This may be a Dumb Question

[Astroguy]

I am running windows xp on my current computer with a lot of programs that would be a major pain to reinstall and update.
I have a new computer coming that has an i7 920 processor and is running Windows 7 home premium.
My question is can I take the hard drive out of the windows xp computer put it in a usb enclosure and boot from it on the new computer when i want to run XP?

 

[Automata]

That would not be possible. The old computer's OS is missing crucial drivers that are needed for Windows to run. Installing these prior to moving the disk would not prevent problems either as the OS has built in security mechanisms to prevent you from doing exactly what you are trying to do here.

All you can do is install and update on the new computer.