PC OS and Browser Software Upgrade Question

[Terpe]

What I did was buy a new hard disk, approx. £70.
Win 7 ..64bit OEM version.£52.
Already running with 4 gig ram

Left the old hard disk in the comp and installed the new OS system on the new hard drive, also installed Bit Defender anti virus, seems to be doing a good job and is quicker then Nortons. Scanner does not work with the new set up though so if I need to I just disconnect the new hard drive, switch the connectors to the old drive and bobs your uncle, for me its the best of both worlds.

Would that be better than installing in my Virtual Machine?
How do you get the OS on the external hard drive to come into operation? Is the speed OK?

Sorry for so many questions, I've got a steep learning curve to climb.
My best learning mode is to actually do it then I have a much better understanding.

[Pete/London]

Would that be better than installing in my Virtual Machine?
How do you get the OS on the external hard drive to come into operation? Is the speed OK?

Sorry for so many questions, I've got a steep learning curve to climb.
My best learning mode is to actually do it then I have a much better understanding.

Its not an external drive,I slotted another hard drive inside the computer and just removed the 2 connecting plugs from the existing hard drive and reconnected to the new hard drive. The old hard drive is still inside the computer if I need to change the plugs back to find an old folder or in my case to use the scanner it just takes a few minutes.

[Terpe]

Its not an external drive,I slotted another hard drive inside the computer and just removed the 2 connecting plugs from the existing hard drive and reconnected to the new hard drive. The old hard drive is still inside the computer if I need to change the plugs back to find an old folder or in my case to use the scanner it just takes a few minutes.

Oh, I see sorry. It's a desktop. Yes I can understand what you've done.
I only have laptops these days with external USB drives and plenty of applications that I've converted to portables.

Thanks for your feedback

I've learnt a lot from this thread.
I'm going off to Currys / PC World later to play