Replace ATIV Book 6 HDD with SSD used in PC

Hi,

I'm currently using a Samsung 840 PRO 128GB SSD in my PC and it has Windows 8.1 and all my data/apps on it. If I buy an ATIV Book 6, am I able to simply swap out the HDD on the laptop for the SSD from my PC and continue using it like normal?

Thanks

 

It is unlikely to work unless the hardware in your PC is almost identical to that in the Book 6. If not, Windows may try to start and then fall over (perhaps with the 8.1 equivalent of a BSOD) due to the wrong drivers loading.

John

 

Best to reinstall with Windows 8.0 (and DO NOT update to 8.1). There has been a lot of driver and BSOD issues when people upgraded their notebooks (from any brand, not just Samsung) to 8.1.

 

So would it work if I installed a blank SSD and did a fresh install of Windows 8.0 using the serial key on the laptop?

 

That should work, assuming you have Win8 install media that match the Product Key (which is stored in BIOS).

Or you can use this guide from the Ativ Book 8 Owners Lounge to backup the factory image on the new machine before swapping the drives, then use that backup to re-image the new SSD. The AB8 is very similar to the AB6, and many members in that thread have swapped in SSDs. Check the opening post for lots of advice.

 

Could you elaborate more on what you mean by the Win8 media having to match the product key? Can I just install Windows normally with a DVD or USB drive and type in the key, or is it different because the key is stored differently?

And as for the factory image option, I generally prefer to do clean installs over this because I don't like having bloatware. Is there a lot of bloatware on the ATIV that will be copied over if I do this method?

Thanks for the replies.

 

Whatever version of Win8 comes with the laptop (Pro/Core) determines which key is stored in its BIOS, and you have to clean install the same version in order for it to pick up that key. At least that's what others have reported.

There is some bloatware on Samsung laptops, but less than others I have had (such as HP and Sony). See this post for some guidance on trimming it.

If you are not already familiar with UEFI and GPT used by Win8 computers, I highly recommend you do some reading before a clean install. Not that it is extremely difficult, it's just different (also a bit more complicated) than good old XP and Win7 installations. The posts here and here give some overview.

Again, study the Ativ Book 8 Owners Lounge (in particular the opening post) and you will save yourself a lot of time.