Transfering Windows from a computer to an other

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Kamdig

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Hi! I am looking to build a new PC, but I don't feel like buying Windows again. The computer I have right now (a Lenovo Thinkcentre, don't know which model) has Windows installed on it's hard drives.

Can I put my old motherboard, processor and hard drvies into the new PC with the new hardware and that way avoid buying a license?

Also, can I install Windows on a SSD during boot-up, or is it locked to the hard drives that it is installed on? (The hard drives are in RAID 1 I think).

Thanks.
 
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techgeek
If most of the hardware hasn't changed, it shouldn't cause an issue with re-activation. The problem comes when a few items are changed. Since most of the hardware the installer uses to create the unique system hash (that is uploaded to MicroSoft's activation servers upon the first activation) is on the motherboard itself, you "should" be OK.

It's not really spelled out clearly, but if you have more than a couple devices changed, it may require you to call in to MicroSoft. Explain what you've done and they usually give you a 25 digit code to punch in and it will activate.

You should be able to install Windows on a SSD. However the same issue as mentioned above applies. Since the SSD is new hardware, and if there is enough of a...
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techgeek

techgeek

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If most of the hardware hasn't changed, it shouldn't cause an issue with re-activation. The problem comes when a few items are changed. Since most of the hardware the installer uses to create the unique system hash (that is uploaded to MicroSoft's activation servers upon the first activation) is on the motherboard itself, you "should" be OK.

It's not really spelled out clearly, but if you have more than a couple devices changed, it may require you to call in to MicroSoft. Explain what you've done and they usually give you a 25 digit code to punch in and it will activate.

You should be able to install Windows on a SSD. However the same issue as mentioned above applies. Since the SSD is new hardware, and if there is enough of a change, you may have to call in to get Windows to activate.
 
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skitszo

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Jul 6, 2015
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your license is tied to the motherboard If that's what your asking; so you basically would just be replacing your case. so i'm not sure what you would accomplish. Unless you don't need a new CPU and motherboard.

The SSD can have windows installed but you would need install media usually and a license to activate it with. or cloning software. if you clone it you would need to reduce the hard drive total space to fit onto the SSD.
 
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Kamdig

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The only differnce is that I will install a new graphics card, and the case that I have now won't allow me to do so, since I need to install a new PSU which won't fit in my current case. So the only thing that I have to really worry about is installing new drivers for the graphics card?
 
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Kamdig

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So the thing that I have to do is to clone the harddrive onto the SSD like skitszo said? Is there some way to simply just transfer the OS to the SSD, or do I need to transfer everything onto the SSD?

 
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skitszo

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cloning takes everything and clones it. which is why you need to have a large enough SSD or to reduce what you have on the hard drive.

some brands of SSD's come with cloning software. Samsung is one of those brands.


personally i think its faster and cleaner of a clone if you do a maintennace on your hard drive first and clean it and defrag it first.

Ccleaner
Auslogics
I would assume you would malwarebytes
virus scan

 
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techgeek

techgeek

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It's always been my preference to do a clean install. So I'd back up any data that you need, maybe take a full volume image just in case, and then do a clean install on the SSD. I have read many users that have tried migrating the OS from an HDD to SDD and had problems. These can range from booting problems, to performance problems due to partition misalignment. SSD's use a different offset to align partitions, and sometime migration can cause this to not offset it correctly. So it may work, but it may not perform up to its fullest.

The reason I'd take a full volume image of your old OS install is just in case something goes wrong and you need to get it back. Whether you're having problems getting you OS to install, or you forgot a file or something else during your backup.
 
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Kamdig

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Ugh... This all seems a little too advanced for me to do right now. I'll just buy a new OS (probably Windows 10 instead of 8). Thanks to the both of you for your help.

 
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techgeek

techgeek

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Really a clean install is easy. The backup is what is the part you have to be careful of. If you don't get everything, then you can really screw yourself if what you missed in the backup is irreplaceable and important.

As for calling in to get it to activate (if it doesn't automagically activate on it's own), is pretty simple. Just call in, the number is given to you on the page where you are having activation problems. Explain the situation and they give you a long 25 digit code to punch in. I haven't had to do this since Windows XP, but the procedure was really painless.
 
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