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Q: I have a Win7 computer have programs which I still must run under XP. Also, some of the programs were loaded from floppies which now have errors.  My XP machine is an old eMachines (running two HD’s) and I would like to take the HDs from this computer and put them in an up-to-date barebones which I can assemble.  My problem is that these drives will not boot in another machine. Apparently eMachines has something in the boot loader or similar which must tie into their bios.  Even in the best case, this machine will not last forever. If I can’t run these drives in another machine, then I will have lost several programs which are valuable to me.  Any suggestions?

– Bob S.
Fort Walton Beach, Fla

A: You sort of hit the nail on the head when you said the machine wouldn’t last forever, Bob.  It’s unrealistic to expect the software to last forever either, so even if my advice buys you some time, I highly suggest you find a way to divest yourself of those obsolete programs in favor of something newer and more supportable.

That having been said, let’s address your concerns.  The very first thing I recommend you do is perform a search of the internet, particularly sites like eBay, Amazon, and other sites where people sell their pre-owned merchandise, and see if you can obtain any additional copies of the software that still have the installation media intact.  If the software exists anywhere, you should be able to pick it up for almost nothing, as it generally has little or no value.  This will overcome your first problem – not being able to re-install the software when you need to.

As for installing the drives in another machine, the only reason the eMachines bootloader would make a difference to you would be if you are trying to boot from that drive.  If all you need are access to the files, you can use a brand-new drive as the boot drive in a new machine, then slave-in the old drives, either internally or via USB in external device housings.