Want old Windows HDD with Window 7 Home &new Win10 Home on new compute

This is sounding like something I can do. If I do install the old drive, and don't remove the new drive, the old would go into the second bay and wouldn't that make it the secondary drive? Or should I just switch the places of the two. Seems to me that a long time ago I might have linked two drives together in one computer. Too long, and I've forgotten so much.

I don't know how to clone it to the ssd and wouldn't having it on both drives confuse the computer? I think putting it on the SSD is what I should do, I just don't know how.

Once the this is accomplished and the new one is working, when summer comes I do want to get Windows 10 on the new computer. and I do like the dual boot idea. Seems perfect.

Keeping future options open:
1. I *might* want to see if I can get the laptop fixed and move that old drive back into it. Guess I better ask MS if they would let me activate on the new computer, then de-activate from there and re-activate on the old laptop. I love using a laptop and really can't afford a new one.

2. Another option I'll be looking at in maybe 6 months: put a new 2 TB drive in the new desktop since the existing old drive we are talking about is already 3/4ths full. If I make a disk image of the old drive, I am guessing I can just put that on the new drive and keep right on going. Do you think so? That old drive can then move back to the laptop IF it can be fixed and if MS allows. (it's a broken cooling fan - I can run it with an ice pack on the keyboard above the drive and fan, as long as I keep it really cold and only remove it for a few minutes at a time).

You have to remember how many licenses for Windows you have, which from all indications is 1. That means you can only legally have 1 copy of Windows installed, period. When you put your old HDD in the new computer, my guess is that the old HDD is MBR type partitions for use with legacy BIOS. In order to boot the new computer from it, you will have to enable CSM mode in the UEFI (BIOS), and turn off (disable) secure booting. It does not matter what position the HDD gets installed in - your choose which drive to boot from in UEFI (BIOS).

Since you say the 1TB HDD is 3/4 full, cloning it to the SSD is not a possibility, unless you have two separate partitions on the old HDD - one small one for the OS, and a large one for data storage.

I believe the OS is on a separate, small partition. I can start the laptop and check it in a little while.

I have actually 2 Win7 licenses - one is Windows 7 Pro with the 32 and 64 bit disks that I bought a long time ago, and the other is Windows 7 Home Premium.

What is MBR? This laptop is from 2012. Is that helpful?

kelliann said:

What is MBR? This laptop is from 2012. Is that helpful?

MBR is a partitioning type for physical drives (SSD or HDD). It is used on Legacy BIOS systems. GPT is the partitioning type that is used for UEFI systems. You can "run as administrator" command prompt in Windows 7 and run:

diskpart
list disk

If there is asterisk * in the GPT column, then the drive is GPT and will boot in an UEFI computer. If there is no * then the drive will only boot in Legacy BIOS mode. On a UEFI computer, you can boot a Legacy BIOS drive by enabling CSM mode in the UEFI setup.

UEFI is the replacement firmware for BIOS.

In any case (GPT or MBR), Windows 7 does not support secure boot so to boot Windows 7 you must also turn off secure boot in the UEFI setup.

I started the laptop and ran as administrator, and typed diskpart. When that showed up I typed listdisk. I got 2 columns. The left column seems to be a list of commands, alphabetized (some of which I recognize from long ago). On the list, I see:

GPT -Assign attributes to the selected GPT partition.

I don't see any * anywhere.

I then typed EXIT and the DOS window closed.

How do I get to UEFI (formerly BIOS)?

This would be on the desktop with no OS other than FreeDOS which I assume is stored on the SSD.

Thank you again! You are helping so much!

kelliann said:

I started the laptop and ran as administrator, and typed diskpart. When that showed up I typed listdisk.

Did you type listdisk or list disk. The proper command is list disk with a space in between.

Here's a manual that will help you:
http://h20565.www2.hp.com/portal/sit...tte.cachetoken

To get into UEFI setup:

Didn't put the space in. Just did and got what is below. I do not know why it says Free 0 B because there are GBs of space free.

Disk ### Status Size Free Dyn Gpt
Disk 0 OnLine 931GB 0 B

Diskpart>

It says 0B free because the entire drive is partitioned. There is no unallocated space. There are GBs of free space inside the partition(s), but there is no free space to create a new partition in.

I looked at the drive on the laptop. It says:
Local Disk C Total space 973.8GB, used space 530 GB, free 376 (more than I thought)
Recovery D total space 20.3 GB, used space 18.1GB, free space 2.1GB
HP Tools E total space 4.25GB, used 2.88, free 1.07

Under Recovery D, it says:
Recycle Bin
Boot
factory update
HP
preload <<< This is the biggest thing on there - 17.2 GB
recovery
RM_Reserve
System Volume Information