Windows 10: A few questions - Win10 migrating to new system and HDD cloning

Hi all...this will be a bit of a novel, so I apologize.

I have done clones and migrations with Windows 7 in the past, but never with Win10, so I was looking for some info and pointers.

Now, I know licensing works differently with Win10 and am worried for my brother's computer. A little background...in the last year, it has started restarting at random times, and after it does this random restart for the first time in awhile, it will continue constantly restarting (usually just after POST within a few minutes before Winboot so you can never get anywhere) until you stop and let it 'rest' overnight for many hours, then it will be randomly fine again for awhile. We thought it was a PSU issue and replaced that with a new one and all was well for a month and a half until last night when the issue returned (we had also upgraded his video card at this time, so we know it's not that). I took all the RAM out (4 sticks, 2gb each) and tried them one at a time in various RAM slots and the restarting issue persisted with every stick, so unless all the RAM is somehow bad, I don't think it's the RAM...seems mobo related.

Now, in case he has to get a new motherboard, CPU and RAM (he can reuse everything else), I was curious how I could go about migrating his current Win10 install to the new hardware. I know Win10 is linked to the hardware in your system and he has a Win7-install-upgraded version of Win10 Home 64-bit from the whole "Free Windows 10 Upgrade Period" thing. His current main OS drive is an ancient Seagate 120gb IDE drive, which I want to upgrade to a 100% working 320gb SATA drive I have sitting around.

If it were Win7, I would usually Sysprep it, clone it to the new drive, plug that into the new hardware, install drivers and license key and be done with it. However......does Win10 have a Sysprep function? Is it possible to clone it to a new drive....? With no license key and an 'free-upgraded copy of Win10, can I install it on new hardware and still get it to activate?

Thanks for any help and suggestions! *Smile

:)

 

Windows 10 post upgrade, Wants to custom install OS from HDD to SSD.

Hi all,

Short question : How to do custom fresh install Win10 to new SSD drive after upgrade?

Recently upgraded to Win10. During upgrading, no option available to where I want to install the OS. Upgrade completed, done reset to wipe out everything, no selection was available as to where I want to install my Win10 OS.

Currently running OS on 320G HDD.

Planning to migrate by cloning or preferably do a fresh install to the 240G SSD.

Been searching for hours on how to migrate OS or fresh install.

Cloning - Disk cloned, wire swapped and ori HDD drive disconnected. Booted up, blue screen asking for boot file.

Reason I want to do a fresh install is because I may have done installation for Win7 wrongly and boot file may have stored in another partition which is invisible on my computer but showing in computer management and it's got 160mb of file in it.

Posting this as I can not find related experience, disk cloning does not work for me and I would prefer a fresh install directly to the new SSD.

Thanks,

Johnson W.

 

Move Windows 10 from installed hdd to installed ssd

Get a disk cloning software and do the cloning job, from HDD to SSD on PC.

Change boot priority to cloned SSD in BIOS or remove HDD to test if you can boot up successfully.

Cloning method is safe but still it is good to create a backup image for your Win10 before you start.

For detailed steps with screenshots, you may need:
migrate Windows 10 to SSD without data loss.

 

As long as you don't change the mother board, you have no problem with activation. You can clone your disk or proceed to a clean install, your system will be activated.

 

The issue is his current motherboard is probably the culprit for the restarting issues, so he is going to probably have to GET a new motherboard/CPU and RAM.....does that mean he is going to have to buy another copy of Win10? :/

 

First, try replacing the keyboard/mouse - especially if they are wired USB. That was the cause of a similar issue on my mother-in-law's computer.

Once again, the big factor here is whether the original Windows 7 was full retail or OEM version. OEM, legally, is supposed to die with the motherboard it was installed on. However, if you replace a bad motherboard with an exact replacement, and not doing an upgrade, Microsoft will likely activate Windows for you on the replacement motherboard if you call them. The OEM versus Retail status of the original operating system is supposed to carry forward to the Windows 10 upgrade - if you read the Windows 10 EULA.

If the Windows 7 was full retail, it is transferable to a new computer (upgrade) and if you read the Windows 10 EULA, the Windows 10 resulting from the Windows 7 upgrade retains the legal rights of transfer to a new computer. In order to facilitate this transfer, Microsoft has incorporated tying the digital entitlement for Windows 10 to the user's Microsoft account.

Microsoft Account - Link to Digital License on Windows 10 PC - Windows 10 Forums

The user needs to ensure he has a Microsoft account and the Windows 10 digital entitlement is linked to it. If Windows 10 will not activate on the new motherboard by entering the corresponding Windows 7 product key, then use the activation troubleshooter to attempt to activate it from the Microsoft account. If that doesn't work, then call Microsoft and explain the transfer to an upgrade motherboard and they should honor the EULA and activate it for you.

 

Hmmm....PRETTY sure it was a retail copy, but not 100% sure, if I can get it to boot,is there a way to know if it's retail or not from within Windows? It's a custom computer build, but I can't remember where I got the key from as that was several years ago.

I don't think he currently has the key linked to his MS account....if I can get it to boot, where would I go within Windows to initiate this link between the key and his MS account?

 

https://www.tenforums.com/tutorials/5...ows-10-pc.html

 

My issue is trying to get it to boot long enough to get it to link at this point, but if I do get it to link, does that mean I can't put the cloned install with his files and apps in the new machine without doing a reformat?

 

After you make sure the digital entitlement is linked to a Microsoft Account, you move the cloned drive to a new computer. Windows 10 will likely deactivate itself. Then while logged into the same Microsoft Account you launch the activation troubleshooter and attempt to restore the digital entitlement to the new computer.

 

Just linked his MS account to his key this morning - managed to get his PC to stay running long enough. Haven't done the drive clone yet though. You think this should work? *Smile