What happens if I swap the HDD from an old Compaq to an old Toshiba?

sunsetlover · 04 May 2018

Hi all,
Just curious about this, as I've never tried it before. When I had to replace a HDD in the past, I'd get a new one and re-install Windows.

Now I have an old HP Compaq (circa 2009) laptop and I was wondering what would happen if I took the HDD out and installed it on an old (circa 2009) Toshiba Satellite. I also have a clone drive of that HDD that I can install. Would there be just driver problems?

Windows was installed on that Compaq at a computer shop (i.e not OEM preinstalled).

Barman58 · 04 May 2018

First things First - Unless you have a valid Retail licence that is not in use you cannot Transfer a licence betweens systems.

OEM licences are tied to the hardware, (a combination of items are used but luckily for you the HDD is not critical

It is usual for Small Computer builders to use a slightly different OEM licence from Dell. HP Etc but the rules of use are the same

In your case you could could use the old Toshiba drive but this would need to be Wiped, Installed into the HP/Compaq, and then activated using the key on the documentation or underside of the HP/Compaq

This will also sort out the inevitable driver and hardware issues that would occur with a simple swap

By the way, Microsoft will only monitor and police the licensing issues involved here, If they find a breach of licence usage terms they will probably deactivate and blacklist the licence which would likely result of the licence not working with any hardware (including the original Toshiba if this is still usable). All the support for OEM supplied hardware stays with the OEM, and although Microsoft uses a ten year support cycle (Five years support and five Years extended support), most OEMs will not provide more than a few years

TheDeerDude · 04 May 2018

I happen to have done a similar thing with a Compaq Presario CQ70 and Toshiba Qosmio X505, both from around the same time.
If you plan on wiping the hard drive and re-installing Windows, then it'd be just like getting a new one.

It is possible that the OSs may boot just fine (they did in my case, on both laptops) but more likely they won't. Sorting these issues would take much more time (if even possible) than a clean, fresh installation of Windows on a formatted hard drive.

Barman58 · 04 May 2018

TheDeerDude said:

It is possible that the OSs may boot just fine (they did in my case, on both laptops) but more likely they won't. Sorting these issues would take much more time (if even possible) than a clean, fresh installation of Windows on a formatted hard drive.

This would of course also be technically Illegal as you would end up with a copy of Windows Licenced by Toshiba running on a compaq and vice versa - I know in reality you are not cheating anyone, as such, as both computers are still in use as are the licences, but Legal teams would see it in very black and white terms, (the licensing information is held on the computer and microsoft's servers, and must match in technical construction of various parts and manufacturer)

TheDeerDude · 04 May 2018

Barman58 said:

This would of course also be technically Illegal as you would end up with a copy of Windows Licenced by Toshiba running on a compaq and vice versa - I know in reality you are not cheating anyone, as such, as both computers are still in use as are the licences, but Legal teams would see it in very black and white terms, (the licensing information is held on the computer and microsoft's servers, and must match in technical construction of various parts and manufacturer)

Of course, and like you've mentioned in your previous post, since the licenses are tied to specific hardware, I'm guessing Windows would deactivate itself and complain? I can't exactly remember why I've done this (possibly wanted a bigger capacity hard drive in Toshiba, and curiosity got the best of me and I tried to boot both to see what would happen), but it wasn't for long enough for it to complain, shortly followed by fresh Windows installations on both, activated with their respective OEM license keys from their stickers.

Barman58 · 04 May 2018

The actual system queries the Microsoft servers at a variable period (Max is about 90 Days), and if the system does not match their records, the key is deactivated, (although the 90 days may be three 30 day ones to allow a little wiggle room for the user), if Microsoft believes that the key is a stolen key or other invalid key they will Block, (blacklist), the key, this is normally when multiple instances of attempted activation with a key is used, this is often used by small OEM builders so something you need to be careful of, (a google search for the the Key number will give a clue as most blocked keys are well known on the net.

By the way, stopping the information reaching Microsoft is usually treated the same as being illegal, so some "Telemetry" is a good idea to not block

TheDeerDude · 04 May 2018

Barman58 said:

The actual system queries the Microsoft servers at a variable period (Max is about 90 Days), and if the system does not match their records, the key is deactivated, (although the 90 days may be three 30 day ones to allow a little wiggle room for the user), if Microsoft believes that the key is a stolen key or other invalid key they will Block, (blacklist), the key, this is normally when multiple instances of attempted activation with a key is used, this is often used by small OEM builders so something you need to be careful of, (a google search for the the Key number will give a clue as most blocked keys are well known on the net.

By the way, stopping the information reaching Microsoft is usually treated the same as being illegal, so some "Telemetry" is a good idea to not block

That's very interesting, and good to know, thank you for sharing!

I mean, purely theoretically, how would Microsoft know if you blocked "Telemetry", if you blocked "Telemetry"?

"Oh, I just haven't been used my laptop in 5 years, that's why you're not getting any communication from it" also it doesn't seem feasible for them to chase down people who do it.

It's scary what things can be found in ToS, and even scarier that people agree with them, without reading them. But then, what other choice do they have? None. I wish I had switched to Linux years ago, then again, all the games I play are Windows-only.

Apologies for going completely off-topic.

sunsetlover · 04 May 2018

Thank you both the detailed information. Very informative and quite a few things to think about here.

Btw, Nigel, this may be going off-topic, but why then would Macrium Reflect offer the option of cloning a drive to be used in a "different system"?

Barman58 · 04 May 2018

Microsoft ,and others who rely on rolling licensing, assume no contact means, no longer used so, can treat as they wish, Most will include the requirement to connect to the internet every so many days in the multiple hundreds of pages in the T&Cs so are covered legally

They do not bother with devices they cannot see but may mark them as MIA and then it is up to the user to prove to microsoft that they are using the key legitimately - normally by actually talking to a licensing rep at microsoft and persuading them.