Pre-installed XP Problem Viewed 4 times Dell Dimension 4600i Pentium 2.8ghz 120gb Harddrive Sapphire 9800pro 256mb 1.5gb ddr400 memory I have a problem, my harddrive is making strange noises and the PC fails to recognise it 3 times out of ten. I dont have a problem with this, i'm ready to upgrade. However, the copy of XP I have is pre-installed on the damaged harddrive and I do not want to buy a new copy. Can I install the pre-installed XP onto my new harddrive and if so, how? I have all the original disks supplied from Dell, including the operating system disk. Any advice would be appreciated. goodbye

Go here and download Everest. Run it and you will find the CD key that was used on installation. You should have a cd key on the case as well. Write them both down. Most likely the one on the case is the one you will have to use on reinstallation and activation. For formatting a drive, first go to BIOS and set the boot order to CD first. Put XP installation disk in drive and boot up. You will see a prompt on the screen to hit any key to boot from CD. Follow the prompts and you will get to the part about formatting your HD. Format NTFS(best) and follow the rest of the install thru. You will be asked for the cd key during installation. Good luck.

If I was doing it, I'd simply ghost the whole drive to the new drive. That way anything that may be on a hidden partition will also be taken care of. It's also much quicker than a full install of the OS and programs. Please let us know if you found someone's advice to be helpful.

Just curious by chance did you call Dell and ask them as to whether your new hard drive will work ?? I mean is it compatible ?? Also doing a ghost option , Will it really work ??

I've been searching the Dell forums, and knowledge base. Tried to phone but tech support closed. I'll try again today. goodbye

Hi ... Reason as to why i am asking is because your system is preinstall and those type of system you need to be sure when removing any hardware , that the new hardware is commpatible , Also Its always best to call Dell and find out before do any remove , just to be on the safe side , plus they should provide what kind of option you are going to face with