Can I transfer a harddrive with w7 on it, to another pc?

[ffperry]

I'm getting a new PC, and if I buy another copy of Windows 7 it will cost me another £80 for something I bought only 1 year ago.

Could I do it by transferring a hard drive with windows 7 on it to my new PC?

Please help, would be very greatful

 

[ignatzatsonic]

New PCs usually come with a Windows installation. I assume your new PC will not have Windows for some reason.

Are you building it yourself?

Do you have an existing Windows installation disk of any kind? What kind?

If your current PC has an OEM version of Windows, you will likely run into activation issues if you simply move the hard drive into the new PC--because the new PC has a different motherboard.

 

[gregrocker]

How is the Win7 licensed? Is it factory OEM which comes preinstalled and cannot be moved to another machine, or is it retail which can migrate as often as you wish to whatever machine you want?

And if retail is it Upgrade version, which needs a qualifying XP/Vista associated with the machine or retail - on hand but doesn't need to be installed?

You can move the installation even if you need to reactivate with a new license, by SysPrepping it on the old hardware first, booting Paragon Adaptive Restore CD on the new hardware, or sometimes it will start on its own: SysPrep to move HD to another computer

 

[Kari]

Check this tutorial: http://www.sevenforums.com/tutorials/135077-windows-7-installation-transfer-new-computer.html

Method 1 is meant to be used exactly in situations like yours. Of course, as Greg told above, if it is an OEM version you need a new licence in any way.

Kari