[SOLVED] Moving existing boot drive to new PC build...

[the_mickyree]

Hi everyone,

(Sorry if this is in the wrong forum category)

I'm currently running a fairly outdated system - FX8350, DDR3 ram etc etc.

I've just bought Ryzen 5 3600, MSI Tomahawk Max B450 mobo and 16GB DDR4 3600Mhz ram.

I want to re-use my existing Samsung Evo SSD boot drive however it already has Windows 10 OEM installed on it. I believe this won't work when installed to a new mobo due to the fact its an OEM, so I will need to buy a new windows OEM key. However, I'm unsure how (or if) to wipe the boot drive prior to trying to install the new OS?

Does the Windows installer know to overwrite any existing OS present on the storage?

I'm close to buying a M.2 drive to act as the boot but if I can save the money and continue using my existing SSD it would be preferred..

Any advice or recommendations greatly appreciated.

Many thanks,

Mike

 

[USAFRet]

Where did your existing Win 10 come from? You may not need to buy a new license.
You'll still need to do a clean install, but possibly transfer the license.


But using the drive as a secondary and wiping all the data on it...no problem.
Commandline diskpart and the clean command will wipe it out completely.

 

[the_mickyree]

Hi USAFRet,

It was a Kinguin purchase so I'm pretty sure it's bound to the one PC/Motherboard. I've also got no idea what the registration key is or was.

I'm happy to buy a new license just so long as I can install it onto my current SSD. Will windows automatically detect the old version of windows and wipe it to make room or the new OS installation?

Sorry if I'm not making much sense!

 

[USAFRet]

It won't automatically wipe the old drive. You do that manually, after the OS is installed on the new drive.

Install your new OS on the new drive, with only that one drive connected.
Later, you connect your old one and wipe it clean.

How To - Windows 10 clean install tutorial

If you are looking for the Windows 11 Clean install tutorial, you can find that here: Windows 11 Clean install tutorial (Click here) Otherwise, welcome to the Windows 10 Clean install tutorial This tutorial is intended to help you, step by step, to perform a clean install of Windows...

forums.tomshardware.com

 

[geofelt]

Do you want to try to preserve the data or apps on your current C drive?
Sometimes we have many apps to install or we may have lost the source to be able to do so.
If so, you could try to boot from the drive.
Sometimes that works.
If you can get into windows, you can then install the drivers that come with your new motherboard.
Here is a link to activation:
https://www.windowscentral.com/how-re-activate-windows-10-after-hardware-change

Normally, it is best to do a new clean install when changing the motherboard.

When you do a clean install on your old drive, you will get an option to wipe the drive and properly format it.

If you buy a new m.2 drive, the same thing applies.

Heed The advice from USAFRet to have ONLY the windows device attached during the installation,
If yo have a second drive attached, windows will place a hidden recovery partition on the second drive, making it all but impossible to ever boot without the second drive attached.

If you load windows to a m.2 device, you can later reattach your original drive and have access to data folders on it, but not any apps.
You can delete any windows folders on the old drive or completely reformat it if you wish.

 

[popatim]

That license can be transferred by changing the activation to your MS account and then on the new motherbd, activate with your MS account instead of your Key.

Remember to backup before you begin in case something goes wrong.