Can I take my Windows 10 from my broken laptop and put it in my new desktop?

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RiizzHD

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Sep 30, 2016
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Can I take my Windows 10 from my broken laptop and put it in my new desktop?

Hey

My laptop just broke some days ago, and i had windows 10 on one of my diskes (ssd samsung 850evo) and want to use it in my new desktop. I wounder if I just can take it as it is and put in the new pc and it will work? Do I have to clean the disk or clean the disk and buy a new windows?
 
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Boogieman_WD
It depends if the Windows version you're referring to is OEM (original equipment manufacturer (it came with the computer)) or if it's a retail copy. Let me put it this way: e.g. you've bought your laptop and had Windows 10 pre-installed (OEM) on it, then you won't be able to use the same product key for a computer with a different hardware configuration. However, if you've got a retail product key for your Windows (if you've bought Windows 10) you can use the same key to install in on different computer.
So if you have a retail product key for Win 10, you can connect the drive to your new PC and follow this tutorial: http://www.tenforums.com/tutorials/1950-windows-10-clean-install.html to make a fresh install of Win 10 with the key you...
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Boogieman_WD

Boogieman_WD

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Jul 31, 2014
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Hey there, RiizzHD.

Unfortunately, most probably you'll have to make a fresh install of Windows with the new computer. More often than not, you cant just use the OS drive from one computer with a different computer (with different hardware) and boot to Windows normally. At least the motherboards should be the same or similar models in order for this to have a chance to work, but having in mind that in your case we're talking about a laptop and a PC - chances are not on your side. :(

The best course of action would be to install Windows from scratch while the drive is connected to your desktop computer (of course while having all secondary drives disconnected during the installation process, to avoid future OS issues).

Hope that helps. Please let me know if you have any questions.
Boogieman_WD
 
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RiizzHD

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Sep 30, 2016
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4,510


I wounder if I can take my windows for my broken laptop and install it on my new desktop. Do I have to go buy a new windows license every time you get a new PC? Or can I somehow legally use my old one for my new PC?

So right now I have windows 10 on my SSD, can i take the windows from their and put on a usb and use it for my new PC? Or just re-install windows on the SSD and put it in my new PC.

Are windows bound to a specific PC
 
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Boogieman_WD

Boogieman_WD

Judicious
Jul 31, 2014
6,050
2
35,960
It depends if the Windows version you're referring to is OEM (original equipment manufacturer (it came with the computer)) or if it's a retail copy. Let me put it this way: e.g. you've bought your laptop and had Windows 10 pre-installed (OEM) on it, then you won't be able to use the same product key for a computer with a different hardware configuration. However, if you've got a retail product key for your Windows (if you've bought Windows 10) you can use the same key to install in on different computer.
So if you have a retail product key for Win 10, you can connect the drive to your new PC and follow this tutorial: http://www.tenforums.com/tutorials/1950-windows-10-clean-install.html to make a fresh install of Win 10 with the key you already have.

On the other hand, if you want to use the OS drive of e.g. computer "A" with computer "B", you won't be able to do that, not because of licenses (even if it's a retail copy), but because the OS would be already configured for the hardware of computer "A".

I know it all probably sounds a bit confusing so don't hesitate to ask if you have any other questions.
 
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