivirus
    Windows Defender
    Other Info
    Using Classic Shell on Win-8.1 /pro/64
If the old drive died, there's also a chance it corrupted some files in the process. Your best bet is to start new with the HP, and just worry about salvaging your user data from the old drive, like photos, documents, etc.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 8.1 Pro x64
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    CPU
    Intel Core i7-3770K
    Motherboard
    Gigabyte GA-Z77-UD3H
    Memory
    16 GB Patriot Viper 3 DDR3-1600
    Graphics Card(s)
    Nvidia 470 GTX
    Sound Card
    Onboard
    Hard Drives
    Crucial M4 256 GB, WD WD20EFRX 2 TB
    PSU
    OCZ 700W
    Case
    Corsair 300R
    Cooling
    Cooler Master Hyper 212 Evo
If you're willing to experiment, I recommend using LapLink PCMover software. It may not transfer ALL your apps, but even if it does only some of them, that's less work for you to reinstall.
 

My Computer

System One

Thanks guys.
It was the laptop (drive controller I think) that died - the hard drives (had 2 in it) are OK.

(Oh for the days of Win 3.1).

Another question.
If I use the Win 8.1 installation on the new Laptop I assume it will be an OEM license - will I be able to just change the license to a retail version, or will that involve a re-install ?
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Win 8 Pro - 64Bit
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Acer 8930
    Memory
    6GB
    Hard Drives
    WD 300GB, WD 500GB
pewe said:
...If I use the Win 8.1 installation on the new Laptop I assume it will be an OEM license - will I be able to just change the license to a retail version, or will that involve a re-install ?
Click to expand...
Yes, I did exactly that. From a local computer big-store, I purchased a Windows 7 Pro upgrade [which came from MS] for my OEM Windows 7 Home Edition [or whatever the name was].
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 7 Pro 64bit [MS blue-disk set]
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    2 Acers & 1 Antec[?]
    CPU
    i7 in 2 Acers, i5 in desktop
    Motherboard
    Desktop w/Gigabyte
    Memory
    Two w/16GB, 1 w/8GB
    Graphics Card(s)
    Laptops GameWorthy; Desktop maybe GameWorthy
    Monitor(s) Displays
    flatscreens; 2 are BluRay worthy
    Screen Resolution
    1368x768; 1600x900
    Hard Drives
    1TB internals; 2 ext usb WD 1TB HDs
    PSU
    what's PSU?
    Cooling
    Regular plus external fans
    Keyboard
    desktio w/PS2
    Mouse
    desktop w/PS2
    Internet Speed
    DSL middle level [160?]
    Browser
    from Netscape 0.9 to FF 36
    Antivirus
    well-balanced, well-configured mult-layered defense is best
    Other Info
    From MS-DOS 3.3, MS-DOS 6.22, from Windows 3.1 to WFW 3.11 to Windows 95-98SE, now to Windows 7 Pro.
    Security for now: Windows 7 Firewall, Emsisoft AM, MSE [scan-only], SpywareBlaster, Ruiware/BillP combine
Thanks Roland.:thumb:

I will try my Win8pro key when the laptop arrives.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Win 8 Pro - 64Bit
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Acer 8930
    Memory
    6GB
    Hard Drives
    WD 300GB, WD 500GB
It seems this may not be possible.
When I enter the retails windows 8 key I get a message saying that this key cannot be used on this computer.

Anyone any ideas?
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Win 8 Pro - 64Bit
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Acer 8930
    Memory
    6GB
    Hard Drives
    WD 300GB, WD 500GB
pewe said:
It seems this may not be possible.
When I enter the retails windows 8 key I get a message saying that this key cannot be used on this computer.

Anyone any ideas?
Click to expand...
Unless its a Pro key why bother there is no difference between OEM and Retail except for tech support which your getting here anyway
If you do have a pro key use add Features to install it.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 8.1 Pro MC
    Computer type
    Laptop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Asus G75VW / Z97 Pro
    CPU
    Intel Core i7-3610QM / I7-4790K
    Motherboard
    Z97 Pro
    Memory
    16 GB Hyundai HTM315156CFR8C-PB PC3-12800
    Graphics Card(s)
    nVIDIA GeForce GTX 670M (GF114M)
    Sound Card
    VIA 6.0.10.1600
    Screen Resolution
    1080
    Hard Drives
    Samsung 850 Pro 256, Samsung 850 Pro 1TB
    Internet Speed
    30 down 3 up
    Browser
    Explorer 11
    Antivirus
    NIS and Malwarebytes
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