Can I transfer programs like Microsoft office from a hardrive enclosure onto a new computer?

by JF Sebastian

Question by computerquestion: Can I transfer programs like Microsoft office from a hardrive enclosure onto a new computer?
My old computer broke down and I had documents, pictures, and programs like Microsoft Office and Photoshop on the hardrive. I bought an external hardrive enclosure so I could take out the hardrive and transfer the contents onto my new computer. Will I be able to transfer actual programs like PS2 and microsoft office from my old hardrive to my new one? Or will I have to by new programs?

Best answer:

Answer by The Phlebob
Probably not.

First, it’s very difficult to find all the visible pieces of complex software applications. They’re sometimes in directories other than the application’s main one (the C:\Windows directory, for instance). Sometimes they’re even dependent on other things already on the machine.

Second, application installs often store critical bits of information in a huge system file called the Registry. It’s usually not possible to pull out all the pieces you need, and it’s impossible to copy the Registry from one machine to another without wrecking the second machine.

Sorry.

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