If I replace a hard drive with an OS already on it with another with an OS already on it will it work?

[dude7691]

Hi all, here's my situation. My laptop recently died on me (unrepairable at reasonable cost) and I need to buy a substitute. My original laptop had a 1tb hdd so I want to use it with my new one which will have a smaller capacity hdd. If I transfer the hard drive directly across will it work (assuming the ports are compatible). Cheers!

 

[haroon453]

Depends upon the OS, If the OS is Windows 8/10 it will reinstall devices upon boot.

 

[dude7691]

Okay the machine I have now is 8.1 64 bit and I plan to transfer that over to a laptop that was previously running windows 7 but has the hardware requirements to run W8.1. It's basically because it's a much bigger drive and I personally prefer it as an OS.

 

[SkyNetRising]

Is hardware of both laptops the same?
If not, then most likely you'll run into multiple problems - performance issues,boot mode compatibility, problems with licensing.
Windows needs to be reinstalled for proper operation.

 

[dude7691]

Okay no worries, thanks for the info, looks like I'll be trying it with the hdd from my broken laptop to see if it works, if not I'll be getting an external drive if 160GB (the new HDD capacity) proves to not be enough. Thank you!

 

[need4speeds]

Look on the bottom of the laptop for a windows key sticker. You can just change the key once you get it working with the new hdd if it's the same os or a older one. So if it's windows 7 and your sticker is windows 8. You can download the ISO for 8 and reinstall it from 7.

It's also possible to download the ISO or file for a usb stick to reinstall the os. You will need the key and need to reactivate it after.

 

[dude7691]

I mean windows was already installed on the old now broken laptop so the files will still be there. I don't have the key unfortunately but I do have a key for another version of windows 8.1 that might work as I think it allows 1 laptop 1 desktop. I'll just see how it goes and will set up another thread if things go wrong. If possible I will just use the windows 7 off the new laptop and reinstall it on a bigger hard drive, I'll let you all know what I decide to do depending how things go. Thank you for your time as always, really appreciated

 

[need4speeds]

Yeah i know. So try to get your old hdd working one last time so you can go to COMPUTER/System. Try to get your key.

Also copy your bookmarks in waterfox or firefox or other os to a usb stick and any files you can get off the hdd before it does again.

 

[need4speeds]

No the versions of windows are all OEM versions so they are tied to the board. It will go non-genuine and give you a warning it's not activated.

 

[need4speeds]

There has to be a key somewhere, you lost all the stuff with it? Maybe the sticker is somewhere else in the laptop you should google it.

 

[dude7691]

Hi again, sorry I'm late. The hard drive is still in fully working order and I have a case I can plug it into to access all the files if need be. I've dismantled it down to the motherboard before and found nothing. I cannot get the laptop working again unfortunately, it's completely past it. Thanks for all your help by the way

 

[dude7691]

I'm pretty sure it's impossible without the motherboard being operational as as you said the key is tied to the motherboard. Think it may be gone already. Will try the key I've got being used on this PC I'm typing from now. It's only activated on this one computer.

 

[ex_bubblehead]

....Will try the key I've got being used on this PC I'm typing from now. It's only activated on this one computer.

Won't work. 1 key = 1 PC. You also run the very real risk that both systems will now be deactivated when the activation servers detect the same key being used twice.