I have 2 PCs, both Compaq 5000 Series. I have a 20GB in one and a 40GB in the other. I want to put the 40GB in the 20GB Machine. Will XP Complain about that? I want to do this because the 20GB Machine is Better... Thanks Nick

XP won't or shouldn't complain about it, however, it will go through the add hardware/ found new hardware number. You will probually need your drivers at the ready. Hope this helps The world is full of willing people, some are willing to work, others are willing to let them; just a thought!

You won't know until you try. If the 2 machines are identical it may work. XP will usually only run the machine it was installed on. You may have to try a system repair. I am not familiar with the Compaq systems disks.

I assume that you are hoping that the 40 gig will boot clean into XP. Like Per said, I have replaced HDs and booted clean into the OS the first try. Other times I gave up after an hour of frustration and clean-reinstalled the OS. I think a lot depends on the BIOS setup and mainboard. Give a man a fish and you feed him for a day; Teach a man to fish and you feed him for a lifetime; Then industry pollutes the water and kills all the fish.

As already suggested... you may get away with transferring a (pre-)installed XP drive from one system to another; then again you may not... Typical routine is to run a repair installation to get it all working in its new home...; the drive will then not work in its old home (unless you run the repair routine again there)... Would be wise to back up critical items first (data etc.) before moving the drive etc.