New PC

[Gray__Fox]

Hi I just joined to ask a few questions.
One I am pretty sure what items I'm getting (but it is still subject to change)

Intel Core 2 Quad Q9550 2.83GHz, 12MB Cache, 1333MHz FSB
http://www.tigerdirect.com/applicati...=CP1-DUO-Q9550

Asus P5E3 Premium/Wifi-AP @n Motherboard - Intel X48, Socket 775, ATX, Audio, PCI Express 2.0, CrossFire Ready, WiFi LAN, Dual Gigabit LAN, S/PDIF, Firewire, USB 2.0, Serial ATA, RAID
http://www.tigerdirect.com/applicati...IN#detailspecs

Patriot Viper 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1333 (PC3 10666) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16820220333

VisionTek 900250 Radeon HD 4870 X2 2GB 512-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready CrossFire Supported Video Card - Retail $549.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16814129114

Western Digital VelociRaptor WD1500HLFS 150GB 10000 RPM 16MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive (bare drive) - OEM $179.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16822136296

Creative Sound Blaster X-Fi XtremeGamer 7.1 Channels 24-bit 96KHz PCI Interface Sound Card - Retail $85.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16829102006

COOLER MASTER Real Power Pro1000 RS-A00-EMBA 1000W ATX12V / EPS12V SLI Ready CrossFire Ready 80 PLUS Certified Active PFC Power Supply - Retail $199.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16817171022

So now that that's out of the way.
My question is as follows.
I still have my old IDE hard drives, and there is obviously an IDE connection but only for two things. I'd like to just use the old hard drives since there are things on them I need.
My BIOS on my old PC died, it just stopped working I believe.

Is it possible to still use Windows XP that is installed on the old hard drive; sort of just plug it in and install new drivers, removing any older ones pertaining to the old P4 CPU, and other unusable hardware replacing it with drivers and etc for the new Hardware.
Or is it necessary to do a full format?
I plan to, at some point, do a dual boot with XP and Vista which I may make ask more information on later, not that big of a deal to me right now.

If I need to do a full format, there are things on those hard drives that I need and my old PC is now dead, how can I get the stuff I want off intact?

That's all I can think of for now...
Thanks in advance...

[not important]

That MOIBO is $80 cheaper on Newegg. It does use DDR3 RAM which is not a good thing right now.
The p5Q Asus MOBO's are highly recommended.
The Raptor HDD's are very pricey and a Seagate 32MB Cache HDD will perform almost as fast for a lor less money and a lot more GB's.
Onboard sound is quite impressive on the new MOBO's so you might wait and see how it goes and save yourself some money.
I would suggest a fresh OS install on one drive...then slave the 2nd drive in and retrieve any data that you want.

[minsonngo]

Yep... no point in using the OS on your old hdd when you have a newer and faster hard drive that you can use as your primary with the OS on it instead.

[Gray__Fox]

Thanks for the replies.

Firstly about the OS, that's not what I asked... at all... I'd prefer an answer to my question more then I would having the questions I asked completely ignored for opinions. I came here for knowledgeable replies not opinionated ones.

I'm sorry for the rude reply, but no matter where I ask I get the same opinionated answer, not a technical answer of possible or not possible. And how to salvage HDD info if it is necessary.

So the reason I ask is I did try to boot from the old HDD OS but all I would get was it beginning to boot but it would then just restart. I was wondering if it really is possible. A friend of mine, who's a network major, told me it was but now I really don't know.
Thanks. (all the parts on that list I did buy)

[Alaron]

Please watch your tone. There is nothing wrong with those responses. We recommend fresh installations of the Operating System on all new builds to keep the system running as smoothly as possible. Using the Raptor as your primary drive is going to be much faster then your old drives.

As for your original question, you can use a 'Repair' installation of XP to reuse the IDE drives. Boot from your XP disc and select Repair. Helpful guide: http://www.michaelstevenstech.com/XPrepairinstall.htm This will not format the drive and remove your data. I recommend backing up any data that is especially important first though, just to be safe.

Welcome to PCMech.

[Gray__Fox]

Thank you for answering my question so promptly and accurately.

Sorry for my tone, I've asked this same question on at least 4 forums, and I always get the same avoiding answer. I was just annoyed with reading the same thing over and over again I felt I had to be to the point and rude to get an answer, normally I'd ignore it but I couldn't get a straight answer anywhere.

I'd like to ask one more question if you don't mind though. If I install the O/S on the other drive how do I retrieve information from the old drive that has windows? Won't the two installations conflict?
Plus since I can't access the old hard drive since my old PC is forever dead, how can I retrieve the information without trying the XP repair first?

[shadowpr]

Install the new hard drive by it's self, and then install windows on it. After that is done, you can connect the old hard drive, and simply copy and paste your personal files over to the new hard drive.