This is a different topic from my other started thread so I figured it should get its own thread.

I've been wondering. I will be getting a new computer in a few months (actually as soon as someone figures out what's wrong with it). Anyways, Windows handles itself pretty well when you just stick your current hard drive (with everything set up) new/different computer. How does Linux handle it though? Will I have to install it again? Will it detect everything again? I'm wondering if I am better off waiting to install Linux once I get the new computer.

Thanks again.

Should be OK. Red Hat at any rate runs hardware detection at startup. It will obviously depend on how well your hardware is supported.... try it and see

I have a dual boot machine which I did a major overhaul on a couple of months back. (New MB, CPU, RAM, Soundcard, NIC). With Windows, it took me about a 1/2 hour to go through all the restarts as it found new hardware and wanted new drivers loaded. I was prepared for the worst when I booted into Linux. I shouldn't have feared. Linux detected all my new stuff and had me up and running in under 5 minutes.

No it does not! it typically manages to eventually load itself on some default crap video mode, and then spends 45.7 reboots trying to redetect every new piece of hardware...

When i've done this with linux i've been duped into think it didn't work, and ben unimpressed, but only up until the point when I realised that it was just done automatically without thinking anythign of it, rather than all these stupid reboots. As a stock kernel comes with nearly ALL common drivers built into it, there is nothing at all involved in changign it.

one of the only things you're likely to come across is needing to change your video card driver...

This is all good to hear. acid_kewpie, you're right about Windows not being that great when it comes to new stuff. But I go through the Windows headaches too often (ever since 3.1) and I think I reached a point where the dumb routine hoops you jump trhough are just normal.

if you read through the initial boot screens of linux (mandrake may well deliberatly hide them) you can see line by line the kernel detecting and loading drivers for the hardware. there is no line in any file that tells the system to expect a certain type of usb bus, northbridge, pci interface and so forth like windows does, so it's just plain not exepcting to find anything in particular when you boot. obviously if you recompile your kernel for only your curent hardware to optimizie it moving a drive may well become more invovled, but that's your problem really...