Windows os install question

[JLiang]

I am building my pc today. I have a question. I am taking my ssd from my laptop with os windows 7 on it and I plan to use it on my desktop. I bought a new copy of windows 10. Can I just plug the ssd and boot it on the new desktop and install Windows 10 using cd ( and it automatically cleans the drive and install 10 on it.) Or do i have to format the ssd clean before doing it?

 

[detroitwillfall]

I am building my pc today. I have a question. I am taking my ssd from my laptop with os windows 7 on it and I plan to use it on my desktop. I bought a new copy of windows 10. Can I just plug the ssd and boot it on the new desktop and install Windows 10 using cd ( and it automatically cleans the drive and install 10 on it.) Or do i have to format the ssd clean before doing it?

you cannot take a drive from another pc and boot into an operating system. yes you must first delete the partitions with win 7 then take the unallocated space and partition/select that to install windows 10.

 

[R_1]

the ssd will not boot on anything but the laptop as it is. you can put it in the desktop and use the windows 10 installer to format and setup the drive.

 

[joex444]

The Windows 10 install media is bootable. Boot from that, then when you're presented with a choice of how to install it, tell it that you want to remove all the partitions and use the entire drive. If you only have the SSD installed at this moment then there's no ambiguity about which drive will have Windows 10.

Also note the above two are incorrect. The drive would attempt to boot into Windows 7, but likely the drivers are all mismatched and it would not work correctly. The activation would also go away because it would detect the motherboard changed. Fundamentally the SSD from the laptop would have a boot sector on it, and the desktop can read that and boot from it. It may crash, it may work.

 

[USAFRet]

Install the drive
Boot from your new install media
Install the OS, wiping ALL the existing partitions on the drive
Done.