Need to move my OS disk to new CPU

[frotec]

I have a Dell Inspirion 3847 with tons of applications installed since I bought it several years ago, The W10 is an OEM so cannot be transferred. I do not wish to reinstall all the applications. Can I buy a new Dell System and discard the OS drive that came. Take my old OS drive and put into new CPU and buy a retail copy of W10 and use that license no to activate my old OS disk on new CPU

 

[DSzymborski]

While you can, new hardware means a fresh reinstall. You can try to run it without a fresh install, but there's a high chance of failure, whether it's an immediate inability to work or nagging problems that pop up for months. Operating systems aren't meant to be modular this way unless you're using something designed for this, such as Windows to Go.

 

[captaincharisma]

i don't think you can. the windows licence is tied to the mobo with prebuilts like that. you may be able to transfer the windows license over using the activation troubleshooter but there is no 100% guarantee it will work

plus you would need to perform a clean install because there is a 50/50 chance it will boot in the new computer

 

[DSzymborski]

i don't think you can. the windows licence is tied to the mobo with prebuilts like that. you may be able to transfer the windows license over using the activation troubleshooter but there is no 100% guarantee it will work

plus you would need to perform a clean install because there is a 50/50 chance it will boot in the new computer

I think he means using his old disk and buying a new key and then applying it so that he doesn't have to reinstall Windows. Which can be a mess, of course, and I wouldn't ever recommend it.

 

[frotec]

Thank you (all of you) for such a quick response. It seems I should just plan on reinstalling the applications on the new CPU..Pain in the backside but in the long run it may be better .

 

[DSzymborski]

Thank you (all of you) for such a quick response. It seems I should just plan on reinstalling the applications on the new CPU..Pain in the backside but in the long run it may be better .

It really is. A fresh install after some years is also a nice way to filter out some of the crap that accumulates, like crumbs under a couch cushion. We always have people here that try, but it's usually just better to do the best practice once and then not have to worry about it.

On one of my hard drives, I just keep the executables for the programs that I use and I keep a copy of the the icon folders I use for my start menu in Start10. On a new install, it's easy enough to just go down the list.