That may work on some computers but not all. Options in the bios often specify information about the boot drive so if the the drive is similar to previous hard drive it will probably work. Also some operating systems such as windows 10 once installed is not portable between devices unless it has been setup to be.A friend gave me two old dell pc's like this one:The hardware in most laptops or desktops that are junked today actually work. The problems are usually software or obsolescence. Working on them is too expense.I have a guy that used to work for me that takes laptops from trash bins they collect and pieces together a working laptop.The reason for that is that the standardization of laptop components never really caught on in laptop world. Manufacture's motherboard, case, keyboard, power supply, differs in order to produce a unit with most features lowest cost, weight, and power consumption. Unlike building a desktop, finding compatible parts can be difficult. Cramp space makes working inside a laptop a nightmare. Often the finial result of a laptop construction project is a disappointing kludge that's not as good as the store bought device.Much is not the same size for replacements parts yet it never stopped me from operating one computer that I replaced the power supply in that had to be housed outside of the housing flange..
A friend of mine had a "Frankenstein" computer. He had all kinds of stuff hanging off of it. An external keyboard etc. It was no longer much of a laptop. Another friend connected up to a docking station and went external for everything, the screen, the keyboard, etc. Again, it was no longer a laptop, but a desktop he paid double for.
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One of them wouldn't do anything but display a cursor on the screen. Pretty sure the motherboard was fried in it. The other wouldn't boot up and gave several HD errors. I put the HD out of the other one in it with all the memory it had. and now have another working PC.
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