From: moon on
I have a 32-bit computer using Windows XP Pro and I have two externaol hard
drives with a lot of important information. When I get a new computer, 64-bit
with Windows 7, will I be able to use the data currently stored on my
external hard drives with the new 64 bit computer using Windows 7?

Thank you.
From: MarkusSchaber on
Hi,

On 7 Apr., 18:38, moon <m...(a)discussions.microsoft.com> wrote:
> I have a 32-bit computer using Windows XP Pro and I have two externaol hard
> drives with a lot of important information. When I get a new computer, 64-bit
> with Windows 7, will I be able to use the data currently stored on my
> external hard drives with the new 64 bit computer using Windows 7?

I'd say: 99% yes.

If your external hard drives use standard connectors like USB or
eSATA, and are formatted using FAT or NTFS, you can just plug them
into your Windows 7 PC, and access the files as before.

But you need to install the applications to open your data files on
Windows 7. While most Windows XP software runs on Windows 7 (or
updated versions which do are available), there are some corner cases.
Nearly all of them may be solved by either use different software
products which are capable of opening those files, or by virtualizing
your existing XP installation and running it from inside your Windows
7.

But explaining this further is far beyond the scope of your question,
and - additionally - your question is not on topic in this group
(which is for software developers which have issues when using the
DotNet (.NET) programming framework).

HTH,
Markus