Helping people with computers... one answer at a time.
Windows configures itself to the hardware it finds, but changing everything at once by moving the system disk to a different machine might be too much.
I would like your take on installing a C: Hard drive from one computer into another computer. Would that computer boot up normally with the C: Hard drive from another machine?
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This is a classic case of "maybe".
Ultimately, it might work, and it might not. Or something in between.
It depends on how similar the two machines are.
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When you install Windows onto a machine, the installation process configures Windows to the specific hardware configuration of that machine. It selects and installs the drives appropriate to, for example, the specific network card, sound card, hard disk interface, CD-ROM drive and so on that you actually have installed in that machine.
In fact, it even selects drivers and settings for things you don't normally think of, like chipsets, CPUs and other low-level components.
If the machine you take your hard disk to is identical to the original machine, then yes, you stand a pretty good chance of having everything work. You might have to deal with Windows activation, since that incorporates things like serial numbers to detect hardware changes, but that too can often just work or be handled with a phone call.
If the new machine is dramatically different, then I'd not expect this to work. The problem is I can't point to a specific thing and say that "this will break it". A different CPU? Maybe, maybe not. A different disk controller? Perhaps. Different amounts of RAM? Probably not an issue.
It's difficult to say, but the more different the machines are, the less likely I would expect it to work.
Part of the problem is that knowing what will happen is further confused by Windows "plug and play" architecture. As you may have already experienced when adding new hardware, Windows often just notices, and either installs the new drivers, or prompts you for the new drivers, without your needing to do a thing.
The copy of Windows on your hard disk, when booted in a new machine, may simply treat the differences it finds as newly detected hardware; a lot of newly detected hardware. Your chances of success then depend on Windows ability to then install all the drivers for the hardware that it sees as different.
I have to say that, ultimately, I would never rely on this approach to work. There are simply too many pitfalls; too many ways that things could go wrong. I'd expect the result to be "half-baked" and prone to hardware issues. The safest approach, by far, is to reinstall Windows on any new machine after backing up the old hard disk, of course.
Which, to be frank, if you're planning on trying this strategy you should do anyway.
Article C3448 - July 18, 2008
Leo A. Notenboom has been playing with computers since he
was required to take a programming class in 1976. An 18 year career as a programmer at Microsoft soon followed.
After "retiring" in 2001, Leo started Ask Leo! in 2003 as a place for answers
to common computer and technical questions. More about Leo.
I recently upgraded my sons Windows 7 PC, replacing the psu, motherboard, processor, ram and graphics card, from Intel core 2 duo to AMD Phenom II x4, using the original system hard-drive without any problems. No one was more surprised than me that it went so smoothly - didn't even need re-activation.
I started by housekeeping the old system and creating a system image onto an external hard-drive, and a win7 repair disk just in case I needed to completely revert. I also made a Windows easy transfer file in case I had to do a clean install and reload the data/settings.
The system image was 120gb+ with a lot of apps, games and data my son would prefer not to lose or have to reinstall - hence trying the upgrade rather than the clean install that I would normally do. The original system had been previously been upgraded from Vista home premium to Win 7 professional, which had required a clean install - and took 2 days!
For the actual upgrade I installed the new psu, mobo, cpu and ram with the old system HD, DVD ROM and graphics card - leaving all other components disconnected (extra HD, DVD, PCI network card). Booted up the PC and Win 7 simply installed everything for the mobo very quickly and easily. I then added each old component (HD and DVD, then network card) and rebooted each time. When I connected the network card, Windows update downloaded a few more updates, which I installed before finally swapping the graphics card (from nVidia 9400GT to Radeon HD5770).
Finally I added some extra system fans so that my son can play his games at impressive resolutions.
The whole process took less than a day including half a day to housekeep and create backups.
The new system has been running like a dream for over a week. Result - one happy son (and dad)!
This is the third system I have built/upgraded involving Windows 7 and I have to say it seems far, far better than XP ever was at handling hardware installation/changes.
Posted by: Neill Brown at January 6, 2011 6:05 AMSo my recommendation would be to normally go for a clean install as the first choice, but don't be afraid of trying an upgrade if you are using Windows 7 - just make sure you have a backup plan in place. Taking on any major upgrade without backing up your precious data is a disaster waiting to happen - it usually takes longer than the actual upgrade and may seem like a waste of time, but it's a mistake you only ever make once!
In the past, I have used copy/paste to move a lot of files within one folder to another. Somewhere along the line when I opened those files up everything was there except the contents of the individual documents with zero quantity kbs. What in the world did I do or shouldn't have done. I'm not the geeky type as you can obviously see!
Posted by: Bud at July 19, 2011 8:52 AMRE: the question about Acronis- there is an additional program called Acronis Universal Restore that is supposed to allow restoring to a different hardware configuration. Otherwise a restore to a changed ot different PC can be wrought with all the problems mentioned and more. It has been a while since I bought my copy of the True Image back-up software, but the Universal Restore was an additional purchase. It interfaces right in with True Image. I don't know if it's bundled these days or still a separate purchase..
Concernig the topic, I believe XP took a fingerprint of the computer it was installed on as protection from multiple installs of the same OS on multiple machines. I had a combination of XP Pro and XP Home installed across my home network. Initially, some of the Pro were upgrades from Home. As I converted some PCs to full Pro from Home and got away from the PC manufacturer's "recovery disc" packages I once hit a lock out screen that required me to call Microsoft and explain there was only one registered copy of the program and that it wasn't installed on multiple machines. It was easy enough, but I was told the hardware signature is what tripped the lock out.
I know since Windows has the software authorization that's done over the Internet so maybe the hardware signature isn't used anymore. Since computers routinely get upgrades it always seemed a silly idea to me to use hardware as an identifier.
Posted by: Jim H at July 20, 2011 6:25 AMWhen attempting to move an existing operating system on a drive to a new computer I have always booted into 'safe mode with networking' to start. Then you have a chance to install/update drivers with the least chance of conflicts. It has worked for me more than once...
Posted by: Terry T at July 24, 2011 3:32 PMActually, I moved drives from machine to machine DOZENS of times and NEVER, EVER had a problem with Windows 95 or Windows 98. Those were TRULY Plug'n'Play operating systems.
Posted by: Carlos R Coquet at July 27, 2011 12:24 AMThe problem of Windows blowing up while booting if one moves a hard disk from one machine to another or one changes the motherboard began with Windows 2000 and I assume it to be a "design feature" to deal with piracy (drive cloning). RARELY can you change the motherboard and expect Windows XP to run without problems. Fortuntely, one CAN boot from the Windows XP installation CD and select the (second) repair option (not the Repair Console one, the NEXT offer to repair the existing Windows installation). That reinstallation preserves all programs and settings and has always worked for me.