HDD with XP Home accept new hardware?

[Aaflac]

Been looking at this:

MSI WIND PC Intel 945gc

Would need to add memory, a CDROM, and a hard drive. No problem, have all three.

Now, here is the issue:
Have a HDD from an eMachines computer which used to run XP Home. The eMachine developed a short, and started to smoke, but luckily it happened right after I turned it on, and was able to unplug it before anything serious happened. No longer have the machine.

Still have the HDD (IDE) from this computer. Slaved it to another PC, and it works just fine.

Would it be possible to use the XP Home HDD and run it on the MSI Wind?
Would there be driver issues, incompatible main board, etc?
Would there be a way to overcome the hardware problems?

Have the XP install CD for the old eMachine, but that would not work on anything else.

Would I need to purchase a copy of XP to get the Bare Bones MSI to work? (Also, not interested in doing anything that is not legal.)

Thanks for your thoughts!!

[jintan]

Hello Aaflac,

Though toeing the line as far as MS rules are concerned, you can use the Windows key from the COA (Certificate of Authenticity) sticker on the side of the eMachine and reinstall Windows, but will need to at least borrow an installation CD to do that. Chances are this install would require an OEM (Original Equipment Manufacturer) copy, as these keys are often tied to those, and fail when using a commercial copy. Perhaps you have a friend that can send you a copy.

That barebones setup is really a type of largish laptop. The CPU is designed for mobile systems, and the SO-DIMM reference for the RAM also is laptop RAM. So this is an extremely small version of a small-form desktop model, and that means difficulty in making internal changes. If I read the specs correctly, this will only take a SATA HD, and I sense your eMachine's drive is IDE. If so, then no, you won't be able to use it as the installed hard drive.

[Aaflac]

Thanks for the info, Jin.

There is an adapter that woks IDE > SATA, although I am not crazy about that...

Have seen SATA HDs reasonably priced, but some of them are called a bare drive ???

This is the one I was looking at, and it does not appear to be a bare drive:
http://www.mwave.com/mwave/skusearch...iteria=AA21510

Do you know of a place where one can get a good deal on an XP Home install CD? Guess I would need a retail copy, vs OEM?

Trying to get an idea of what all of this is going to cost..

It might just be cheaper to get a pc at Walmart!!!

[jintan]

May be that you want to rethink the starting point, with that particular barebones kit. Is there are reason this needs to be small-form? Again, these are just a bit more difficult to work with, and inside, and tend to bring hardware choice restrictions with them due to those issues.

For hard drives, the words "bare" and "OEM" really are interchangeable. The original concept is that bulk system builders would not want or need all the associated cables, manuals and softwares for hard drives, so get them in bulk shipments as just stand-alone "bare" drives. The prices over retail, such as the nicely boxed drives sold by the major local retail stores, are always lower, and these tend to be what Internet resellers offer. One factor to consider for bare HD's is how the manufacturers address them - for Seagate, it dropped the warranty period for those (like the one you link to) from 5 to 3 years, though their reasoning is pretty vague on that. Same drive, but just less time covered by Seagate itself.

The price on that drive seems very reasonable, but you always need to watch for shipping costs. This is where they can raise their actual profits through added charges. You can check this by opting to add the chosen item to your "Cart", then just going through enough of the "Checkout" procedure to complete a shipping calculator part. Yours seems to add about $8 to $9 USD for ground shipping (often UPS), which is more than it would cost such a large volume dealer for US shipping. Not too much, but they are padding a little with their shipping fees. Some, like 3BTech to mention one, add no shipping charges, so shopping around is very important.

For the software, MS intended that OEM software be part of a build, and require those be sold along with computer parts used in "running" the computer, so not with things like CD-ROm's or other peripherals. A good few Internet CD resellers include some small piece of useless/meaningless hardware, just as a questionable work-around for that. Most home builders feel they meet the essence of those MS rules by being equipment manufacturers, just of their own systems, and most often buy and install OEM CD installs.

If you just web search something like "xp home cd" you will locate prices in the $80 USD range that are usually from reputable dealers, and often backed by Google or Yahoo Internet sales systems. Ebay as well can have these for about the same prices, though in all of that again watch the shipping costs.

[jintan]

And of course it's never cheaper to just buy at Walmart (see here and here, as quick examples).

[Aaflac]

Thanks for those links, Jin!!

There is an IBM small form factor goodie showing there that looks tempting...

Those small form factors are probably a nightmare for repair folks, but I like them.

Need a computer like a hole in the head, but been thinking about getting a computer to get it infected! Want something cheap enough that if I mess it up to the gills, it does not matter. Rather concerned about infecting a computer that I regularly use.