My current computer’s OS is Windows 8 64bit. I’ve been doing a little reading about virtual machine software. I’m not a computer geek but know just enough to be dangerous.
Basically what I would like to do is install the hard drive from my old computer into my new one. I have some old rare and no longer produced programs that ran on my old system (Vista32) that I would like to be able to use. I no longer have the disks for some of the programs and some were made by companies that are no longer in business so new install disks are not an option. (Mostly engineering programs).
I know I’d either have to upgrade to Win8 Pro to use Hyper-V, or get another program like VMware Workstation to setup a virtual machine on my new computer.
I guess my question is
Can I access on old hard drive from a VM (running VISTA) and run programs that were installed on that hard drive.?
The old hard drive is SATA so it will work in my new computer; I just want to run some of the old programs on that hard drive, at least the ones I can’t reinstall on my new computer.
Would this be possible without having a degree in Computer Science from MIT.
I’ve also been reading about dual-boots and maybe that is the way to go but seems it would be easier if I didn’t have to reboot every time I needed to use the old programs.
Right now I’m jumping between the old computer and my new one but I don’t know how much longer the old computer is going to last. It has a real hard time booting up, gets stuck in BIOS and I have to keep rebooting to get it to start the OS system. Actually I’ve not turned it off in over two months.
Any input will be appreciated. Maybe I just have to say good bye to my old programs.
There are other newer ( and more expansive) ones that can do the same calculations for me but after using the old ones for years it will be hard to change.
Basically what I would like to do is install the hard drive from my old computer into my new one. I have some old rare and no longer produced programs that ran on my old system (Vista32) that I would like to be able to use. I no longer have the disks for some of the programs and some were made by companies that are no longer in business so new install disks are not an option. (Mostly engineering programs).
I know I’d either have to upgrade to Win8 Pro to use Hyper-V, or get another program like VMware Workstation to setup a virtual machine on my new computer.
I guess my question is
Can I access on old hard drive from a VM (running VISTA) and run programs that were installed on that hard drive.?
The old hard drive is SATA so it will work in my new computer; I just want to run some of the old programs on that hard drive, at least the ones I can’t reinstall on my new computer.
Would this be possible without having a degree in Computer Science from MIT.
I’ve also been reading about dual-boots and maybe that is the way to go but seems it would be easier if I didn’t have to reboot every time I needed to use the old programs.
Right now I’m jumping between the old computer and my new one but I don’t know how much longer the old computer is going to last. It has a real hard time booting up, gets stuck in BIOS and I have to keep rebooting to get it to start the OS system. Actually I’ve not turned it off in over two months.
Any input will be appreciated. Maybe I just have to say good bye to my old programs.
There are other newer ( and more expansive) ones that can do the same calculations for me but after using the old ones for years it will be hard to change.
My Computer
System One
-
- OS
- Windows 8
- Computer type
- PC/Desktop
- System Manufacturer/Model
- ASUS
- CPU
- i5
- Memory
- 10GB
- Hard Drives
- 2 TB