#Can i move windows.old to another drive install#
#Can i move windows.old to another drive drivers#
#Can i move windows.old to another drive update#
#Can i move windows.old to another drive driver#

You can try entering the same product key you used before, but this may fail if you have an OEM license that isn't meant to migrate to new hardware. If you plan on using this setup permanently, though, you should re-activate Windows. If this setup is temporary, and you're only using it to grab a few things off your old PC, you don't need to worry about activation-Windows should keep working as normal, with an activation watermark in the corner and a few features disabled. There's one last hitch to this process: when you toss your drive into a new computer, Windows will recognize that the hardware has changed, and potentially-depending on the type of license you have-de-activate itself. For graphics drivers, you may want to use a tool like DDU to really clean them out.ДЇor everything else, search the Start menu for Device Manager in the Control Panel, click View > Show Hidden Devices, and right-click devices you no longer use to uninstall their drivers.

#Can i move windows.old to another drive drivers#

You can also head to Nvidia, AMD, or Intel's website for graphics drivers, though again, Windows installed the non-generic versions for me without my intervention.ДЇinally, if you want to keep things clean, you can uninstall the old drivers left on your system by searching for 'Add or Remove Programs' from the Start menu. If you built the computer yourself, go to the motherboard manufacturer's website instead. To be safe, I recommend heading to your PC manufacturer's website and downloading the chipset, audio, and other drivers yourself. You may find that you need to download some drivers manually, if Windows doesn't do so on its own (or if it only downloads generic drivers instead of manufacturer-supplied ones). You may notice some flickering as it downloads the display drivers, so give it some time to go through its process (and restart when it asks you to do so).

#Can i move windows.old to another drive install#

Windows will likely install a lot of the necessary drivers for you, especially once you connect your new PC to the internet.

#Can i move windows.old to another drive driver#

This could all vary from PC to PC, and you never know what driver conflicts or performance issues may lay underneath the surface of a seemingly fine setup.ДЄll told, I would still recommend doing a clean install if you're migrating permanently to a new machine, but if you need something quick and dirty-like if your old PC dies and you need to access some data from your old installation-this should work well enough. That's not to say you won't run into any problems.

#Can i move windows.old to another drive update#

Windows Update was even able to download new patches. You'll have to do a few things yourself, but overall, it should work-I moved my drive from an AMD-based machine to an Intel/Nvidia machine with barely a hiccup. When you throw an existing Windows installation at a new PC, it'll perform its first-time setup as if it were a new computer, grab drivers for your new hardware, and hopefully drop you onto the desktop without too much trouble. Windows 8 and 10, on the other hand, are much better about handling these conflicts. You were almost always better off doing a clean install. Microsoft's sysprep tool could sometimes help with this, but it wasn't really meant for this purpose, and it came with many of its own caveats. As a result, you'd often see a blue screen as soon as the computer booted, preventing you from even getting to the desktop. With Windows 7, this was less tenable it introduced driver conflicts, especially with lower-level hardware like your hard drive's SATA controller. Wouldn't it be easier if you could just pop your old hard drive into the new PC and pick up where you left off? It's technically possible, though it comes with some caveats.

Best Malware Removal and Protection SoftwareД«uying a new computer can be fun, until you have to slog through migrating all your old apps, preferences, and files.