Need help moving MySQL to new computer

[zayde]

I need help reinstalling my MySQL database from a previous Windows XP computer that crashed, to a new one running Windows 7.
I was able to recover all the files from the old C: drive, and I would like advice on how to set up a reinstall of MySQL, and where to put the old files.

The original version of MySQL was 5.1, which is not current. Is it safe to proceed with 5.5 ?

[falko]

To move the databases, you could create SQL dumps with phpMyAdmin and also restore them with phpMyAdmin on the new MySQL server.

[dalitso]

Was this Mysql a stand alone installation, or perhaps bundled with WAMP or XAMMP?

[zayde]

I was able to get a successful reinstallation.

I did a clean install using the Windows installer, then replaced the new ibdata1 file with the one that I had recovered from the crashed computer. I didn't expect that to work so cleanly.

Thanks to everyone who offered assistance.