Can I put Win 7 HDD in anothe PC without licensing/activation problems

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  1. Posts : 4
    Windows 7 Pro x64
       #1

    Can I put Win 7 HDD in anothe PC without licensing/activation problems


    Hi.

    We have a broken PC with Windows 7 Pro x64.

    Can I just take the HDD out and put it in a working PC? Or will I run into problems with serial numbers and activation?

    Thanks. (First post, hope this is the right forum)
      My Computer


  2. Posts : 25,847
    Windows 10 Pro. 64/ version 1709 Windows 7 Pro/64
       #2

    Some basics.
    If your Windows 7 is (OEM) version it can not legally be moved to another computer. A (OEM) version is locked to the first computer it was activated on.
    Most have (OEM).

    If you have a (Retail) version it can be moved from one computer to another computer, but can only be on one computer at a time.
    Most don't have (Retail Versions).

    This may help.

    What - Microsoft Community

    Jack
      My Computer


  3. Posts : 3,785
    win 8 32 bit
       #3

    Depending on the new hardware it may not work as the drivers will be wrong it may not activate if MS thinks its a new pc
      My Computer


  4. Posts : 4
    Windows 7 Pro x64
    Thread Starter
       #4

    Great. Thanks for your replies.

    Unfortunately it is OEM, so I guess I have to look at another solution. I was just hoping not to have to install all the software again, set up email accounts etc...
      My Computer


  5. Posts : 16,133
    7 X64
       #5

    You can probably do what you suggest.

    1) You may have to use something like this to make it bootable on new hardware.

    Make Windows 7 bootable after motherboard swap - Windows 7 Help Forums

    2) You need a valid key which you can insert.
      My Computers


  6. Posts : 57
    Windows 7 Pro 64
       #6

    The hard drive works and something else is broken on the first PC?
      My Computer


  7. Posts : 4
    Windows 7 Pro x64
    Thread Starter
       #7

    SIW2 said:
    You can probably do what you suggest.

    1) You may have to use something like this to make it bootable on new hardware.

    Make Windows 7 bootable after motherboard swap - Windows 7 Help Forums

    2) You need a valid key which you can insert.
    Cool. That looks promising. Thanks.

    I hope it's only temporary. I suspect a dodgy power supply. If so, I can replace it, put the HDD back in the original PC and save myself all the time installing software and setting up a new PC. But we need to keep going for the next few days.. that PC has the payroll software on it and we probably don't want to stop paying people
      My Computer


  8. Posts : 4
    Windows 7 Pro x64
    Thread Starter
       #8

    JoWazzoo said:
    The hard drive works and something else is broken on the first PC?
    I actually haven't checked out the broken PC yet. I was out all day and heard about it by phone, no details, just "the computer has shat itself"

    We work in an extremely hot and dusty environment, it kills computers regularly. The hardware is cheap enough to replace, but the time setting up a new install is too much.

    I suspect power supply. If the HDD is dead I have a whole new problem to deal with (We do have backups though)
      My Computer


  9. Posts : 16,133
    7 X64
       #9

    !) You should be able to get it boot on the new machine using the tutorial I linked.

    2) Re the license.
    If you don't input a valid license key I can't recall how long it will keep working before going into reduced functionality mode.

    If you get hold of a retail/system builder license key for the same edition, you can insert it and it should activate fine, then should be good forever
      My Computers


  10. Posts : 1,784
    Linux Mint 18.2 xfce 64-bit (VMWare host) / Windows 8.1 Pro 32-bit (VMWare guest)
       #10

    Just curious, the answer to the following question has never been clear to me:

    If I have one or more bad parts in my OEM computer, and I replace those parts one at a time, does there come a point when Microsoft no longer considers it the same computer for OEM license requirements?

    It seems to me that if only one part was bad, and I replaced it, it would still be the same computer. If then another part goes bad, and I replace it, it is still the same computer. At what point does it become a different computer? Does a certain amount of time need to elapse between replacing each part in order for it to stay the same computer? Or does it become a different computer after a certain number of parts have been replaced?
      My Computer


 
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