How to move hard drive from 1 laptop to another?[MOVED FROM WINDOWS]

dbohnet · 12-27-2008, 01:40 PM

I have a Dell Inspiron 5150 and the electical connection seems broken. I have another 5100 that I would like to move my hard drive from the 5150 to the 5100 in order to keep using the laptop. I tried the swap, but it didn't boot up. Ideas?

**Basementgeek** · 12-28-2008, 06:43 AM

Hi and welcome to the forum

Short answer is it will NOT work.

As you know a PC is composed of many parts. When windows was installed, it sees those parts and set itself up to work with "those" parts. The HD remembers these parts. If you take the HD out and put it in another PC, since the other PC has different parts the HD can't work with them.

BG

redoak · 12-29-2008, 03:14 AM

Questions: Couldn't the HDD be "scrubbed" clean? Of course all content would be lost, but if the contents are saved and the OS reinstalled all would be well. No?

Trying to educate myself. Apologize for the intrusion.

{redoak}

**Basementgeek** · 12-29-2008, 07:12 AM

Yes, it should work. As you said - save all your important files first to another media (CD/DVD/Thumb drive)

BG

RockLee · 12-29-2008, 07:18 AM

As long as the hard drive is compatible doing it that way shouldn't be any different than installing a new drive

**Old Rich** · 12-29-2008, 07:24 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by dbohnet

I have a Dell Inspiron 5150 and the electical connection seems broken. I have another 5100 that I would like to move my hard drive from the 5150 to the 5100 in order to keep using the laptop. I tried the swap, but it didn't boot up. Ideas?

Try a repair install on the drive . .

These are good guides to performing a repair install

http://www.michaelstevenstech.com/XPrepairinstall.htm
http://www.informationweek.com/windo...leID=189400897