Move hard drive to new PC?

[bo.brooks09]

I have a Dell Precision Workstation that is about 4 years old with Windows 10 and a Xeon processor. I am purchasing a new Dell Precision workstation with Windows 10 and a Xeon processor. Is it possible to take my existing hard drive out of the old PC and use it in the new PC as the boot drive? I would like to not have to reload all my existing programs and settings.

 

[bo.brooks09]

IANAL, but legally, per the terms and condition set by Microsoft, OEM license Windows is non-transferable to another machine.

That said, assuming it's Retail or Vol Licensed installation, it may or may not throw a BSOD from the drivers that are already installed and conflicting with new hardware.

moving the HDD and installing it as a secondary drive for internal storage? Absolutely you can do that.

This was a Windows 7 PC that was updated with the free upgrade.

 

[stdragon]

Is this an OEM copy of Windows 10, or retail? Per MS, OEM copies are bound to the machine, and thus are non-transferable to another computer. If it's retail, you should be ok. That said, you risk throwing a BSOD upon boot as the drivers loaded will be different than the hardware it's expecting to see.

 

[stdragon]

[This was a Windows 7 PC that was updated with the free upgrade.

Yeah, sorry, no. You need to purchase another copy of Windows 10.

 

[bignastyid]

[This was a Windows 7 PC that was updated with the free upgrade.

Yeah, sorry, no. You need to purchase another copy of Windows 10.

The new system looks like it comes with a win 10 licence so I doubt licensing will be a problem.

 

[bignastyid]

I have a Dell Precision Workstation that is about 4 years old with Windows 10 and a Xeon processor. I am purchasing a new Dell Precision workstation with Windows 10 and a Xeon processor. Is it possible to take my existing hard drive out of the old PC and use it in the new PC as the boot drive? I would like to not have to reload all my existing programs and settings.

If you want to use the old drive in a new system you want/need to do a clean reinstall. It may boot but will likely have stability and/or stability problems.

 

[stdragon]

[This was a Windows 7 PC that was updated with the free upgrade.

Yeah, sorry, no. You need to purchase another copy of Windows 10.

The new system looks like it comes with a win 10 licence so I doubt licensing will be a problem.

Depends. Some will order a new machine with Ubuntu just to save a hundred bucks or so.

 

[10tacle]

Just to add here, you do not need to buy a new OEM copy of Win10 with a motherboard/CPU (or entire PC) upgrade. Just contact Microsoft with your MS account and let them know you upgraded your PC for license validation. If you do not have an account with MS, sign up for one before doing anything. And yes, as stated above, a clean install is strongly recommended with new hardware on a previously installed copy of Windows on anther machine. Windows registry can be testy with hardware it was used to but now is dealing with something new and different.

 

[bignastyid]

[This was a Windows 7 PC that was updated with the free upgrade.

Yeah, sorry, no. You need to purchase another copy of Windows 10.

The new system looks like it comes with a win 10 licence so I doubt licensing will be a problem.

Depends. Some will order a new machine with Ubuntu just to save a hundred bucks or so.

Second sentence of the original post.
"I am purchasing a new Dell Precision workstation with Windows 10 and a Xeon processor."

 

[DSzymborski]

And if your install is four years old, you're probably overdue for a fresh install anyway.

Avoid shortcuts. Best practices lead to best results.

 

[USAFRet]

A fresh install is always recommended, often required.

There are basically 3 outcomes in switching a drive like that:
1. It boots up just fine
2. It fails completely
3. It boots up, but you find lingering issues later

You can try it if you want, but don't be surprised if you get #2 or 3 above.