Swapping SSD into "new" PC - will it work?

[Mr Pointy]

One of my Optiplex 7010 PCs has gone a bit wobbly (it's probably a motherboard issue) so I'm deciding how to proceed. It has an SSD OS drive & HDD data drive & it would be hugely beneficial if I could just transplant them into a "new" PC. How likely to boot & run if I bought another 7010 & swapped the drive in? What about if I swapped it into something like a 9020?

It's rather ironic given the debates in the Windows 11 threads but it's just a case of getting going quickly & then deciding when to upgrade.

[grumbledoak]

It will probably just work. Windows will (should) recognize and trigger any driver loads.

[FourWheelDrift]

You will have to reactivate Windows as it will see a hardware change. - https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/reacti...

If you have a digital key.

Microsoft said:

Sign in as an administrator. For more info, see Create a local user or administrator account in Windows 10.

1) Select the Start button, then select Settings > Update & Security > Activation > Troubleshoot . The troubleshooter will show Windows can’t be activated on your device.

2) Open Activation settings

3) Select I changed hardware on this device recently, then select Next.

4) Enter your connected Microsoft account and password, then select Sign in. The troubleshooter will only work with the connected Microsoft account.

5) From the list of devices that are linked to your Microsoft account, select the check box next to This is the device I’m using right now.

6) Select Activate.

There are options for product keys as well.

[eeLee]

it may BSOD if you do this due to driver differences galore. Nothing a repair should not be able to handle, get the Windows 10 Media Creator from MS and burn out an installation USB key to boot from and do a repair if that's the case....

[Whoozit]

FourWheelDrift said:

You will have to reactivate Windows as it will see a hardware change. - https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/reacti...

If you have a digital key.

There are options for product keys as well.

Out of interest, how much of a change? I've had the same tower for nine years. MB and CPU are the same, absolutely everything else is different even the PSU. I've never been asked to reauthenticate purely due to a hardware change.

[Dave.]

Whoozit said:

Out of interest, how much of a change? I've had the same tower for nine years. MB and CPU are the same, absolutely everything else is different even the PSU. I've never been asked to reauthenticate purely due to a hardware change.

Changing one thing at a time is ok, as Windows "fingerprints" your hardware (as far as I understand it anyway).

But putting the SSD/HHD into another PC will mean Windows won't recognise the rest of the hardware etc so will trigger a reactivation.

[Sheepshanks]

Not done this for a while but I had a bunch of ThinkPad T61's in the family and used to swap the drives around - IIRC I sometimes had to call Microsoft to reactivate and other times it would do it online. Don't remember any great drama though.

[Pazuzu]

OEM is technically linked to the Motherboard, a retail copy can be reactivated. It used to be 6 hardware changes triggered a re-activate requirement.

[RVB]

Mr Pointy said:

One of my Optiplex 7010 PCs has gone a bit wobbly (it's probably a motherboard issue) so I'm deciding how to proceed. It has an SSD OS drive & HDD data drive & it would be hugely beneficial if I could just transplant them into a "new" PC. How likely to boot & run if I bought another 7010 & swapped the drive in? What about if I swapped it into something like a 9020?

It's rather ironic given the debates in the Windows 11 threads but it's just a case of getting going quickly & then deciding when to upgrade.

I put an Optiplex 755 XP hard drive into an Optiplex 755 Vista computer and it worked perfectly.
However, the 755 XP hard drive didn't work in an Optiplex 780 which was W10, previously W7.

Edited by RVB on Monday 28th June 16:07

[Mr Pointy]

RVB said:

Mr Pointy said:

One of my Optiplex 7010 PCs has gone a bit wobbly (it's probably a motherboard issue) so I'm deciding how to proceed. It has an SSD OS drive & HDD data drive & it would be hugely beneficial if I could just transplant them into a "new" PC. How likely to boot & run if I bought another 7010 & swapped the drive in? What about if I swapped it into something like a 9020?

It's rather ironic given the debates in the Windows 11 threads but it's just a case of getting going quickly & then deciding when to upgrade.

I put an Optiplex 755 XP hard drive into an Optiplex 755 Vista computer and it worked perfectly.
However, the 755 XP hard drive didn't work in an Optiplex 780 which was W10, previously W7.

My 7010 has caught the same disease as yours as it tries to start but then shuts down & repeats this cycle: I think there's a short somewhere & the PSU is shutting down. The PSU itself is ok as I've shoved a link between pins 4& 5 & measured all of the voltages on the connectors. Disconnecting everything gives the same power cycling result so I think it points towards the system board, although I see it didn't cure your problem.

[Mr Pointy]

Just to close this off I bought a used motherboard from ebay & spent a happy hour stripping & rebuilding the PC. I love these little business machines, they are so easy to work on. Anyway, It sprang into life first time & booted happily although it said Windows was not activated. I went into "update product key" & entered the Windows 7 key from the label on the case & after a few seconds of talking to the mothership Widows was activated.

I'm not sure what would have happened with a new PC that did't have the Windows 7 key. I guess it might have read the BIOS but now I'm tempted to sign on with an MS account so I can use that route in future. Currently I just use a local acoount.