Quick question about reusing hard drives

[nubsauce101]

Hi there,

I'm going to be building my new rig shortly and I have a bit of a concern. Would I run into any problems if I pulled a hard drive from an Lenovo desktop (still being used) and use it directly with the new rig without having to do it fresh install? Any feedback is appreciated and thanks in advance!

 

[cl-scott]

Yes, you would have two major problems. The first is a technical issue, in that when you tried to boot Windows it would BSOD pretty quickly. The second is a legal issue, in that the copy of Windows that came with the Lenovo was licensed specifically for that unit, and you cannot just move it to another. So even if you got the OS to boot, it would fail activation.

 

[nubsauce101]

Darn it, so I would have to wipe and do a fresh install?

 

[ss202sl]

Yes you have to do a new install. You would also need a new Windows license. The Lenovo desktop came with an OEM license, and will be tied to it's motherboard.