On Transferring a System Drive with Windows 10 to a Completely Different Machine
Yes, you can do this, but you will get one of three results:
1. The machine will not boot, period. In which case you will simply have to do a completely clean install of Windows 10 anyway. If the hardware is really different this is the most likely outcome.
2. The machine will boot and run, even relatively well, and you can reactivate Windows, but because the hardware is completely different you will spend weeks to months chasing one issue after another because virtually nothing from the old hardware matches the new and that would make any OS crazy. It’s expecting things that just aren’t there anymore.
3. The machine will boot and run flawlessly, though Windows will not be activated. This happens, but is the least likely outcome. I’ve personally never seen this occur, but there are enough credible reports that it must happen on occasion. I would also imagine this only happens when one is dealing with actual or virtual "hardware twins" for the transplant.
My general advice is to start again from scratch. It all depends on what your tolerance for experimentation and frustration is.
If the machine in question ever had Windows 10 installed and activated at any point in the past it when you reinstall it will automatically fetch the digital license for the edition that it knows that machine last had. You can, of course, choose to upgrade it to a different edition, e.g., Home to Pro, by purchasing a Pro license key and using Settings, Update & Security, Activation Pane, Change product key link. After doing the under the hood activation for the components that were previously locked, you’ll have Windows 10 Pro instead. Windows 10 does not have to be reinstalled, as all components are already present, it is the license key that determines which are unlocked and active, which in turn is what determines the edition you’re running.