Changing Windows 10 from one Pc to another.

[14789632]

Hello I have a pc that I bought prebuilt a few years back and now am building my own and will not be using the old one anymore and want to move just the operating system none of my other files to the new pc. I have been looking online and everything I could find on the internet either wasn't clear or didn't work. I have windows 10 on a hdd that was upgraded from windows 7 and want to move it onto a hard drive that connects to my pc by usb so I can put it on the ssd im getting.

 

[bignastyid]

If the copy of window is OEM then it's tied to the old motherboard and you will need to buy a new one for the new system.

 

[USAFRet]

Hello I have a pc that I bought prebuilt a few years back and now am building my own and will not be using the old one anymore and want to move just the operating system none of my other files to the new pc. I have been looking online and everything I could find on the internet either wasn't clear or didn't work. I have windows 10 on a hdd that was upgraded from windows 7 and want to move it onto a hard drive that connects to my pc by usb so I can put it on the ssd im getting.

Not gonna work. Your new PC needs its own brand new OS license.

Your old prebuilt was almost certainly an OEM license for that Win 7. That 'OEM' carries through to the Upgraded Win 10.
Tied to the original motherboard.

Secondly, You can't move 'just the OS'.

Thirdly, it would almost certainly need a full reinstall on the new hardware, even if the licensing was not an issue.
Win 10 is a bit better for new hardware, but def not guaranteed to wok.

Solution?
Sell your old PC for $150. Use that to buy a new OS, AND enough left over for a nice lunch.