Windows 7/ Windows 8

If I buy a laptop that has Windows 8 installed on it and change the hard drive to one that has Windows 7 installed already will the laptop use Windows 7

Would I be able to access the data that is on the hard drive if I plugged into the hard drive slot?

DreTapatalk said:

Would I be able to access the data that is on the hard drive if I plugged into the hard drive slot?

Yes, if there is an OS on it and a spare HD slot. If not you can use a converter cable to USB. You can also boot the Win7 disk to rescue your files to a USB drive or stick following Copy & Paste - in Windows Recovery Console.

As to the drive starting on a new PC, after plugging it in you'd need to Adjust Win7 to boot on new hardware with Paragon Adaptive Restore CD

Greg, the PAR fixes the OS (drivers) part of things but, how would you tackle OEM licensing? (Asking out of curiosity)

You'd always need to change the Product Key at Control Panel>System to re-register the new hardware signature, even if reactivating with the same key.

If it's full or Upgrade retail then the license can migrate, although Upgrade might need the workaround given in Option 3 of Clean Install with a Upgrade Windows 7 Version if it rejects the key as not qualifying for Upgrade.

If it's retail Builder's OEM which is locked to first mobo then you'll be at the mercy of a MS Phone Activation live agent once it rejects the old key. We have had reports all along that they'd allow a move with good reason (e.g. installed to wrong mobo) and lately there are many reports they are allowing the change of mobo on these OEM versions since they became the only version available of Win7. So it is worth a try to Activate Windows 7 by Phone - Windows 7 Help Forums

For Factory OEM you will need to change to a retail key because in no case can factory OEM ever legally move to new hardware other than the original PC that it was sold with. However my mentor SIW2 has reported cases/countries where this is/was allowed so it might be worth a try too though I would not expect it at all.

Let me know if this answers all questions.

More detail than expected, thanks, I got one more. :)

(Consider I had no factory bloatware - I had a clean OEM install as described in our tutorial) I unplug my HDD from old laptop (Home Prem OEM) and put in the new laptop (also Home Prem OEM), I run PAR and then change to the new OEM key and activate with it, would this work? My logic says it would, but am I missing anything?

Yes. You can always change hard drives without killing an OEM activation. At most it may need reactivating but the only deal killer for keeping that same PC's OEM version activation is changing out the mobo, and even that is questionable whether its fatal.

I understand how moving the OS can cloud the activation rules due to the adjustments that often must be made, but it still is only a hard drive hardware change and that never rises to the level of fatally affecting the existing OEM activation on that mobo.

Keep in mind you can also move only the HD or OS image. PAR makes that easy by applying Win7 backup images while doing the adjustment.