Swap SSD between PCs

jvickers · Jan 17, 2022

Dch48 said:
Ahh so they're not completely identical. Still it should work and then you will probably have to activate Windows by using the hardware change option.

BunnyJ said:
But using a flash drive or transfer cable avoids all of this

If you're just looking for data, go with what @BunnyJ is recommending. If you're looking at using software, then you would want to swap them out provided there's a slot for your SSD on the laptop to which you're moving the drive. If it's an M.2 drive, that is. You might want to avoid reactivating the same copy of Windows too many times in a short period. They might end up making you physically call them. I know that used to be the case. At least, I had to do it no occasion. It's just an inconvenience.

lafargeotte · Jan 17, 2022

A few years ago I did something very similar, just removed HDD and replaced with SSD from exactly the same hardware under Windows 10 and all went well.
So maybe best to upgrade to Windows 11 first.

BunnyJ · Jan 17, 2022

Just use a flash drive.. really.. it's simple and it works.

jvickers · Jan 17, 2022

Well, that might work. It might not. The point is that the other laptop will be seen by Windows as different hardware. It's a different CPU, motherboard, RAM, etc.

BunnyJ · Jan 17, 2022

jvickers said:
Well, that might work. It might not. The point is that the other laptop will be seen by Windows as different hardware. It's a different CPU, motherboard, RAM, etc.

And this is correct.. it's a totally different system and it's going to take more time to set this up than to use a flash drive.

Bree · Jan 17, 2022

lafargeotte said:
The PC on Win 11 is needing some work on it to repair the screen and some of the body. So I want to use the other machine in the meantime.

So maybe best to do the upgrade first, let Windows 11 avtivate, then swop the SSD?

The-Hive said:
I agree with @jvickers as Windows will see it as new hardware. That is why I like Aomei for copying/backing up. Hopefully some expert will come on with a better answer

I don't agree. Providing both PCs have the same edition installed and activated (Home or Pro) then you can just swap the drives.

Windows activation is tied to the hardware ID of the PC, that is correct. But when the Windows 11 on the SSD that has been transfered to the other PC starts up and detects a hardware change, then it will send the new PC's hardware ID to the activation servers. It will get back the answer that yes, there is a digital licence to run Windows on this PC. That is sufficient to activate it.

lafargeotte said:
PS - I am male

So am I. When I chose my nickname I was inspired by Lord of the Rings, Bree is perhaps the one place in Middle Earth I'd feel most at home. Years later I found out it had other interpretations, but it was too late to change it

Bree · Jan 17, 2022

lafargeotte said:
maybe best to upgrade to Windows 11 first.

Makes no difference. Microsoft's digital licence does not distinguish between 10 or 11 - nor do the product keys. They are all described by Microsoft as being for 'Windows 10/11'.

The-Hive · Jan 17, 2022

@Bree I thought because one is SSD the other HDD UEFI or BIOS would not like it

Bree · Jan 17, 2022

The-Hive said:
@Bree I thought because one is SSD the other HDD UEFI or BIOS would not like it

In general there should be no problem swapping an HDD for an SSD, people are upgrading their systems like that all the time. There could be physical obstacles, like mounting brackets and/or cables that would need to be transfered too, but the BIOS should recognise and boot from either. We don't know the make/model of these two PCs though, so can't say so for certain.

FDretired · Jan 17, 2022

lafargeotte said:
I have two laptops of exactly the same make, model and spec.

One has been upgraded to Windows 11.

If the SSD from the Windows 11 machine is inserted into the Windows 10 machine, will it boot and run normally?

TIA.

I am absolutely certain it will work.

jvickers · Jan 17, 2022

Guess we'll have to wait and see what happens. @lafargeotte, please post back with the results.

fmw · Jan 17, 2022

The-Hive said:
Beg your pardon @lafargeotte. as @BunnyJ suggested cable transfer or I thought about using Aomei the choice is yours. The advantage of Aomei backupper is you will always have a back up of it.

jvickers said:
Sorry about that! That's what I get for making assumptions.

I don't think you'd be able to swap the SSD to the other machine without reactivating it. This is because hardware, especially the motherboard have their own digital signature so to speak (someone correct me if I'm wrong). Otherwise, people with identical builds would be able to clone a drive and use them on multiple systems without paying for Windows.

I just went through this with a desktop system. Windows 11 told me the hardware had changed and it wouldn't activate. I took the Win 7 key from a sticker I had put on the system and changed to that. Microsoft accepted the new key and then told me it couldn't activate because I didn't have a key. I finally went through the fussy telephone activation and finally got it validated. A few hoops but it is done.

jvickers · Jan 17, 2022

fmw said:
I just went through this with a desktop system. Windows 11 told me the hardware had changed and it wouldn't activate. I took the Win 7 key from a sticker I had put on the system and changed to that. Microsoft accepted the new key and then told me it couldn't activate because I didn't have a key. I finally went through the fussy telephone activation and finally got it validated. A few hoops but it is done.

