Going to replace harddrive and have some questions

hey wilders,

well my harddrive is about to die cause its making weird noises and causing bsods.

so im going to replace it with a new harddrive and reinstall vista 64 bit. but i have a couple of questions

1. when i replace the harddrive and reinstall with vista 64 bit OEM, do i have to call microsoft to get another windows key?

2. is it ok to be connected to the internet right after installing windows without any security software?

3. since i need to be connected to the internet while windows update finishes, should i install security software before windows updates or after?

 

You usually do not have to contact Microsoft to re-activate your Windows key. An OEM license is tied to the computer that it was purchased with. You're just replacing your hard drive, it's still the same computer. If you bought a new computer, you aren't supposed to "transfer" over an OEM license.

Question 2 and 3...it's fine if you're behind a router..because the NAT firewall of the router is blocking all incoming traffic that did not originate from your PC..IE worms, trojans, script hacks, grinding attacks, exploits, etc. You're just going to windows update and your manufacturer download support sites for drivers...those are fine. Just don't do anything else like hang out on facebook or do other leisurely surfing until you've caught up on your Windows updates and installed your AV protection.

I download the service packs and drivers ahead of time, to save time. Once those are installed..plop on your AV and hit the rest of your updates.

If you're not behind a router...if you plug into your cable modem and your PC obtains a public IP...then...yikes, you're tip toeing on thin ice...unpatched Windows for a while til you get caught up.

 

yea my computer is behind a router.

so right after i install windows, should i download and install my security software of choice and video card drivers first or let windows updates first and then download and install my security software and video card drivers?

 

It's your choice....you're behind a router, so no need to sweat it out.
I generally will install the OS, install my motherboard/chipset drivers (build a good foundation for everything else), install my video, etc etc. Then service pack, then other updates, and then AV and other software.

I tend to install the AV last...because big stuff like programs, service packs, all those updates..they'll install quicker with an AV sticking its nose in there sniffing every file.

 

ok thx for all the info,

but i have another question if you dont mind me asking. when i replace my harddrive do i ahve to unintall the drivers first in windows before i unplug and put the new one in?

or do i just swap my old HD with the new one?

 

No use spending any time uninstalling drivers....just copy the data you need to save to a USB thumb drive or external drive or something like that....make notes of your hardware (what drivers you'll need to get..video, sound, NIC, motherboard, etc)...download those ahead of time.especially your motherboard and NIC..and power it down.

Or..if you don't feel like uninstalling, you could always try to "clone" your old hard drives image over to your new hard drive. Your new hard drive manufacturers website, they have cloning/imaging software you can download from their support section, usually it's a "light" version of Acronis True Image. Works perfectly fine and it's free.

 

ok so i just swap out the old with the new?

and could i install windows without being connected to the internet? and can i also install my mobo drivers, video card drivers, and soundcard drivers without being connected to the internet?

and then i would connect back in the ethernet cable and then install windows updates and then install security. etc etc

 

Yes you can install Windows without being connected to the internet.
Yes you can install drivers for your components without being connected to the internet, assuming that you downloaded all the drivers ahead of time and have them available to copy over to your fresh Windows install...like a USB thumb drive for example.

 

ok so i dont have to like unregister windows vista or anything right? just swap out the old hd with the new one and start up the comp.?
yea i already backed up my music and downloaded the drivers and put them on my external hd.

ok cool thx for the info,

i have another question lol sorry for asking so much. when i replace my harddrive it shouldnt change any of my bios settings right?

 

You don't need to unregister software, the old hard drive is assumed to be wiped 'n tossed away, which is fine for most licensing.

The only thing changing in your BIOS will be your hard drive, and most motherboards will have the BIOS setting to "auto detect"..so it should detect your new hard drive just fine. So pay attention to that part, depending on your brand/model, the first time you power up with the new hard drive connected it may hang for a bit, and it may tell you changes, something to that affect, they're all different. Just eyeball to see that it recognizes your new drive.

 

ok, thx for the info.

so im going to install windows with the ethernet cabled not connected and then after it installs im going to install the motherboard, network, video, and sound card drivers without internet then after the copmuter restarts, im going to plug back in the ethernet cable and let windows install service pack 2(vista) and all the updates and then install security and my other programs.

sound good?

 

You're behind a NAT router...no reason to unplug the ethernet cable.

 

ok i guess ill just leave it plugged in.

another thing, should i uninstall my video card drivers off my old harddrive before replacing it with the new harddrive?

and is it ok to install the network driver, sound card drivers, and video card drivers before installing the vista service pack 2 and updates?

 

No need to uninstall drivers from old hard drive..just copy data you need to save from it (pictures, music, e-mail, documents, accounting books, etc)...and then power down and remove the old drive.

Regarding order of installing drivers and service packs...see my 2nd reply in this thread. I install the motherboard/chipset INFs first (built a good foundation)...and then video, and remaining peripherals that remain. I then do latest OS service pack and remaining updates.

 

kk, thx

 

hey, sorry to bother you again but i have 3 more questions...lol sorry man

1. after the custom/advanced(clean install) screen during windows install, it takes you to what harddrive you want to install windows on. i only have 1 harddrive and i dont want any partitions. i just want 1 big hard drive. it says unallocated space and im just wondering if i have to click drive options (advanced)/format before clicking next, or can i just click next? its a brand new harddrive

2.also, during vista installation, it asks if you want to activate windows automatically or if you want to activate it manually. should i activate windows manually after i install all my drivers, service packs,updates, and security software or just let windows activate automatically?

3.i have SMART disabled in my bios should i enable it before installing vista? or does it not matter?

 

I usually, out of habit, and to ensure less problems, delete any existing parititions, create a new partition(s)..and do a full format, before installing an OS. The extra couple of minutes it takes to do this, IMO, is worth it. Granted it's a brand new hard drive, you can safely assume there's nothing there. But I just like to prep a drive with the native tools of the OS that I'm going to install on it.

Activation..that's up to you. Since you don't know if your NIC will be functional after the first bootup...(no driver yet)..activation upon first logon many not be possible. Not a big worry..just do it when you get a chance. It may be safer for you to activate it "later"..after you've spent some time grooming the installation and making sure it's all working properly. Because..what if you activate it right away..and then an hour or so later you find something majorly wrong that you botched up and you want to format and reinstall again to get it right?

SMART is a BIOS warning system. Some motherboards have software tools to install into Windows which can monitor SMART..and run in your systray. You can enable it if you want. Most hard drives support SMART monitoring. At the least, you'll get a report during POST if you enable it. To be honest though, I've not seen SMART do much. I've seen it give you false alerts thousands of times, and I've seen thousands of drives fail without SMART ever giving a warning.

 

on secondary computer right now, been busy so havent been able to install windows yet.....

well its a brand new hard drive so when i get to the hard drive selection screen it already says unallocated space. my questoin is that i dont want any partitions and just selecting the hard drive and clicking next will automaticall format(NTFS) and install vista right? without having to go into drive options (advanced) because its new hard drive and the delete partitions and format will be grayed out.

and about smart, it should be enabled only if i want to use hard drive programs that use SMART right? and will it effect hard drive performance if i install windows without it being enabled? ot does it not matter?

and about the activation should i enable it before installoing drivers, or does it not matter?