Installing second SATA Hard Drive

[jlschweda]

I have a quick question. I built a new computer and installed a SATA hard drive. I now want to install my SATA hard drive from my old computer so that I have the files, documents, etc. My question is this, Is it going to matter or is there something I need to do prior to installation because my old SATA had an operating system on it? Both Hard drives would have Windows XP Home Edition. I didnt know if this would be a problem or not.

Any/all info is greatly appreciated!

[TwoRails]

Should be able to simply plug it into the second SATA channel and go for it.

[glc]

Just make sure you set the boot priority correctly.

[jlschweda]

The new (old) hard drive would the last in the boot order, right?

[glc]

Try to *remove* it from the boot order. Depends on how your bios is set up.

[jlschweda]

Ok, I connected the second (old) hard drive but now cannot seem to figure out how to get the programs that I have on the old hard drive to work. Should I copy the files from the old hard drive and paste them on the new hard drive or what method should I use to get the data from the old hard drive to the new one?

Thanks!

[glc]

All programs have to be reinstalled. You can copy your data over though.

[jlschweda]

What about programs that required a product key or activation code?

[glc]

Those all have to be re-entered.