Solved HDD to SSD Problem?

  • Hi there and welcome to PC Help Forum (PCHF), a more effective way to get the Tech Support you need!
    We have Experts in all areas of Tech, including Malware Removal, Crash Fixing and BSOD's , Microsoft Windows, Computer DIY and PC Hardware, Networking, Gaming, Tablets and iPads, General and Specific Software Support and so much more.

    Why not Click Here To Sign Up and start enjoying great FREE Tech Support.

    This site uses cookies. By continuing to use this site, you are agreeing to our use of cookies. Learn More.
  • Hello everyone We want to personally apologize to everyone for the downtime that we've experienced. We are working to get everything back up as quickly as possible. Due to the issues we've had, your password will need to be reset. Please click the button that says "Forgot Your Password" and change it. We are working to have things back to normal. Emails are fixed and should now send properly. Thank you all for your patience. Thanks, PCHF Management
Status
Not open for further replies.

coolhandluke

PCHF Member
Oct 7, 2016
122
11
28
Ok so a friend of mine has asked me to set up his computer, which is no biggie, I know how to set it up. However, he has asked me to take his hard drive and turn it on to a solid state drive. Now I have migrated an HDD to an SSD before using Paragon Migration Software, however, the one that I did do did not have any licensed software on it. So my question to you is if he has windows 7 AND Microsoft Office on the HDD, when I migrate the entire image onto the SSD, will the Microsoft Office work just fine or will I need to find his serial number for his license or something? Also will the windows 7 work just fine as well.

Sincerely and thank you for future responses! :D

Luke
 
The activation of Windows 7 depends on the PCID of the computer it is installed in. If you just swap hard drives to another computer then the activation will fail even if the computers are identical. If you are just migrating to another hard drive because the old drive is too small or is failing then there should be no issue. Something else to consider is the type of Windows. Is your friend's version of Windows OEM or Retail? The main difference between OEM and Retail is that the OEM license does not allow moving the OS to a different computer, once it is installed. If the version is Retail then you just need reactivate it.
 
  • Like
Reactions: gus and veeg
The activation of Windows 7 depends on the PCID of the computer it is installed in. If you just swap hard drives to another computer then the activation will fail even if the computers are identical. If you are just migrating to another hard drive because the old drive is too small or is failing then there should be no issue. Something else to consider is the type of Windows. Is your friend's version of Windows OEM or Retail? The main difference between OEM and Retail is that the OEM license does not allow moving the OS to a different computer, once it is installed. If the version is Retail then you just need reactivate it.
Ok so he has an old computer that has windows 7 on it. He just bought a new computer and an ssd, and handed them too me and asked me to get it started. I believe the windows 7 is oem because the machine is an hp and somewhat old. Would that not work? Or would I have to image it to an external and then migrate it? Or would I just migrate it over?

As for the Microsoft office, would that work but have to be dependant on the windows being oem and everything?
 
Ok so he has an old computer that has windows 7 on it. He just bought a new computer and an ssd, and handed them too me and asked me to get it started. I believe the windows 7 is oem because the machine is an hp and somewhat old. Would that not work? Or would I have to image it to an external and then migrate it? Or would I just migrate it over?

As for the Microsoft office, would that work but have to be dependant on the windows being oem and everything?
If the new computer has Windows 7 on it then you can image that to the new SSD but if the Windows 7 is from the old computer then the answer is no.

If Microsoft Office came prepackaged with the old HP then it is tied to that. If it is a retail copy then you can install it on the new computer.
 
If the new computer has Windows 7 on it then you can image that to the new SSD but if the Windows 7 is from the old computer then the answer is no.

If Microsoft Office came prepackaged with the old HP then it is tied to that. If it is a retail copy then you can install it on the new computer.
Ok so you are saying that I can't take the hard drive out of the old computer, put it into an enclosure, create an image onto my laptop, take the new ssd with nothing on it, clone the image onto the ssd, and then take the hdd out of the new computer and replace it with the ssd?
 
