On the verge of losing your operating system
On the verge of losing your operating system
You can transfer the operating system from your old Windows XP drive to the new one without using the installation CD. Use a bootable USB drive with Windows installation media or a recovery tool like Windows Media Creation Tool to create a bootable USB and install the OS on the new drive.
Link the additional storage to the PC as a secondary unit while keeping the existing one in place. Start the computer, then access File Explorer or My Computer, navigate to C:, and transfer all files there to the new drive (or its label). Power off the system, unplug the old drive, and plug the new one into the corresponding port on the cable. Restart and it should work.