Windows 10: Cloning Windows 10

I am hoping someone can point me in the right direction w/this question.
I have 2 hard drives:
Drive A: Windows 7 Pro 64Bit connected to my mobo & running ok.
Drive B: Windows 10 Pro 64Bit downloaded during the free upgrade period. Activated when 1st installed, but has been disconnected from the mobo since then.

I need to format Drive B & put it into my son's computer (his hard drive died); but 1st, how should I go about cloning Drive B since the Free Upgrade period has long expired? I want to make sure I don't have to pay later if/when I decide to start running Windows 10.

If I don't clone it, I'll need to use my Windows 10 disc image I made back on 7/28/16 using 10's Media Creation Tool I 1st downloaded also on 7/28/16, correct?

:)

 

Windows 10 Installed on Wrong Drive

you can directly
clone windows 10 hard drive to SSD. To successfully clone windows 10 hard drive to SSD, you need to pay attention to the following things:

1. before you start to clone, you need to take out extra hard drive. This can avoid your cloning windows 10 on the wrong drive.

2. after you clone, you need to install your SSD on the location of HDD and change boot order via BIOS.

 

What hard drive clone software works with Windows 10

The software AOMEI Backupper can help you clone Windows 10. You can use the free edition so that save a lot of money, and you can totally trust this software cause it can help you

clone Windows 10 and the maintenance products with out data losing.

 

Anyone who has taken Microsoft up on its free Windows 10 upgrade offer before the expiration date has a "digital entitlement" (or "digital license" as it's called beginning with version 1607) tied to that hardware. That upgrade doesn't expire.

 

So I should be able to just install using my Windows 10 disc image I made back on 7/28/16?
When you say "tied to that hardware", do you meant the mobo or hard drive when 10 was originally installed?

 

You should use latest Windows 10 version which you can download with Windows 10 Media Creation Tool.

If you activated a free upgrade to Windows 10 or bought and activated Windows 10 from the Store, you have a digital license for your device. This means you can reinstall the same edition of Windows 10 that your device has a digital license for without entering a product key. During reinstallation, if you’re asked to enter a product key, you can skip this step. Windows 10 will automatically activate online after the installation is complete.

If you made a significant hardware change to your device (such as replacing the motherboard), Windows 10 might no longer be activated. The digital license is not associated with hard disk drives.

 

Motherboard.

 

As seen in my attached screenshot, 10 is activated. I checked all 3 (System, Update & Security & through the Command Prompt) just to make absolutely sure.

Going through the Command Prompt, it states "The machine is permanently activated." Does this mean I can reinstall onto a different hard drive (in the same computer) using my Windows 10 disc image I made back on 7/28/16 w/o any problems?

 

Yes. You can also do a clean install of the latest version of Windows 10 on that computer.

 

Hi,
Yep mobo
10 will most likely say there is new hardware installed and if you upgraded a retail version of win-7 or 8.1 all you'd have to do is reactivate online...
If it throws an error which I too got an error when I swapped motherboards mostly because it was a acer oem license/ activation key which is tied to acer not the new motherboard which was asus

So end result or worst case you'd have to enter a new key from either 7 or 8.1 or just buying a win-10 of what ever the old install was and that would activate it.

 

This should work fine but bear in mind that is at least two versions behind, and has either or will shortly stop getting updates INCLUDING security updates.

A clean install of latest version is probably best course of action.

 

If I use the newest version, will I still be able to turn off much of the privacy gathering settings & automatic updates that Microsoft forces us to accept by using Windows?

 

Thank you to everyone. I used Microsoft’s Media Creation Tool, made a 10 Pro 64Bit DVD from the latest .iso & installed it on my new hard drive. I skipped inputting the Product Code & after a few more minutes/screens, 10 was installed. I checked & it's activated ... Yay.

 

I have only 1 user, which is me as Local Administer. I can't seem to find where I can add a second account as Local Standard. How do I add a Local Standard account?

 

Navigate to Settings --> Family & other people -->Add someone else to this PC.

Click I don't have this person's sign-in information





Click Add a user without a Microsoft account





When you have finish creating new user account it will be listed at "Family & other people" window click the new account and click Change account type.