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old hard drive

Nagariss
By Nagariss
in Storage Devices
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If your old hard rdive had windows on it, make sure to back up whatever you need off of it and then re-format it before you start installing.

Hard drives are probably the most common part for re-use when building new pc's

 

EDIT: As long as the old drive is a SATA and not IDE drive.

When in doubt, re-format.

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If your old hard rdive had windows on it, make sure to back up whatever you need off of it and then re-format it before you start installing.

Hard drives are probably the most common part for re-use when building new pc's

 

EDIT: As long as the old drive is a SATA and not IDE drive.

when you mean backup you mean save everything?

are you suggesting that i download a windows 8.1 ISO?

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When I say back up, I mean everything that you want backed up data-wise (so pictures, documents music, etc) because you will have to re-format the drive, which erases EVERYTHING.

That being said, this is easier to do when you have another drive to back up onto.

 

As far as windows, get whatever version you want. I recommend 10 (with lots of tweaks) but 8.1 will work if that's what you want.

When in doubt, re-format.

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when you mean backup you mean save everything?

are you suggesting that i download a windows 8.1 ISO?

Save everything from media to anything required 

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I am about to start building a new pc but i just want to know if i can re-use my old hard drive from my previous computer without encountering any problems.

 

Hey there Nagariss,
 
If you are reusing an old drive there are two things that you should do that I would recommend:
- Before putting it in the new system I'd check the drive's health and see if it's still safe to store your data. I would run a full scan for any bad sectors that might have occured. I'd also get the raw values of the S.M.A.R.T. status and see what they have to say (post them here if you are not sure how to rad them)
 
- I'd back up everything from the boot partition and format it with the OS installer once you start installing the new OS in the new system. Do have in mind that a fresh install of the OS is always recommended due to the new hardware. All the applications and games need to be reinstalled too. The rest of the data on the other partitions should be fine.
 
What's the drive's brand and model? 
 
Captain_WD.

If this helped you, like and choose it as best answer - you might help someone else with the same issue. ^_^
WDC Representative, http://www.wdc.com/ 

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Hey there Nagariss,
 
If you are reusing an old drive there are two things that you should do that I would recommend:
- Before putting it in the new system I'd check the drive's health and see if it's still safe to store your data. I would run a full scan for any bad sectors that might have occured. I'd also get the raw values of the S.M.A.R.T. status and see what they have to say (post them here if you are not sure how to rad them)
 
- I'd back up everything from the boot partition and format it with the OS installer once you start installing the new OS in the new system. Do have in mind that a fresh install of the OS is always recommended due to the new hardware. All the applications and games need to be reinstalled too. The rest of the data on the other partitions should be fine.
 
What's the drive's brand and model? 
 
Captain_WD.

 

what is a boot pratition?

pardon my noobness

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what is a boot pratition?

pardon my noobness

 

The is where your OS is installed ( the C drive) Your drive can have other partitions (drive letters) too. :)

 

Captain_WD.

If this helped you, like and choose it as best answer - you might help someone else with the same issue. ^_^
WDC Representative, http://www.wdc.com/ 

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would it be more simple for me to just wipe everything?

i dont have anything important on it.  :huh:

maybe just keep all my games.

 

The games have to be reinstalled anyway, so wiping everything would be the easiest way :) Just freshly install everything, including the OS :)

 

Captain_WD.

If this helped you, like and choose it as best answer - you might help someone else with the same issue. ^_^
WDC Representative, http://www.wdc.com/ 

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~snip~

 

Yes, you should just download the iso file. The drivers should be automatically downloaded and installed once you update your OS. There are some generic ones that are built in inside the OS. Here's some more info: http://windows.microsoft.com/en-us/windows-8/create-reset-refresh-media
 
Captain_WD.

If this helped you, like and choose it as best answer - you might help someone else with the same issue. ^_^
WDC Representative, http://www.wdc.com/ 

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