Adding Vista HDD with 7 HDD?

  • Thread starter gtuned
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gtuned

gtuned

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Just got a new computer, and i took out my old hard drive, and put it in, along with the one already in there. I can access all of my files fine,but my programs won't open or run, even when I try using Vista compatibility. And when I try to boot from that drive, it always says there's problems and to do the recovery. Anyone want to help me? And for the love of god, please be simple, I have no idea what im doing

Also, would the old computer being a dell, and the new an HP cause any conflict?
 
The only think I can think of is drivers for sata controllers.
Try starting in safemode, also you can use a program called "easy bcd" to add vista the boot menu so you do not have to disconnect drives.
 
Of course the Windows Vista HDD would conflict with your new computer. It does not have the right drivers for your new computer nor will it work correctly with the right drivers added to it when you boot up from the Vista HDD in your new computer. My suggestion is to back up the files from the Vista HDD to the Windows 7 HDD and format the Vista HDD. I don't know about recovering the programs from your Vista HDD to your Windows 7 HDD but those programs are just not designed to work on your Windows 7(It's likely if your old computer was 64-bit and the win 7 is 32-bit).
 
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It's possible to prep a hard drive so you can swap it from one computer to a completely different one (or at least it was for XP. Not sure if Vista's more finicky driver scheme will allow the same thing), but ultimately it takes just as much time to do what nick09 said, and your programs will work better for it too.
 
Umm you're all barking up the wrong tree. The programs won't run because they were installed on a different OS. The programs will be looking for registry entries on the new computer when they're on the old disk. The only option is to reinstall the programs.
 
DQuaN has it right. While Windows has the Easy Transfer Wizard to move a user's data to a new computer, it has no facility for migrating installed applications from one computer to another. Application must be reinstalled.

There are 3rd-party utilities out there that claim to be able to do this, but I've had very limited success with the few I've actually tried.

Installing a drive with installed apps does not magically install those apps on the other computer, but there's nothing preventing you from using the boot drive from one computer as a data drive in another.
 
DQuaN
Umm you're all barking up the wrong tree. The programs won't run because they were installed on a different OS. The programs will be looking for registry entries on the new computer when they're on the old disk. The only option is to reinstall the programs.
Click to expand...

Thats why you add it to the BCD so you can boot from it.
 
ROAD_DOGG33J
There were 2 trees to bark at: trying to use programs on the old drive booted in Windows 7 and trying to boot from the old drive.
Click to expand...

And both approaches were more than likely wrong.

1. The Vista HDD was probably from an OEM machine. Meaning that it won't run on anything but another refurb one JUST like it down to the hardware level.

2. The programs on the old HDD, will only work if they require no registry keys whatsoever, only a few programs are really like that, so attempting to run them off the old HDD would only work if the old HDD was booted off of. Now, if there are installation files on the old HDD, it might be possible to run that and reinstall, however now you're looking at the possibility of that software only being designed for 32 or even possibly(but rarely as 64bit became increasingly more popular with Win7) 64 Vista. In which case, they won't work very well and you'll end up just needing to re-download said program.
 
Yes there is no problem while the Windows Vista HDD would conflict with your new computer.Windows has the Easy Transfer Wizard to move a user's data to a new computer, it has no facility for migrating installed applications from one computer to another. Application must be reinstalled.
 

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