Lost programs with harddrive change

Ed Meadway · Post by **Ed Meadway** » 11 Nov 2008 6:33 am

Computer #1 had many programs loaded into it including Word, Excel, Access, BB, etc. and it worked fine. But because it was 8 years old I took the HD out of Comp #1 and put it in newer computer #2. On comp 2 it shows as a second (slave) drive e: I created a new icon for BB and it works fine. The problem is if I try to open up a word, excel, or access file I get a message like "can't find the program that created this". It gives me the option to browse to find the program. I can't find it anywhere. Where did these programs go? I'm sure I can reload them, but I'm surprised I can't find them. Both comps are running XP. Thanks.........Ed

Cal Sharp · Post by **Cal Sharp** » 11 Nov 2008 11:35 am

You'll need to reinstall MS Office from the installation disks. As you can see, the new comp won't recognize some programs that have just been moved rather than actually installed.

Ed Meadway · Post by **Ed Meadway** » 11 Nov 2008 12:18 pm

Hey Cal thanks for the quick return!! I do understand I will have to reload the office suite, but I'm having trouble understanding why. All I left behind when switching was:
ram - which is volatile
bios - I don't think anything is in there that I'd need
CPU - that doesn't retain anything (I don't think)

I took a good working HD and installed it as a slave drive. After I log on to the newly installed HD I am thinking it should act just like it did in the old computer.

Should I reload in drive c: or e: ?? Thanks......Ed

Cal Sharp · Post by **Cal Sharp** » 11 Nov 2008 12:40 pm

I'm a Mac guy, but that dang Windows Registry would likely be the problem. You could try making the old hard drive the master (C) drive in the new comp and see what happens, but it's probably slow and small which would negate some of the benefit of having a new computer. Might have to set it up as such in the BIOS. I'd reinstall MS Office. Good luck. Let us know...

Wiz Feinberg · Post by **Wiz Feinberg** » 11 Nov 2008 1:44 pm

Cal Sharp wrote:I'm a Mac guy, but that dang Windows Registry would likely be the problem. You could try making the old hard drive the master (C) drive in the new comp and see what happens ...

NO!

Wiz Feinberg · Post by **Wiz Feinberg** » 11 Nov 2008 1:53 pm

A hard drive for Windows operating systems cannot be simply moved from one computer to another, unless the other computer is identical to the first one. This means all hardware must match 100%. If the motherboard is different, or is a different revision, the computer will not boot from the old hard drive.

Windows programs cannot be moved between computers without being reinstalled. Almost every program that runs under Windows has files that are sent to various different locations, plus sometimes hundreds of Registry entries that make it function properly. Many programs initiate Windows "Services" that must be Registered. Most programs require licenses to be authenticated and only allow for one installation, per payment.

The bottom line is that Ed is going to have to install all of his programs into the new computer and re-license those requiring licenses to work. Some will require a new payment to be used on another computer. The data files saved on the old hard drive will still be usable, such as .qbw Quickbooks data files.

Jack Stoner · Post by **Jack Stoner** » 11 Nov 2008 2:35 pm

In refernce to the licenses. If the software (Operating System or applications such as MS Office) is "OEM" software then it's only legally licensed for the PC it was delivered with or first installed on.

Cal Sharp · Post by **Cal Sharp** » 11 Nov 2008 4:21 pm

On a Mac you can copy almost any app from one comp to another and it'll run fine. Lots of reasons for this - not the least of which is that Apple makes money from hardware and Microsoft from software - but it comes in handy. Hard drives are pretty much interchangeable too, because most recent Macs will have the same, or at least compatible, hardware.

Jack Stoner · Post by **Jack Stoner** » 12 Nov 2008 3:16 am

PC's that run Microsoft Operating Systems have so many different hardware combinations or potential hardware combinations and that complicates the whole process. The Microsoft Operating Systems try to compensate and thus the big reason for the issues compared to Apple which controls both the PC hardware and Operating System.

Application software is a different matter.

Ed Meadway · Post by **Ed Meadway** » 12 Nov 2008 6:45 am

Hi everyone!
Cal I did put the old HD in the newer comp but the windows logo would just show for a second.........then reboot repeating this over and over.

I loaded windows into another small blank HD then slaved the old HD and it booted up just fine.

Some programs like Band in a Box and some others work just fine. I guess these don't spread themselves into the reg like you mentioned.

I have a 250 GHD which I'll load with windows and then I'm going to try open source word, excel, and access programs. All my old data is still there on the old HD.

It's nice to know not only how to fix it but why things didn't work in the first place.

Thanks to everyone for helping..............Ed

Cal Sharp · Post by **Cal Sharp** » 12 Nov 2008 7:09 am

Fun, ain't it?

Wiz Feinberg · Post by **Wiz Feinberg** » 12 Nov 2008 8:09 am

Ed;
Since you mentioned that you are looking for an open source replacement for MS Office, I recommend OpenOffice 3.x, available for free from www.openoffice.org. I contains all of the functions of the Office suite, plus it can create PDF files and open most files created in MS Word and Excel. The database app is different than MS Access and the presentation component is not everything PowerPoint is, but it is free.

Jack Stoner · Post by **Jack Stoner** » 12 Nov 2008 10:23 am

The only thing with Open Office is that it does not contain an e-mail program. I have both OO and MS Office installed, mainly because the OO Writer will save in PDF format.