Question about transferring operating system

[Typheus]

I just got my new PC. And it looks like the fucking Terminator.

But, I don't have a Vista installation CD like I thought I did, so I took the hard drive out of my old Windows XP desktop, and stuck it in along with the 640GB SATA 3.0 HDD. Could I now run XP on this machine, transfer it over to the other HDD, and then simply run everything off of the second HDD?

[Verence]

Make the Vista HDD the primary HDD, and set up the other HDD as a slave drive. (Move the jumpers on the back of the HDD, the HDD manual should tell you how.)

Man, I said HDD a LOT just now.

[Typheus]

And I take it that a desk top hard drive is different from a laptop hard drive, so I couldn't simply do the same thing with my laptop?

My old desktop only has XP, so I'd like to use my laptop to put Vista on the new one.

[WiizerFanboy]

I will say this: Dual booting XP and vista is the biggest bitch on a SATA drive. And I believe the only way you can run XP on a SATA hard drive is if you have the SATA drivers slipstreamed with the XP disc you're using, or if you switch the bios settings to ATA operation, load XP and then install the SATA drivers once you're on it, and then switch back. That's how I have to do it on my laptop (298 GB SATA). And then there's the MBR.

But if you're using two separate hard drives it should be easier. I eventually just gave up after not receiving any help, and backed up my Important shit to my ps3's spare hard drive space.

[Typheus]

I'm thinking about just forgetting the whole thing and simply ordering Vista Basic at the same time I order the processor.

[Typheus]

I asked the same thing about transferring Vista from my laptop on some tech support forum. I can't believe bitches still go with "it's illegal!" Well, I guess I'm going to prison, then, cause once I get a Vista Basic CD, I'm not going to buy another one just because Microsoft want to be whores, believe it.

[jayt11]

*In Severus Snape Voice* Your hard drive will crash in exactly 4 months......get a Mac.

[Typheus]

Umm, I've had my desktop for years.

I've had my laptop with Vista Premium for over a year.

Problems? MAYBE 1, and that's with a particular em*cough*tor