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I have a IBM Laptop T-60. The display has gone bad, and I was wondering if I pull the Hard drive and replace it in a new laptop, will Windows 7 be smart enough to boot on the new laptop? I just upgraded to windows 7 Pro, and would hate to have wasted my money...

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You can sell your old T60 on this forum if you sign up, post it on the Marketplace board....forum.thinkpads.com/index.php – Moab Sep 12 '11 at 19:00
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If the hard drives use the same connector (SATA or IDE) then its possible, but not a certainty. If the controller is SATA, it is possible Win 7 might not recognize it as it could be a newer unknown chipset.

However, there is no harm in just putting the drive in and seeing if boots.

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Yes you can, and it will boot so long as the conditions @Keltari has stated. However your license may still have been wasted if it's an OEM license. If it's a store bought retail, then there's a slight chance you might make it with the "Family Pack" and just activating the new PC on the license:

  1. INSTALLATION AND USE RIGHTS.

a. One Copy per Computer. Except as allowed in Section 2 (b) below, you may install one copy of the software on one computer. That computer is the “licensed computer.”

b. Family Pack. If you are a “Qualified Family Pack User”, you may install one copy of the software marked as “Family Pack” on three computers in your household for use by people who reside there.

Also if it's a retail license you might be able to do a 'transfer':

  1. TRANSFER TO A THIRD PARTY. a. Software Other Than Windows Anytime Upgrade. The first user of the software may make a one time transfer of the software and this agreement, by transferring the original media, the certificate of authenticity, the product key and the proof of purchase directly to a third party. The first user must remove the software before transferring it separately from the computer. The first user may not retain any copies of the software.

Check out this blog post for further detail on licenses.

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You might be better off keeping the stock hard drive (and windows install) that comes with the new laptop and using a USB enclosure to transfer the data onto the new laptop. WHile you might be able to get it to boot, many drivers may not work, and as others have mentioned, your windows license may not transfer correctly.

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I've actually transferd a hard drive from one system to the other, running completely different parts (Intel --> AMD) and it still worked. With Win7 there aren't really issues with drivers to start the system up... it's pretty good getting the generic ones up and running. – KronoS Sep 12 '11 at 21:00
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