Installing Windows 7 on a HDD then moving it to another computer...

[killalldude]

Hey all-

 

Basically I'm trying to reinstall windows on a friend's computer. The thing is it's a laptop, and since it's a laptop it likes to make things complicated. The malfunctioning laptop's name is Toshiba Satellite L655 S5150. I tried feeding him an OS CD upon startup, however he shows no "press any key to boot from CD" option. There is no splash screen which allows me to enter his bios. When booting up normally the computer immediately shows the "Starting Windows 7" screen. I've googled around and found that to boot from the CD you must hit either [C] [0] or [F12] but none of these keys work.

 

Do you think I can connect the laptop's HDD to my computer as a secondary HDD, install Windows using my computer onto the laptop's HDD, then simply put the HDD back into the laptop? So far google has told me that it will work, but there may be some complications... And of course I'll have to reinstall all the drivers for the laptop.

 

Any help is much appreciated ;)

[Ryzza5]

A few options:

 

1) Work out what key to press to choose the bootup device. On older Toshiba's it was ESC. On current ones it's F12. Then you can pick the DVD/Optical drive, and it will ask you to 'Press any key to boot from CD/DVD drive...". If neither of those work, just google it (how to boot toshiba satellite [model] dvd)

 

 

2) Attach the HDD to your computer and install Windows. Once completed, run the sysprep command (which I recommend you Google to find out how to use it, and know in advance what it does.) - basically it strips all the drivers, user info, settings, serial number, etc. Computer builders and shops use this tool for dumping the same 'image' onto different PC's, then when you turn on the PC you have a setup wizard asking for usernames, serial, etc.

 

 

3) Install Windows, and use a backup program that lets you restore the image file onto "dissimilar hardware".

 

 

In making the above suggestions I presume everything is legit as far as serial keys go.

[pyrre]

If you haven't, try holding down F12 then boot the computer and if a splash screen appears release F12.

[Sponge]

As Ryzza said current Toshiba boot order key is F12.

 

Try mashing Delete / F2 to get into the BIOS.

[Camel]

Another thing to take into account is that if you install Windows on the HDD and activate it whilst it's in another computer it won't work properly as the serial will be tied to the hardware of the computer.

 

You should be fine installing it without activating it then activate it once the HDD is back in the laptop.

[evanto]

You cant install Windows on one computer and put the hard drive on a second as it wont know your bios and hardware, It will just fail.

[Sponge]

It's more down to the ACHI drivers. Which is why "Sysprep" is used.

 

If you have a computer which motherboard has failed. You can either buy the exact same board (or at least one with the same chipsets) and that'll work. Or you could buy a completely different board, but that will not work at all. You need to run SysPrep if you want to move it to another computer.

[killalldude]

I've tried pressing [F12], but the computer makes this loud *beep* sound then continues to start windows up normally. There is no splash screen that allows me to enter bios, and the 'press any key to boot from cd' screen doesn't appear either. I searched around and found that this computer is "Legacy Free," which, if I'm not mistaken, means that you cannot access the bios upon startup. If this is true, then the only way I can install windows is if I remove the hard drive and install it via another computer, then pop it back into the laptop. I can't log in and install it normally because this computer has a virus and as soon as I log in it shuts off.

 

Any other thoughts? Currently I'm researching this 'sysprep' command.

 

OMG! I just had a brainwave! What if I just connect this hard drive to my computer, scan it with my antivirus, then delete the virus! Think that'd work?

[Camel]

You can install Windows 7 to a HDD in one computer and then move the HDD into a completely different computer. One thing that will cause it to not work properly is that Windows 7 by default doesn't enable both the AHCI and IDE drivers. This can easily be fixed by editing one registry entry.

 

I've done it several times myself so I know for a fact that you can do it.

[killalldude]

...One thing that will cause it to not work properly is that Windows 7 by default doesn't enable both the AHCI and IDE drivers. This can easily be fixed by editing one registry entry...

 

But this won't be a problem if the hard drive is SATA right?

[Camel]

It depends on the settings in the BIOS when the OS is installed.

 

If your motherboard is set to AHCI then Windows 7 will enable the AHCI driver and not the IDE driver during installation. So you can boot up from the hard drive in a different computer as long as it is also in AHCI mode and not IDE.

 

SATA hard drives can run in both modes. AHCI is better though.

[Ryzza5]

If you've ever run an older OS on the drive though, chances are it's set to IDE mode though. Again, you can't access the BIOS so you can't really check.

 

Have you tried starting the laptop in Safe Mode (press F8 repeatedly while booting to access the hidden menu)?

 

Depending on how disruptive the virus is, I usually recommend formatting to definitely get rid of it, but in the meantime you might as well get the latest version of MalwareBytes AntiMalware if you choose to proceed in that direction. You might be able to remove the files while the drive is in your PC, but corrupted registry entries, startup lists, etc won't be fixed.

[killalldude]

Thanks for the help guys. :) I decided to just scan the drive for viruses, and my antivirus program found 50-ish. :eek: I gave it back to my friend but she forgot what the password was. I'm not sure if the virus changed it (if that's even possible) or her dad did (he's quite a virus himself :p). Anywhoo if she is never able to crack the password, I guess I'll have to look into wiping the drive clean and installing an OS via my computer... Unless there's a way to either add a user account to the computer while it's HDD is hooked up to mine orrr somehow delete the password via my computer.