Ok so you are saying that I can't take the hard drive out of the old computer, put it into an enclosure, create an image onto my laptop, take the new ssd with nothing on it, clone the image onto the ssd, and then take the hdd out of the new computer and replace it with the ssd?
That is correct. The copy of Windows from the old computer will not only fail activation but you will have driver issues as well.

Another issue is that the drive from the HP has the recovery partition on it. If you image the HP drive you will have to take into account that partition which may cause issues with the SSD. This information came courtesy of an HP tech who I have known for many years.
 
  • Like
Reactions: jmarket
That is correct. The copy of Windows from the old computer will not only fail activation but you will have driver issues as well.

Another issue is that the drive from the HP has the recovery partition on it. If you image the HP drive you will have to take into account that partition which may cause issues with the SSD. This information came courtesy of an HP tech who I have known for many years.
Ok so that sucks, and I'm assuming that Microsoft office won't transfer as well because it has filed rooted to that hard drive?
 
If Office came prepackaged with the Windows on the HP then you are correct. Sorry. :)
Ok so with all of this being said, my friend bought a new computer (HP Desktop: http://www.bestbuy.com/site/hp-envy...d-drive-brushed-metal/4370501.p?skuId=4370501) and it has windows 10. Now with the windows 10, can I migrate that onto a solid state drive or will that not be allowed to do so because of oem issues?

One more thing, would it be the same for windows 8 where I wouldn't be able to migrate it and everything to a new computer or is it only Windows 7 that they decided to do that with?
 
Ok so with all of this being said, my friend bought a new computer (HP Desktop: http://www.bestbuy.com/site/hp-envy...d-drive-brushed-metal/4370501.p?skuId=4370501) and it has windows 10. Now with the windows 10, can I migrate that onto a solid state drive or will that not be allowed to do so because of oem issues?

One more thing, would it be the same for windows 8 where I wouldn't be able to migrate it and everything to a new computer or is it only Windows 7 that they decided to do that with?
The only issue I see now is that the drive swap may void the warranty. At the least the drive swap won't be supported if something goes wrong. Did the computer come with recovery disks? If not then you could create recovery media use that to to install the OS on the new drive. If you know the workings of imaging one drive to another then that works as well but I strongly advise creating the recovery media before attempting anything. Here is the link explaining the process.

HP PCs - Performing an HP System Recovery (Windows 10)
 
Just to add to The Lord Chances information.
No it does not matter the version of windows the same rules apply.
Dang, so even if it is windows 10 or windows 8, I can't migrate that to an ssd and use it on a different computer?
 
Dang, so even if it is windows 10 or windows 8, I can't migrate that to an ssd and use it on a different computer?
That is correct when windows is installed it molds it self to that system. Then the drives that are also installed to the other system will not work with the new hardware.
 
That is correct when windows is installed it molds it self to that system. Then the drives that are also installed to the other system will not work with the new hardware.
However, that is only if the windows software is OEM right?
 
Imaging to a new hard drive only works properly if you plan to put the drive back in the same computer. This is true of Retail and OEM Windows. Trying to put the Imaged drive in another computer causes issues. First the installed drivers from the old computer will cause conflict issues. If Windows starts it will most likely crash on you. Second, the activation will fail because the hardware is different. As stated before, activation of Windows is tied to the PCID of the computer. With an OEM version you are tied to the old computer. With the retail version you can use the image (IF) you can get around the other issues. This is true of all versions of Windows. It is easier to just do a fresh install on a new computer. :)
 
Do you have an update for us?
Yes, sorry about that; essentially what I did was I just took the new computer, migrated the windows 10 from that computer to the SSD, then I took all of the document files, pictures, videos, and appdata files and transferred those over to the new computer... no way around moving the oem windows 7 to the new one :P thanks for all the help though! You guys are awesome! :D

Cheers,

Luke
 
  • Like
Reactions: jmarket and veeg
Status
Not open for further replies.