Installing windows 10 with old HDD

[Chopper024]

I am building a new PC and have my hard drive from my laptop that has windows 10 and I want to know if it will boot up windows 10 when I install my old hard drive into the new PC

 

[elbert]

Likely not as most windows lock to the motherboard. For any chance of it working I suggest you uninstall all the drivers. I would suggest tho you buy a ssd to use and just install windows 10 unactivated into the new system. See if you try that it may not boot for either system.

 

[drinkingcola86]

You actually might be fine if you have windows 10 linked to a microsoft account. If you haven't set it up like that then nope won't work.

 

[Faike]

Hi, I personally have installed Windows 10 on a ton of old HDD's (like dozens) from even back when XP was a thing, and haven't had any issues with installing 10 on them.

 

[Scottray]

You can use the old HDD, but you need to do a clean install of Windows 10. Then install the new mobo drivers. If you just move the old HDD to the new PC, it may boot, but you'll have stability and driver conflicts. The other issue is that you need to buy a new windows 10 license. Since the version of windows 10 you have on the old drive is from a laptop, it's most likely an OEM version. Microsoft most likely won't allow it to activate.