ultimate99 Posted February 5, 2017 Share Posted February 5, 2017 My desktop pc runs windows 10 on an ssd, would it be possible to install that ssd into a laptop and just work? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Louisifer Posted February 5, 2017 Share Posted February 5, 2017 Your main issue is if you did an upgrade to windows 10 or you bought a key. If you upgraded it would ask you for activation as it is bound to the PC's hardware when doing the upgrade and then probably tell you to buy a license, if you bought the key it will probably still ask for activation and may need you to contact Microsoft to verify that the key is only in use by one machine. The second issue is if you are able to boot correctly. The OS is already set up for your PC's hardware, it may need to repair itself to make use of the new hardware. If you do go ahead with it I would backup anything you care about, it's unlikely to "just work". Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
philcruicks Posted February 9, 2017 Share Posted February 9, 2017 Agreed. Although 10 has a much better chance of this working than earlier versions of windows. Missing drivers are likely to be the initial killer when you 1st try and boot the laptop, then activation issues as hardware is different. Either way, backup, pop the drive in, if it works great, if not either put it back in the PC and get a new SSD and install a new copy of windows/clone and upgrade the laptop. Or do a clean install of windows on the SSD in the laptop if you're ditching the PC. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Odom Member Posted February 9, 2017 Member Share Posted February 9, 2017 I frequently swapped out my main HDD with cloning software that came with the SSD and never had a problem. Be it Windows 7, 8 or 10, I was also never asked for activation. This was both on PC's and laptops. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
techbeck Posted February 9, 2017 Share Posted February 9, 2017 On 2/4/2017 at 8:58 PM, ultimate99 said: My desktop pc runs windows 10 on an ssd, would it be possible to install that ssd into a laptop and just work? Moving a HD that already has an OS installed to another PC will not work unless the hardware is the same/very similar. The OS will not boot and you will most likely get BSOD errors as well. Always best to do a fresh install. And if by some weird reason the laptop would boot, you would probably have several other issues. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
xendrome Posted February 9, 2017 Share Posted February 9, 2017 24 minutes ago, Odom said: I frequently swapped out my main HDD with cloning software that came with the SSD and never had a problem. Be it Windows 7, 8 or 10, I was also never asked for activation. This was both on PC's and laptops. That's not what he is asking. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Odom Member Posted February 9, 2017 Member Share Posted February 9, 2017 Quote That's not what he is asking. Sorry, you are correct, I was replying to the first answer in this thread, forgot to quote it for reference. So my answer is: You can clone your current HDD to a new SSD and just swap it out without any issues. When you boot up the first time Windows will detect the new drive, and then prompt you for another reboot. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+Biscuits Brown MVC Posted February 9, 2017 MVC Share Posted February 9, 2017 55 minutes ago, techbeck said: Moving a HD that already has an OS installed to another PC will not work unless the hardware is the same/very similar. The OS will not boot and you will most likely get BSOD errors as well. Always best to do a fresh install. And if by some weird reason the laptop would boot, you would probably have several other issues. This is no longer true with Windows 10. I've moved plenty of drives from one system to another vastly different system and Win 10 boots right up. It does take a little longer as it needs to adjust some hardware drivers but it does work pretty well. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eric Veteran Posted February 9, 2017 Veteran Share Posted February 9, 2017 1 hour ago, techbeck said: Moving a HD that already has an OS installed to another PC will not work unless the hardware is the same/very similar. The OS will not boot and you will most likely get BSOD errors as well. Always best to do a fresh install. And if by some weird reason the laptop would boot, you would probably have several other issues. Not necessarily true. I moved my SSD directly from an Intel Core i3 PC to an AMD Phenom II one without reinstalling. It took a while to boot the first time and the drivers all got replaced but it worked fine. It just required reactivating. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Max Veteran Posted February 9, 2017 Veteran Share Posted February 9, 2017 (edited) After cloning many different Windows 10 installs from drive to drive/PC to PC, I can safely say that every single one has worked without a problem. On first load, it will configure itself for a few minutes then return you to the desktop. If the screen goes black when loading, leave it for a while. You may have to install ethernet/wireless drivers to get windows update to work. Once it does, it will source most of the drivers upon checking for updates. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+Warwagon MVC Posted February 9, 2017 MVC Share Posted February 9, 2017 3 Things 1) If the hardware is not the same Windows 10 actually see's that and reconfigures the hardware on bootup. 2) You might be able to input the windows 7 key on the bottom of the computer to activate it once it's in windows. If it's a windows 8 machine just try activating. If it's a vista machine, You're ######ed! 3) The Free upgrade period is not over. You can still upgrade to Windows 10 for free, all they removed was the nagging and the automatic upgrades. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
techbeck Posted February 9, 2017 Share Posted February 9, 2017 47 minutes ago, Zag L. said: This is no longer true with Windows 10. I've moved plenty of drives from one system to another vastly different system and Win 10 boots right up. It does take a little longer as it needs to adjust some hardware drivers but it does work pretty well. 42 minutes ago, Eric said: Not necessarily true. I moved my SSD directly from an Intel Core i3 PC to an AMD Phenom II one without reinstalling. It took a while to boot the first time and the drivers all got replaced but it worked fine. It just required reactivating. Huh, I have still seen issues. In either case, I wouldnt just pull a drive from one machine and use on another. Less issues doing a fresh install. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mockingbird Posted February 9, 2017 Share Posted February 9, 2017 2 hours ago, Eric said: Not necessarily true. I moved my SSD directly from an Intel Core i3 PC to an AMD Phenom II one without reinstalling. It took a while to boot the first time and the drivers all got replaced but it worked fine. It just required reactivating. That's true. I was also surprise. It (Windows 10) boot up to "Configure Windows" and then download all the necessary drivers. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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