Linux loaded hard drives exchange?

justo · 04-15-2007, 02:38 PM

We are debating about the best way to use Linux loaded hard drives in another PC.A good example is a floppy booter PC. I had read on some Linux board that as soon as you load the Linux to the hard drive.Shut that PC down.Remove the HD then place it in the other PC to boot up.It fits the load to the second PC. I have swapped a HD that I used to another PC and it fitted to the next PC.But does it always work when you load to one PC and not boot up on that but boot up in the next??

A-Nick4me · 04-15-2007, 06:19 PM

I find your poet hard to understand what it is you are trying to say.
What do mean by it It fits the load to the second PC?

When you install an operating system onto a hard drive in a computer, Drivers are installed for the hardware that is in that computer. If you move that hard drive to another computer it will not have all of the drivers required to run the other computer.

In XP you can do a repair install to fix this. I do not know if that is possible with Linux? I don't think it is.

justo · 04-15-2007, 07:09 PM

You should try it then know for sure if it will or will not work.Linux is not much like Windows. I have switched some hard drives and it delivered the drivers that was required for PC number two. <> FYI <> I do not speak English. If you have not tried Linux lately then I will name some that are easy to work.PC Linux 2007 TR3 .Mepis 6.5 .Mint Bianca (Either Gnome or KDE) KDE must use a DVD . Those are fun to do. burning the ISO is easy with NERO. >> http://distrowatch.com/ here .Do Mepis 6.5 >> http://distrowatch.com/table.php?distribution=mepis

justo · 04-15-2007, 08:34 PM

Well.I see you have Ubuntu already loaded so you have a good start on this project.

**K-B** · 04-16-2007, 05:01 AM

Yeah justo, I've tried that too, in fact, once when I had XP & PCLinuxOS on the same hard drive, I had to replace my motherboard, and XP wouldn't even start to boot, but PCLinuxOS booted without a problem. I just had to re-install the driver for the ethernet adapter.

**Bartender** · 04-16-2007, 06:13 AM

Hi, justo -
I've done what you describe, more or less, but it was by mistake. I'm sort of a PC pack rat. Have four or five loose hard drives laying around. One has PCLOS, another has Ubuntu, this one over here is carrying some dual-boot project I was working on...
So, a friend's Pentium 4 Dell, built about 2001 or 2002, loses its HDD. He's always been very security-conscious, worrying about viruses and such, so I said "Let's install Ubuntu and see what happens."
I stuck in a hard drive that had Ubuntu installed to it, but unlike what you describe this drive had been run several times in my old PIII 450 test PC. Not a fresh, never booted install.
I just assumed we'd have to wipe Ubuntu and start over, like you do in Windows. I tried but failed to find the right key to get into the BIOS and tell the PC to boot from the optical drive. Ubuntu started up. I didn't want to hold down the power button right in the middle of that process, so we sat back and waited for the Linux version of the blue screen of death. It never happened. Ubuntu ran just fine.

justo · 04-16-2007, 07:15 AM

Bartender and Kyle.I started with Windows and later Linux with zero knowledge and very little info.So I did all kinds of things and found out that only a few times I have damaged any hardware.I did wipe out a circuit in a new monitor by telling Redhat what driver I wanted rather than the one it picked.Plugged in hard drives while the PCs were running ,(really dumb move) But out of ignorance I made several discoveries.Then I would run to forums and experts tell me that some things were impossible.Then later come back saying it was possible. I damaged a lot of Windows loads and had to buy two XP disk in one month because they refused me reloads.( I later learned better ways to deal with MS) But that got me in to Linux. Linux is free by downloads so I burn a lot of disk.If one Linux version blinks a little I just load another over the top of it. But that Dell and some old Compaqs are difficult for me to load.I have thrown two Dells out because of that but swapped hard drives on the Compaq floppy loaders. I used Mepis and Kubuntu on those.But there is an older Compaq that I always toss back in the dumpster.I can not make anything load on it.

**Bartender** · 04-16-2007, 05:13 PM

Your Compaq probly has a hardware problem, and I'm guessing that would be power supply. I knew a guy who rented a shop downtown and tried to make a living selling secondhand PC's. He told me one day that he gets truckloads of Compaqs all the time. Nothing wrong with them but burned out PSU's.

justo · 04-16-2007, 07:25 PM

Oh,Yes I have one old one that was given to me and has a burned out power supply.It is not like these late model PCs on wiring so I just stored it for later.I have a later model that loads by floppy or line transfer or something like that. I loaded Win 2000 and it works fine.The only floppy capable Linux I have is Xandros 2 but I picked Win 2000..

04-15-2007, 02:38 PM	#1 (permalink)
justo Registered User Join Date: Dec 2006 Location: TEXAS Posts: 203 OS: VISTA/XP/WIN2K/PC LINUX/MCN LINUX THERMALTAKE XASER2.Several home mades.	Linux loaded hard drives exchange? We are debating about the best way to use Linux loaded hard drives in another PC.A good example is a floppy booter PC. I had read on some Linux board that as soon as you load the Linux to the hard drive.Shut that PC down.Remove the HD then place it in the other PC to boot up.It fits the load to the second PC. I have swapped a HD that I used to another PC and it fitted to the next PC.But does it always work when you load to one PC and not boot up on that but boot up in the next??

04-15-2007, 06:19 PM	#2 (permalink)
A-Nick4me Registered User Join Date: Jul 2006 Location: Canadian West Coast Posts: 225 OS: Ubuntu & XP Home My System	Re: Linux loaded hard drives exchange? I find your poet hard to understand what it is you are trying to say. What do mean by it It fits the load to the second PC? When you install an operating system onto a hard drive in a computer, Drivers are installed for the hardware that is in that computer. If you move that hard drive to another computer it will not have all of the drivers required to run the other computer. In XP you can do a repair install to fix this. I do not know if that is possible with Linux? I don't think it is.

