So I just got a newer Dell Dimension computer that is relacing my old Dell Optiplex PC, but there's a problem when I move the hard drives from the old and put them into the new.

For some reason the computer just reboots when the hard drives are transfered into the new PC, I don't get a chance to see the desktop or even Windows loading before the desktop. When I make it so that it can't reboot, it says on a blue screen;

I have properly configured the BIOS so that the master runs before the slave. It appears that they are being recognized and a friend of mine said it might be because of different drivers? I also had a copy of Windows XP around, but accidently threw it out with the old cd-rom drive when upgrading. If anyone knows of a site that offers pirated WinXP that would be great, I do have the product key.

HELP! THansks

 

btw, specs:

Dell Dimension 8200
17'' Flat screen monitor
2.4ghz Pentium 4 512mb cache
120GB total hard drive space
1.5gb Ram
256mb ATI video card
some sound blaster sound card
Smartlink modem
Ethernet port
2 CD/DVD
1 Floppy

So it's decent and was free, about 8x better than my last one, it's still a Dell.

 

Short of being a 'Gamer' or a power user that does either serious movie or sound editing, you may want to try Linux. http://www.ubuntu.com/getubuntu/download

Ubuntu (Linux) is the operating system I use exclusively. It does fine for browsing the net, watching movies, playing DVDs and music. I never worry about viruses or anything else either.

There is a small learning curve associated with any change in computers or software, expect this and learn to enjoy the challenge. This software will however be MUCH easier to install than installing Windows and 'hunting' for drivers. Ubuntu supports most hardware right off the CD.

Keep in mind, Ubuntu can also be used directly from the CD without modifying your computer. This is a plus if you are not sure you want to keep it, or if you need to use something for recovery purposes.

 

Basically, sounds like you have a problem with the drives not liking one another. Either you have a mix match on the IDE cables (one master, one slave, both cable select) or you are having a drive failure.

You have a couple of different options to fix this.

1.) Yank the harddrive from the new computer and put it in the old one. Sometimes this works better then putting the drive from the old computer in the new one.

2.) Buy an external drive enclosure. This allows you to use the old harddrive as an external storage drive, while not having to screw with the new computer. It also allows you to keep your files in one place.

3.) Unplug everything but the new computer harddrive to include the CD-roms. Plug the old harddrive into the cd rom ide cables. Turn the unit on. This should hopefully alleviate the problem.

There are more things you can do, but these are the 3 fastest that come to my mind.

As for the copy of Windows XP, I can send you a copy that you can burn to CD. I have legit versions that utilize the CD key from your system. I just need to know the version that appears on the label on the system. It should say Windows XP Professional, Home, etc...

I deal with Dell, so I have hundreds of these discs...although I generally just toss em.