Another topic about PC hard drives

Is anybody aware of any reason why you shouldn't be able to partition,
format, and install Windows on a hard drive that's in one PC, pull it out
and stick it into another PC.  It sticks in my mind from about ten years
ago that was a bad idea due to different BIOS's interpreted the number of
cylinders, sectors, etc.

The reason that I ask because my sister-in-law and her husband had drive
problems in November.  They live in New York and I live in Indiana so I was
trying to talk them through some things over the phone.  Since they had
backed up the family photos, to CD they just wanted Windows installed.
When she decided to come to the midwest for Christmas I told her to bring
the hard drive and their Windows XP CD.  I stuck it in my father-in-law's
PC (after disconnecting his drive), blew away the old partition, and
reinstalled.  Everything worked fine.  She took it home, her husband put it
back in their case, and it wouldn't boot.  I do know that it's a single
drive system and the jumper is set correctly on the back of the drive.

I know that it could be something like an incorrect BIOS setting, bad
cable, etc.  He seemed eager to go out and buy a new laptop to replace it
so I didn't pursue it.  We will be going to New York in March to visit them
so I'll get a chance to see it for myself.  Both their PC and my
father-in-law's are Dells that are 2-3 years old.

Dave Parnin
Nishikawa Standard Company
Topeka, IN  46571
daparnin@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx