(1) Lenovo T14s: Intel or AMD (2) can I just move the NVMe from the old to the new system with all programs, etc

I need some advice regarding a new Lenovo T14S laptop. I also need to knoiw if I transplant the NVMe drive from my old system into the new system, it will continue to work.

My Lenovo T14s just got wiped out by a bad AC adapter, that also took out one USB-C port.. Now the second USB-C port no longer accepts power from an AC adapter, so this machine will die after about 2 more hours of run time. I have had great success with ThinkPads going back to IBM days and I'm totally hooked on the "pointing stick." Lenovo is the only vendor who still features a pointing stick, and only on the T series. But I can't decide if I should get an Intel or AMD based T14s:

https://www.lenovo.com/us/en/p/laptops/thinkpad/thinkpadt/thinkpad-t14-gen-6-14-inch-amd/len101t0116 AMD

https://www.lenovo.com/us/en/p/lapt.../thinkpad-t14-gen-6-14-inch-intel/len101t0126 Intel

I'm attracted to the idea of a CoPilot-based system, not because I want to actually use CoPilot, but for future AI applications. Only the AMD models feature an NPU. However, this is not a make-or-break issue, since I will probably upgrade my desktop at some point to include an NPU.

Any of these models would sort of fit within my budget, but I won't reflexively select the most expensive model.

My current, dying laptop runs Win 11 2H23, 22631.5189, customized/tweaked with lots of programs installed. I would like to transplant the 4 TB NVMe drive from this machine and install it into the new machine. I'm assuming that Windows would automatically install new drivers as needed. Is this assumption reasonable? Even for an AMD system?

The chronology of Win11:

The current build of Version 24H2 is 26100.4351.

Changing the drive may work but there's been a number of changes the last 7 months with the Version 24H2. My main concern with it would be hardware drivers being compatible.

Berton said:

The chronology of Win11:
View attachment 137531
The current build of Version 24H2 is 26100.4351.

Changing the drive may work but there's been a number of changes the last 7 months with the Version 24H2. My main concern with it would be hardware drivers being compatible.

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My current dying laptop is on 2H23 and I would NOT upgrade to 2H24. I'm going to avoid that upgrade as long as possible. I may end up upgrading directly to 2H25.

x509 said:

...need to know if I transplant the NVMe drive from my old system into the new system, it will continue to work.

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Probably. Windows is pretty good at sorting out suitable drivers when it finds itself running on different hardware, even when switching from Intel to AMD. My System One is a case in point, it's Windows 10 was migrated from an Intel system to an AMD one (and from an unsupported device to a supported one) in order to be offered the Windows 11 upgrade.

Your new device being a Copilot+ PC may complicate things. It may need an in-place repair install to get the NPU functions fully working.

x509 said:

My current dying laptop is on 2H23 and I would NOT upgrade to 2H24. I'm going to avoid that upgrade as long as possible. I may end up upgrading directly to 2H25.

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Why not upgrade to 24H2? The update to 25H2 is supposed to be just an enablement package, turning on dormant 25H2 features that will already be in the 24H2 updates by the time 25H2 is ready for release. This was how 22H2 was updated to 23H2.

To go from your 23H2 to 25H2 would require a full upgrade, replacing all the 23H2 system files with 24H2 ones, plus the enablement package to switch on 25H2. I would be inclined to upgrade to 24H2 now, getting the full upgrade out of the way, then it would be just a quick install of the enablement package, when offered in Windows Update, to go from 24H2 to 25H2. In addition, the upgrade should get all the Copilot+ features set up correctly.

Bree said:

Probably. Windows is pretty good at sorting out suitable drivers when it finds itself running on different hardware, even when switching from Intel to AMD. My System One is a case in point, it's Windows 10 was migrated from an Intel system to an AMD one (and from an unsupported device to a supported one) in order to be offered the Windows 11 upgrade.

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Good to know.

Bree said:

Your new device being a Copilot+ PC may complicate things. It may need an in-place repair install to get the NPU functions fully working.

Click to expand...

Ah. Unexpected issue.

Bree said:

Why not upgrade to 24H2? The update to 25H2 is supposed to be just an enablement package, turning on dormant 25H2 features that will already be in the 24H2 updates by the time 25H2 is ready for release. This was how 22H2 was updated to 23H2.

To go from your 23H2 to 25H2 would require a full upgrade, replacing all the 23H2 system files with 24H2 ones, plus the enablement package to switch on 25H2. I would be inclined to upgrade to 24H2 now, getting the full upgrade out of the way, then it would be just a quick install of the enablement package, when offered in Windows Update, to go from 24H2 to 25H2. In addition, the upgrade should get all the Copilot+ features set up correctly.

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OK. It sounds like I should do the upgrade to 2H24, once I get my new system settled down.

Thanks for this reply.

Sorry, couldn't resist, reference refresh. Or maybe "the devil made me do it"?

x509 said:

OK. It sounds like I should do the upgrade to 2H24, once I get my new system settled down.

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Your new system will come with Windows 11. You should first run it up and set up the Windows it comes with. This will register a digital licence for the new PC on Microsoft's activation servers. This digital licence will be able to activate your old Windows when you move it over.