Adding second HDD, has Windows 7 on it to Windows 8.1 PC

Chaos

New Member
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3
Ok so, I want to put my old HDD into my new PC of which has Windows 8.1. Now, the only issue I see is that since the old drive has windows 7 on, it might screw everything up. It has Photoshop, layer styles, W.I.Ps, my YouTube video series that have and still to be uploaded. Also, if I try to use PhotoShop, it might now work as it built for Win 7. So I don't know what to do as I GBs of game files on my new PC which I don't want to re-install, OBS settings, programs etc if I was to downgrade this PC just for it.

But, long story short I just want to make the old hard drive act as a second one which I can my videos on and use PhotoShop from.

Any help would be greatly appreciated.
 
Last edited:

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 8.1 x64
You can make the old hard drive a secondary drive, but you cannot just connect it and expect the programs on it to work (they wont). You will have to reinstall everything. Sorry mate :(

Take care
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 8.1 Pro with Media Center x64
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Custom
    CPU
    Intel Core i7-3820 CPU OC @ 3.80GHz
    Motherboard
    Gigabyte G1.Assassin2
    Memory
    Corsair Dominator 16GB Quad Channel DDR3
    Graphics Card(s)
    Nvidia by EVGA - GeForce GTX 670 4GB
    Sound Card
    On board Creative SB X-Fi
    Monitor(s) Displays
    acer 24" H243H
    Screen Resolution
    1920 X 1080
    Hard Drives
    Main 500GB Hybrid Drive @ 7,200RPM
    Secondary OCZ SSD Vertex 3 Max IOPS
    PSU
    Silent Pro 1000w gold 80+
    Case
    Azza Hurrican 2000
    Cooling
    Liquid CPU cooler & fans
    Keyboard
    Microsoft Comfort Curve 2000
    Mouse
    Tek Republic Wired Laser Mouse
    Internet Speed
    5ms Ping 5.15Mb/s Download .64Mb/s Upload
    Browser
    Internet Explorer
    Antivirus
    Defender, Malwarebytes
Expected that at I had to do that with my XP one good few years ago....

Oh well, guess I can downgrade to 7 cause all I have is games installed, ha.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 8.1 x64
If you downgrade, you will still have to reinstall everything on the hdd...

Windows 7 doesn't just 'match up' with an extra HDD, there are registry entries, and lots of stuff that go on when you install something. This goes for all computers.

I'm gathering that you have a new computer with 8 on it, and you want to downgrade to windows 7 in order to get the stuff on this spare HDD (taken out of another Windows 7 computer) to work. It won't work like that. It only works if you match up the spare HDD with the same computer you removed it from originally (where you actually installed the software).

If I got it wrong, let me know.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 8.1 Pro with Media Center x64
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Custom
    CPU
    Intel Core i7-3820 CPU OC @ 3.80GHz
    Motherboard
    Gigabyte G1.Assassin2
    Memory
    Corsair Dominator 16GB Quad Channel DDR3
    Graphics Card(s)
    Nvidia by EVGA - GeForce GTX 670 4GB
    Sound Card
    On board Creative SB X-Fi
    Monitor(s) Displays
    acer 24" H243H
    Screen Resolution
    1920 X 1080
    Hard Drives
    Main 500GB Hybrid Drive @ 7,200RPM
    Secondary OCZ SSD Vertex 3 Max IOPS
    PSU
    Silent Pro 1000w gold 80+
    Case
    Azza Hurrican 2000
    Cooling
    Liquid CPU cooler & fans
    Keyboard
    Microsoft Comfort Curve 2000
    Mouse
    Tek Republic Wired Laser Mouse
    Internet Speed
    5ms Ping 5.15Mb/s Download .64Mb/s Upload
    Browser
    Internet Explorer
    Antivirus
    Defender, Malwarebytes
Why not dual boot....Easybcd free enables you to do this....On starting your computer you get the choice of either W8 or W7.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 8 Pro
I was thinking that there. I complete blanked out about that. Might be an option. Cheers.

Note: If that Windows 7 drive came from an another PC set-up which I doubt it is, you cannot use it as a second boot option on your new PC setup since it is a different set of hardware. Thus, you might still need to do a fresh install of Windows 7 if you want to dual boot on your new PC build.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 8
    Computer type
    Laptop
If your old PC still works fine, you can boot it and run "Sysprep" and prepare the "Windows 7" to work on completely different hardware. You will find a detailed tutorial here - Windows 7 Installation - Transfer to a New Computer - Windows 7 Help Forums

Then connect the old HDD to the new machine and check whether it boot and works fine ( make sure to disconnect the new HDD with "Win 8" ). You may need to enable "legacy/CSM" mode in new PC's BIOS ( if it is disabled by default ) in order for "Win 7" to boot. If everything looks good, download and run "Windows 8.1 Upgrade Assistant" from the below link.

Upgrade Assistant: FAQ - Windows Help

The upgrade assistant will scan all your programs and will let you know which of the already installed programs are compatible with "8.1".

updatewindows7to81-3.png



If your old games are listed as compatible, you can upgrade the "Windows 7" installation to "8.1" safely using the "8.1" installation media you already have and use your legal key to activate.

http://www.eightforums.com/tutorials/2234-upgrade-install-windows-8-windows-8-1-a.html

Make sure to select "Keep Windows settings, Personal files and Apps" to successfully migrate your old games to new "8.1" install.

7861d1345232092t-upgrade-install-windows-8-windows-8-1-step-4.jpg
 
Last edited:

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 7
If the Windows 7 was an OEM install it's not transferable to a new PC, not according to the EULA anyway. You'll likely have activation issues when moved to the new hardware.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 10 Education 64 Bit
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Asus
    CPU
    AMD Phenom II X4 980 Black Edition Deneb 3.7GHz
    Motherboard
    ASUS M4N68T-M V2 µATX Motherboard
    Memory
    8GB 4GBx2 Kingston PC10600 DDR3 1333 Memory
    Graphics Card(s)
    NVIDIA Geforce GT640 2 Gig DDR3 PCIe
    Sound Card
    VIA VT1708s High Definition Audio 8-channel Onboard
    Monitor(s) Displays
    22" LG E2242 1080p and 2 19" I-INC AG191D
    Screen Resolution
    1280x1024 - 1920x1080 - 1280x1024
    Hard Drives
    Crucial MX100 256 GB SSD and 500 GB WD Blue SATA
    PSU
    Thermaltake TR 620
    Case
    Power Up Black ATX Mid-Tower Case
    Cooling
    Stock heatsink fan
    Keyboard
    Logitech Wireless K350 Wave
    Mouse
    Logitech M570 Trackball and T650 TouchPad
    Internet Speed
    80 Mbps Down 30 Mbps Up
    Browser
    Internet Explorer 11
    Antivirus
    Windows Defender
    Other Info
    HP DVD1040e Lightscribe - External USB2
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