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    New Laptop, New OS?

    Discussion in 'Windows OS and Software' started by aknight, Jun 5, 2015.

  1. aknight

    aknight Notebook Guru

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    Hi guys,

    My trusty laptop gave up on me a few weeks back and I decided to get a custom made one as I wanted a bit more control on what went into it. I decided not to have an OS installed as I thought I could just use my old HDD or clone it across to the new HDD.

    The old laptop had Windows 7 Home Premium OA installed, does that mean I cannot transfer this copy of Windows to a new motherboard and therefore swapping the HDDs around or cloning it to the new one is not a good idea?

    I have done some digging but I can't seem to find a definitive solution.

    Cheers.
    Andy
     
  2. alexhawker

    alexhawker Spent Gladiator

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    The Win 7 license that came with your old computer was tied to that hardware. Even if you clone over, it will detect the hardware change and force a reactivation (which you will need a new valid key for).