04-15-2007, 07:09 PM	#3 (permalink)
justo Registered User Join Date: Dec 2006 Location: TEXAS Posts: 203 OS: VISTA/XP/WIN2K/PC LINUX/MCN LINUX THERMALTAKE XASER2.Several home mades.	Re: Linux loaded hard drives exchange? You should try it then know for sure if it will or will not work.Linux is not much like Windows. I have switched some hard drives and it delivered the drivers that was required for PC number two. <> FYI <> I do not speak English. If you have not tried Linux lately then I will name some that are easy to work.PC Linux 2007 TR3 .Mepis 6.5 .Mint Bianca (Either Gnome or KDE) KDE must use a DVD . Those are fun to do. burning the ISO is easy with NERO. >> http://distrowatch.com/ here .Do Mepis 6.5 >> http://distrowatch.com/table.php?distribution=mepis Last edited by justo; 04-15-2007 at 07:29 PM.

04-15-2007, 08:34 PM	#4 (permalink)
justo Registered User Join Date: Dec 2006 Location: TEXAS Posts: 203 OS: VISTA/XP/WIN2K/PC LINUX/MCN LINUX THERMALTAKE XASER2.Several home mades.	Re: Linux loaded hard drives exchange? Well.I see you have Ubuntu already loaded so you have a good start on this project.

04-16-2007, 05:01 AM	#5 (permalink)
K-B Moderator, Linux Join Date: Oct 2005 Location: NY Posts: 2,878 OS: Vista, Ubuntu My System	Re: Linux loaded hard drives exchange? Yeah justo, I've tried that too, in fact, once when I had XP & PCLinuxOS on the same hard drive, I had to replace my motherboard, and XP wouldn't even start to boot, but PCLinuxOS booted without a problem. I just had to re-install the driver for the ethernet adapter. __________________

04-16-2007, 06:13 AM	#6 (permalink)
Bartender Mentally divergent Join Date: Jun 2005 Location: Chehalis, WA, USA Posts: 1,285 OS: W2K, Ubuntu 8.04	Re: Linux loaded hard drives exchange? Hi, justo - I've done what you describe, more or less, but it was by mistake. I'm sort of a PC pack rat. Have four or five loose hard drives laying around. One has PCLOS, another has Ubuntu, this one over here is carrying some dual-boot project I was working on... So, a friend's Pentium 4 Dell, built about 2001 or 2002, loses its HDD. He's always been very security-conscious, worrying about viruses and such, so I said "Let's install Ubuntu and see what happens." I stuck in a hard drive that had Ubuntu installed to it, but unlike what you describe this drive had been run several times in my old PIII 450 test PC. Not a fresh, never booted install. I just assumed we'd have to wipe Ubuntu and start over, like you do in Windows. I tried but failed to find the right key to get into the BIOS and tell the PC to boot from the optical drive. Ubuntu started up. I didn't want to hold down the power button right in the middle of that process, so we sat back and waited for the Linux version of the blue screen of death. It never happened. Ubuntu ran just fine. Last edited by Bartender; 04-16-2007 at 06:15 AM.

04-16-2007, 07:15 AM	#7 (permalink)
justo Registered User Join Date: Dec 2006 Location: TEXAS Posts: 203 OS: VISTA/XP/WIN2K/PC LINUX/MCN LINUX THERMALTAKE XASER2.Several home mades.	Re: Linux loaded hard drives exchange? Bartender and Kyle.I started with Windows and later Linux with zero knowledge and very little info.So I did all kinds of things and found out that only a few times I have damaged any hardware.I did wipe out a circuit in a new monitor by telling Redhat what driver I wanted rather than the one it picked.Plugged in hard drives while the PCs were running ,(really dumb move) But out of ignorance I made several discoveries.Then I would run to forums and experts tell me that some things were impossible.Then later come back saying it was possible. I damaged a lot of Windows loads and had to buy two XP disk in one month because they refused me reloads.( I later learned better ways to deal with MS) But that got me in to Linux. Linux is free by downloads so I burn a lot of disk.If one Linux version blinks a little I just load another over the top of it. But that Dell and some old Compaqs are difficult for me to load.I have thrown two Dells out because of that but swapped hard drives on the Compaq floppy loaders. I used Mepis and Kubuntu on those.But there is an older Compaq that I always toss back in the dumpster.I can not make anything load on it.

04-16-2007, 05:13 PM	#8 (permalink)
Bartender Mentally divergent Join Date: Jun 2005 Location: Chehalis, WA, USA Posts: 1,285 OS: W2K, Ubuntu 8.04	Re: Linux loaded hard drives exchange? Your Compaq probly has a hardware problem, and I'm guessing that would be power supply. I knew a guy who rented a shop downtown and tried to make a living selling secondhand PC's. He told me one day that he gets truckloads of Compaqs all the time. Nothing wrong with them but burned out PSU's.

04-16-2007, 07:25 PM	#9 (permalink)
justo Registered User Join Date: Dec 2006 Location: TEXAS Posts: 203 OS: VISTA/XP/WIN2K/PC LINUX/MCN LINUX THERMALTAKE XASER2.Several home mades.	Re: Linux loaded hard drives exchange? Oh,Yes I have one old one that was given to me and has a burned out power supply.It is not like these late model PCs on wiring so I just stored it for later.I have a later model that loads by floppy or line transfer or something like that. I loaded Win 2000 and it works fine.The only floppy capable Linux I have is Xandros 2 but I picked Win 2000..