I'm not questioning that it will activate. I was just saying that you'd have to reactivate it with all the hardware changes.

Slavic · Jan 17, 2022

I see two possible undesired consequences of using one system drive (SSD in this case) on two different PCs.
First, as many people said above, a problem with activation: Windows isn't designed for such swap, maybe except of enterprise server-activated versions (GVLK).
Second, a problem with system protection (System Restore): it may be not easily noticeable, but Windows creates a restore point every time after update, if this option hasn't been disabled. As a result, the mixing points may become a problem if need to restore OS to previous state: while the manually created points can be named arbitrary, automatic points have the standard hardware-independent names.

There is one more problem when a drive travelling between machines is the system drive on one PC and the second on another. Windows has a bad habit to remove the restore points from second drive(s) if they aren't local, i.e. created somewhere else. When such second drive is moved back as system, the number of restore points of this OS is zero.

Bree · Jan 17, 2022

Slavic said:
...as many people said above, a problem with activation: Windows isn't designed for such swap...

Sure it is, especially if it has the generic key installed as it often does by the time the OS has been though an upgrade or two.

Starting with windows 10 licencing works completely differently. Activation is not tied to a particular install of Windows, which if you move it bodily to other hardware will notice the change and deactivate itself, as it would if the OS was Windows 7.

The digital licence for Windows 10/11 is stored on Microsoft's activation servers and linked to the Hardware ID of the PC. This ID does not include the hard drive, so you are free to change that at any time without the PC's hardware loosing its licence to run Windows.

If the hardware already has a digital licence for Windows 10/11 on the activation servers, then any drive with Windows 10 or Windows 11 on it will activate, provided that it is the same edition (Home or Pro) as the existing digital licence.

Slavic · Jan 17, 2022

Bree said:
If the hardware already has a digital licence for Windows 10/11 on the activation servers, then any drive with Windows 10 or Windows 11 on it will activate, provided that it is the same edition (Home or Pro) as the existing digital licence.

Maybe I missed something, but I can't imagine how this may work: hardware itself doesn't have a specific memory area when the activation state may be stored, except of BIOS flash memory and small onboard battery-supported RAM (remember that BIOS config resets when Li cell expired). So, one way or another, activation state should be stored somewhere else on a drive. And when we move the drive to another PC, OS cannot know that this hardware is counted as activated on MS server, if we don't have an Internet connection to that server.

Subscriber43 · Jan 17, 2022

@Bree is absolutely correct.
Two weeks ago, I swapped drives between 2 laptops of different brands and different specs. Both had Windows 10 Pro installed and activated. There was not even a hiccup. Both laptops booted with no problems whatsoever, and both Windows installations were activated when I checked.

Slavic · Jan 17, 2022

Subscriber43 said:
@Bree is absolutely correct.
Two weeks ago, I swapped drives between 2 laptops of different brands and different specs. Both had Windows 10 Pro installed and activated. There was not even a hiccup. Both laptops booted with no problems whatsoever, and both Windows installations were activated when I checked.

It seems that activation state has been determined telepathically...

Bree · Jan 17, 2022

Slavic said:
hardware itself doesn't have a specific memory area when the activation state may be stored

No, it doesn't. But your digital licence to run Windows 10/11 is not stored on your PC at all. It is stored on Microsoft's activation server.

What Windows 10/11 does to check on activation is to generate a unique hash code derived from easily readable CPU and motherboard serial number and part numbers, then sends that to the activation servers to see if it matches any known PC. If it does the activation server replies saying which edition this PC is entitled to run and activate.

When you install Windows 10/11 for the first time on a new PC, initially it has no digital licence. This is the only time you'll need a key. On entering the key it is checked online to see if it is valid and its activation count has not been used up. If it passes, then the hardware ID of the PC is stored on the activation servers along with a new digital licence for the edition you have installed, Home or Pro.

Slavic · Jan 17, 2022

Bree said:
No, it doesn't. But your digital licence to run Windows 10/11 is not stored on your PC at all. It is stored on Microsoft's activation server.

If it works this way, then:
a) activation cannot be determined at all without Internet connection
b) if activation is not saved locally, it is determined only for current session

P.S. Just tested this: disconnected LAN cable, cold reboot. Both my systems on this PC (Windows 8.1 and 11) are activated without any Internet connection.