Building my first pc and had some questions about the hard drive.

[eridian00]

I am building a pc on a budget and have been ordering parts when they are on sale, or bundled with other parts i need ect. I already got a new hard drive ordered in and am now just saving up the money to buy the graphics card and a windows 10 operating system. My question is, could i transfer my windows 10 from my current hard drive onto the new one once i get it all built? I know next to nothing about that kind of thing and don't really know if it's possible and if so how to do it. I originally had windows 7 and then upgraded to 10 for free, so I do not have a windows 10 disk.

 

[elbert]

As far as I know free upgrades can not be transfered to a new build. You can try but it probably will not work. You can always use the free trail if you like.

 

[dudeman509]

Yes.

Link it to your Microsoft account.

https://www.windowscentral.com/how-re-activate-windows-10-after-hardware-change

 

[USAFRet]

I am building a pc on a budget and have been ordering parts when they are on sale, or bundled with other parts i need ect. I already got a new hard drive ordered in and am now just saving up the money to buy the graphics card and a windows 10 operating system. My question is, could i transfer my windows 10 from my current hard drive onto the new one once i get it all built? I know next to nothing about that kind of thing and don't really know if it's possible and if so how to do it. I originally had windows 7 and then upgraded to 10 for free, so I do not have a windows 10 disk.

Yes.
Read and do this BEFORE you change any parts:
https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/help/20530/windows-10-reactivating-after-hardware-change
http://www.tomshardware.com/forum/id-3164428/windows-build-1607-activation.html

That is just for the license/activation.

Your new PC will almost certainly require a fresh OS install. But the above means you don't need to buy a new OS license for your new PC.

 

[photonboy]

Windows 10 is still tied to the existing system though.

The "re-activate" is based on some components changing, but NOT THE MOTHERBOARD.

As said, no matter what you would have to do a CLEAN INSTALL if it's a new motherboard (unless it was a replacement of the same socket which could be fine).

*If you had a FULL VERSION (non-OEM) you could de-activate the license, then re-activate it on a different PC but you do NOT have a full version as the UPGRADE is non-transferable.

MAYBE, just maybe Microsoft is lenient, or it fails to activate and you call the number and it works for you (it's happened) however Microsoft states clearly that you can't simply move Windows 10 (non-OEM) to a new machine.

 

[photonboy]

This is for the RETAIL version (non-OEM) which most copies are not:
https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/Useterms/Retail/Windows/10/UseTerms_Retail_Windows_10_English.htm

"..you may transfer the software to another device that belongs to you."

(which again first involves DE-ACTIVATING)

Here's OEM:
https://answers.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/forum/windows_10-windows_install/can-i-transfer-windows-10-to-another-computer/3704e5b9-0a43-4d29-9492-0792181a8a44?auth=1

"- OEM licenses are tied to the very first computer you install and activate it on
- OEM versions allow all hardware upgrades except for an upgrade to a different model motherboard.."

and

"If the base qualifying license (Windows 7 or Windows 8.1) was a full retail version, then yes, you can transfer it. "

*So you can ONLY transfer the license if you somehow had a FULL RETAIN VERSION of W7 installed.