Windows 7 Is this possible

[MGalea]

Hi guys and girls
so here's the thing.
Ive found my old desktop in the loft about 8 years old and took the HDD out of it. I bought a IDE to usb cable and can see the files that were on the old HDD so doesn't seem like theres much wrong with it apart from being clogged with a few years of files/use etc
about a week ago My brother in-law's HDD on his PC packed up which is only slightly newer than the one I found in the loft. so I'm thinking of giving him my old HDD just so he's got something to get him by until he finds a permanent solution
my question is? Is there a way I can format and reinstall a fresh copy of windows on my old HDD even though its connected through my usb port?

Cheers in advance for any info

 

[patcooke]

Assuming your bro's pc has an ide slot you'd be best off installing the hdd to your bro's pc and installing in situ, otherwise your likely to have more problems than what it's worth.