Using an old hard drive in new build!

[red9]

Hi All, wondering if anyone can advise me on the following:

My dear old emachines 790 has finally given up on me, having done my own diagnosis and spoken to a very helpful, and honest, chap at PC World it would appear that my motherboard has frazzled itself.

So.....having gained more confidence and experience over the past few years I have decided that I'd prefer to try and fix/rebuild my own system.

I feel that I am fairly competent and knowledgable in terms of buying compatible MOBOs, CPUs etc etc but there is one issue that I am aware of with which I am less comfortable......

What is the deal with using my old hard drive with a new MOBO and CPU setup? Before my trip to PC World I was under the impression that, with Windows XP already installed on my hard drive, I could just connect it to the MOBO and hey presto off we go. I was informed, however, that I may run into problems in regards to the MOBO's BIOS, or something, and some subsequent Windows verification. Having been duped with an emachines, from PC World, I, of course, only have a system restore CD and not a full version of windows itself.

So, what I really want to know is this: can I just 'plug' in my old hard drive and expect plain sailing OR am I going to have to get my hands on a Windows CD in order to see to the problem MR. PC World envisaged? And are there any other issues I may run into?

Thanks in advance for any help or advice people may be able to offer.

[Cricket]

Cross post.

Cricket