Operating Two Boot Drives on One PC Unit Simultaneously using two hard drives within a single computer build
Operating Two Boot Drives on One PC Unit Simultaneously using two hard drives within a single computer build
You can run the old hard drive in your new PC without disrupting your current setup. It’s possible to switch between drives easily using software tools or a simple script, avoiding BIOS changes. You may need to reinstall drivers that match your system, but this shouldn’t be too complicated. Running from an external drive won’t significantly slow down your PC, though boot times might be longer. Keeping the old PC separate is also a good idea if you want to avoid any conflicts.
You have the ability to proceed, and likely will need to update the drivers. For a UEFI system, a utility such as this can help switch the operating system at startup. http://www.rodsbooks.com/refind/
It should have an F key that you can press to start the boot menu on system startup.
I’d love to see how it turns out. These old machines in the garage hold programs I no longer have access to, software keys I paid for but don’t need anymore. Keeping them could help people in my boat declutter their space, especially if an older Windows version still works on a newer PC.