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Questions about moving Windows 7 + HDD from old laptop to new laptop
Hi there,
I've got a few questions about what would happen with Windows if I were to move my old HDD from my laptop into a new one.
Some info: I have a retail copy of Windows 7; my hard drive is not original to my laptop because the original HD died; if it's possible to do a simple swap, my future laptop will likely be a Sager/Clevo.
The situation: I want buy a new laptop with 2 HD slots, but I don't want to bother with getting an OS with it because I have a retail W7. If I were to get the laptop with a clean HDD, would it be possible to simply take my old HDD out, slot it into the new laptop's 2nd slot (or switch the clean HDD into the second slot while putting the old HDD into the 1st slot), and have it run smoothly?
Or, will I have problems with drivers? What about Windows? Is Windows signed to the hard drive, or to the laptop itself? Will I have to deactivate Windows 7 before moving it? Or would it simply be easier to deactivate Windows from the old laptop, install it into the clean HDD, and then just put the old HDD into the 2nd slot? However, if I do that, will the programs installed on the HDD still work properly on the new laptop without having to fudge about with it? I've never had a PC w/ 2 hard drives before, so I don't know how it all works.
Thanks a lot for reading, and any help is appreciated greatly because it'll influence my new laptop purchase.
(Also, sorry if this is in the wrong spot...)