Replacing an OEM HDD

fortyways · 12-03-2007, 09:05 AM

My hard drive (in my sig) is dying. Click of death, etc. It (HDD), my motherboard, and my processor are all from an Acer build. I replaced everything else.

My question is, am I going to have to use a new copy of Windows when I replace it? I know the OEM version won't work with a different motherboard but I'm not sure about the hard drive.

Thanks

oscaryu1 · 12-03-2007, 12:46 PM

If you have the CD, no... if you have a backup partition... possibly, if you can't get the installer off to another CD/DVD/Computer/USB device fast enough...

fortyways · 12-04-2007, 12:23 AM

I did create a backup CD using Acer's utility thing as soon as I installed Windows. So yeah, I've got the CD.

But it's the OEM version, you know? It's only for that hardware or something; I don't fully understand it. I don't know if the OEM version would work with a retail hard drive. Maybe I should just call Acer and see if they can send me an OEM HDD?

oscaryu1 · 12-04-2007, 12:51 AM

It doesn't matter. The CD is the important thing...

fortyways · 12-16-2007, 07:58 PM

What I'm saying is, the CD is an OEM copy of Windows meant only for the OEM system it was originally attached to.

So, if I built a system tomorrow and tried to install it there, it wouldn't work. It would give me an error message that says this copy of Windows can't be used with this machine.

I'm trying to figure out if a new hard drive is enough of a change to cause it to give me such a message.

In other words, I'd like to know which component of a PC an OEM copy of Windows is actually attached to. My guess is either HDD or motherboard.

meanman · 12-16-2007, 08:09 PM

if you were to build a new pc with a new mobo then you would not be able to use the oem cd but because you are only replacing the hdd it will work fine.

12-03-2007, 09:05 AM	#1 (permalink)
fortyways banned Join Date: Sep 2007 Location: USA Posts: 1,134	Replacing an OEM HDD My hard drive (in my sig) is dying. Click of death, etc. It (HDD), my motherboard, and my processor are all from an Acer build. I replaced everything else. My question is, am I going to have to use a new copy of Windows when I replace it? I know the OEM version won't work with a different motherboard but I'm not sure about the hard drive. Thanks

12-03-2007, 12:46 PM	#2 (permalink)
oscaryu1 VIP Member Join Date: Apr 2007 Location: Houston, Texas Age: 13 Posts: 9,694	If you have the CD, no... if you have a backup partition... possibly, if you can't get the installer off to another CD/DVD/Computer/USB device fast enough... __________________ Core 2 Duo E2140 1.6GHz @ 3.04GHz GA-P31-DS3L pqi Turbo CL4 DDR2-800 2GB Sapphire HD3850 256MB Sony Writemaster DVD Burner EIDE Seagate Barracuda 80GB 7200.9 8MB SATII

12-04-2007, 12:51 AM	#4 (permalink)
oscaryu1 VIP Member Join Date: Apr 2007 Location: Houston, Texas Age: 13 Posts: 9,694	It doesn't matter. The CD is the important thing... __________________ Core 2 Duo E2140 1.6GHz @ 3.04GHz GA-P31-DS3L pqi Turbo CL4 DDR2-800 2GB Sapphire HD3850 256MB Sony Writemaster DVD Burner EIDE Seagate Barracuda 80GB 7200.9 8MB SATII

12-16-2007, 08:09 PM	#6 (permalink)
meanman Diamond Member Join Date: Nov 2005 Location: england Posts: 1,690	if you were to build a new pc with a new mobo then you would not be able to use the oem cd but because you are only replacing the hdd it will work fine. __________________ my sig Intel Core 2 Quad Pro Q6600 "Energy Efficient 95W Edition ocd to 3.15 ghz Abit IP35 Pro (Socket 775) PCI-Express DDR2 Motherboard Crucial Ballistix 4GB (2x1GB) DDR2 PC2-8500C5 1066MHz EVGA GeForce 9800 GX2 "SSC Edition" 1024MB GDDR3 CoolerMaster Stacker 832 Coolermaster 700W ATX2.2 Modular SLI Compliant PSU member of the cod 4 www.cfclan.co.uk

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12-04-2007, 12:23 AM	#3 (permalink)
fortyways banned Join Date: Sep 2007 Location: USA Posts: 1,134	I did create a backup CD using Acer's utility thing as soon as I installed Windows. So yeah, I've got the CD. But it's the OEM version, you know? It's only for that hardware or something; I don't fully understand it. I don't know if the OEM version would work with a retail hard drive. Maybe I should just call Acer and see if they can send me an OEM HDD?

12-16-2007, 07:58 PM	#5 (permalink)
fortyways banned Join Date: Sep 2007 Location: USA Posts: 1,134	What I'm saying is, the CD is an OEM copy of Windows meant only for the OEM system it was originally attached to. So, if I built a system tomorrow and tried to install it there, it wouldn't work. It would give me an error message that says this copy of Windows can't be used with this machine. I'm trying to figure out if a new hard drive is enough of a change to cause it to give me such a message. In other words, I'd like to know which component of a PC an OEM copy of Windows is actually attached to. My guess is either HDD or motherboard.

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