Question regarding installation of W10 on a new PC with old drive

Hello,
I tried to read up on this topic but there is quite a bit of contradicting information, so I thought I'd better ask myself. So excuse me, I bet there have been threads like mine before but for every answer I read, there was another one stating the opposite.

The situation:
I am building a new PC which will use the SSD of my old PC as a system drive. I am still hoping the plug-and-play features of W10 allow me to get around the reinstallation of windows entirely after uninstalling all drivers, but I want to make sure (and also be able to reinstall at a later point of time).

So, I own a (legit) retail version of W7 (64 bit) and upgraded to W10 while it was possible. Also, I linked my license key to my microsoft account.
From reading this article https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/...ardware-change I understand that since the anniversary update I can change hardware after linking the account, including even the mainboard. What if I, as in my case, where to replace everything besides the SSD or even that. Will activation with my microsoft account work just fine or should I buy a cheap key off one of the many shady sites out there.

Your help is very much appreciated!

oiuhbviuah said:

Will activation with my microsoft account work just fine or should I buy a cheap key off one of the many shady sites out there.

Your help is very much appreciated!

Seems to me like the smart thing to do would be to try it with the activation troubleshooter and your Microsoft Account and if that doesn't work then you can always purchase a product key to activate it with.

Kind of like just moving the SSD over with Windows 10 still installed on it (which I have done, BTW and it works just fine). You can ask if it will work or not but the bottom line is if it doesn't work...ummmm....well then just do a clean install.

It's not like we are talking about doing permanent damage to anything here. Try the easy way first. If the easy way doesn't work, then move to the harder way.

Thank you for your suggestion. I will of course try it the easy way first but at some point I want to try a clean install anyways.

oiuhbviuah said:

Hello,
I tried to read up on this topic but there is quite a bit of contradicting information, so I thought I'd better ask myself. So excuse me, I bet there have been threads like mine before but for every answer I read, there was another one stating the opposite.

The situation:
I am building a new PC which will use the SSD of my old PC as a system drive. I am still hoping the plug-and-play features of W10 allow me to get around the reinstallation of windows entirely after uninstalling all drivers, but I want to make sure (and also be able to reinstall at a later point of time).

So, I own a (legit) retail version of W7 (64 bit) and upgraded to W10 while it was possible. Also, I linked my license key to my microsoft account.
From reading this article https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/...ardware-change I understand that since the anniversary update I can change hardware after linking the account, including even the mainboard. What if I, as in my case, where to replace everything besides the SSD or even that. Will activation with my microsoft account work just fine or should I buy a cheap key off one of the many shady sites out there.

Your help is very much appreciated!

Windows 10 is more flexible when changing hardware, so it is unlikely that you will see any of the dreadful BSOD when moving Windows 7 or earlier to different hardware. I guess it will boot without any problem, you can then update the drivers to match the new hardware. Chances are that you will have to activate Windows again, if you cannot do that online automatically, simply call Microsoft Support, tell them you have upgraded your PC and they will activate it for you.

spapakons said:

Windows 10 is more flexible when changing hardware, so it is unlikely that you will see any of the dreadful BSOD when moving Windows 7 or earlier to different hardware.

Should I uninstall my old MB drivers (at least ethernet, sound and whatever's possible) anyways?

There is not necessary apart from freeing some disk space, but do it anyway to minimize the chances of conflict.

I work in a Computer Store as a Technician and I have seen many cases when the original motherboard just dies and we have not the same model to replace it. In that case we put the closer model (in terms of chipset and other components) we can find (sometimes from different manufacturer) and all we have to do is to update the drivers and reactivate Windows. If the automatic activation fails, we call Microsoft Support, follow the onscreen instructions and do the activation. If this is the second time the specific license is activated, we are not asked any questions about it, the activation code is given upon completing typing the onscreen code. The only case we have been asked is when is more than twice the same license is activated. And in that case the question is if the same license is used on another computer. We simply press the relevant selection for no, and we are given the activation code. So do not worry about it. The worse it can happen is to lose a few minutes of your time to do activation by phone.

PS: If you cannot type fast enough, write the code down on a piece of paper and type it afterwards. If you miss a part you can press the relevant selection to hear the code again, but you start from the beginning, not quite convenient. I always make sure the cursor is at the first box and I'm ready to type before I press the relevant selection to begin announcing it. If you type it directly, make sure you make no mistakes.