Copy from old HDD after reinstall

Question

Just wandering I am building a new computer, because the old system died. What will happen if I plug my old HDD into the new PC, I am installing Windows 7 onto a new HDD so its a fresh install and I need to copy the files from the old HDD onto the new HDD.

So if I plug in the old HDD (after the new PC is up and running) will it simply appear as separate drive that I can copy from?

Answer 1

It depends what "died" in your old computer. I'm assuming it wasn't the hard drive- otherwise obviously this wouldn't work.

Yes, you should be able to copy your data across. The old drive would show up under a different drive letter in My Computer.

If it tries to boot from the wrong drive when you first switch it on, you'll want to restart the computer, then change the hard drive boot priority in the BIOS.