[SOLVED] Windows 10 and new (old) pc

[tpc]

So I have 2 situations that I am unsure how to rectify.

First, I was given some new hardware that is better than my current pc hardware as a upgrade. I have windows 10 pro on the current pc. I believe this copy of win10 came as a win7 upgrade and the win7 came from a school resource when I was attending (you could download a legitimate copy and license for being a student).

I will be putting a new hd in the new(old) pc, but this pc is an amd and the old one is an intel. Is there a way to put a clean install on the new hd and still retain my legitimate copy of win10 pro? Or will I have to purchase a new license if I want to do that? Are they expensive?

The second issue is the current pc has a secondary hard drive that is just being used to store photos on. I think I might have tried to use it to install a large game on it at one time, but it was so slow it didn’t work right anyway, so I removed it and just kept it as a storage drive. I don’t think there are any “OS” files or folders on it. Can I simply install this in the new(old) pc or is there something specific I need to do or check for to be sure it can still work when it gets there? It has all of our family photos on it and it would be devastating to lose all of them.

So to recap:

1. How can I get my win10 pro license on new hd and new to me pc?
2. What steps do I need to take to move secondary hd from old pc to new to me pc to be sure I can still access all my photos, documents, etc?

Thanks in advance as I really appreciate the help here. I know I don’t spend a lot of time on these forums, but they are a great resource. And my current pc is working fine but it’s an old core 2 duo, so it’s time to move on to something a little faster.

 

[punkncat]

With an edu license it's hard to say. In the spirit of that license, if you aren't going to school any more....

Now, before changes, would be a good time to back those files up somewhere as a second copy in case something bad happens. Having a backup and a backup to the backup is a really good idea with important stuff.

 

[tpc]

It’s been 10 years so I really am relying on some bad memory as to the vintage of the license. I’m not trying to pull a fast one or anything, I have never done anything improper and more than willing to talk to Microsoft support about it. In fact I have in the past, it’s just not the speediest of responses lol. It’s entirely possible that I bought that copy, I just cannot remember.

But regardless. I am more concerned about the secondary drive. My question was not about having a backup and a backup and a backup of a backup. I just want to know A, will it work. B, do I have to do anything special. In fact I’d say 80% of that drive came from “backup” burned discs. And eventually they will end up on another drive, and this one will be the backup, and then I’ll have discs, and a drive and another drive.

I appreciate the response, I really do. Just need some more info. Thanks!

 

[DSzymborski]

You say these files are important, I'd double-check these discs before you do anything. Consumer-burned discs can fail surprisingly quickly and "I think I have 80% or so" isn't really a definite backup. Can you afford to lose 20% of your pictures?

 

[Grobe]

You don't attend to school any more. I guess MS have not different rules in your country as mine, so on that base I'd say you'd buy yourself a new license.

 

[tpc]

Did some searching last night and found all the information about my windows license (which was purchased btw) so all set with that.

After that, I was able to backup all my pictures/stuff to the cloud. So the backup is complete. It did take most of the night to complete.

The question still remains. Will the disk have issues when I move it? Or more basically does it just act like a storage drive that could be moved from computer to computer or are there some steps to do so it can?

And before you just say “wipe it clean and pull down from the cloud”, yes I know that and I will do that if necessary. Saying that is the the same thing as saying “I don’t know”, which is fine, but just say it lol.

Thanks again for all the responses!

 

[USAFRet]

The question still remains. Will the disk have issues when I move it? Or more basically does it just act like a storage drive that could be moved from computer to computer or are there some steps to do so it can?

Assuming there are no applications on this, it will probably work just fine.

"Probably", being the reason you have that data backed up elsewhere.
Nothing is 100% certain, until proven working.

 

[DSzymborski]

Did some searching last night and found all the information about my windows license (which was purchased btw) so all set with that.

After that, I was able to backup all my pictures/stuff to the cloud. So the backup is complete. It did take most of the night to complete.

The question still remains. Will the disk have issues when I move it? Or more basically does it just act like a storage drive that could be moved from computer to computer or are there some steps to do so it can?

And before you just say “wipe it clean and pull down from the cloud”, yes I know that and I will do that if necessary. Saying that is the the same thing as saying “I don’t know”, which is fine, but just say it lol.

Thanks again for all the responses!

The only certain thing is death.

Nobody here expects issues when you move the disk (but, of course, do not have it installed when installing an OS on another drive). But all data loss issues are prevented by not losing the data in the first place, so we strongly recommend careful, robust backup plans.