Solved Swap HDD on exact same model laptop?

[Paul Black]

Good evening,

I have an OEM [as in the product ID xxxxx-OEM-xxxxxxx-xxxxx] HP laptop [the one I mainly use for the Internet - this one I am on now] that is about 10 years old. My Brother-in-law has the exact same model. The one he has got has hardly ever been used.

Is there any reason why I can't just swap the HDD over?
If the MB and BIOS are the same would there be a problem?

Thanks in advance.

 

[samuria]

There should be no problems assuming everything is the same sometimes same models are different

 

[Paul Black]

Hi samuria, I appreciate the reply,

There should be no problems assuming everything is the same sometimes same models are different

So am I right in saying, that as long as the MB Model and Version are the same, and the BIOS Brand and version are the same, it doesn't matter that it is an OEM?
Is there anything else to check?

 

[SIW2]

You can check the slic table. Plenty of tools can do that.
Rweverything is just one
Also Number 3. in this article

 

[Paul Black]

Thanks SIW2,

I should have mentioned that this laptop has Vista [this one that I use for the Internet etc] as opposed to Win 7. So I will have to use 1. Activation Backup and Restore (ABR).

I was given this laptop when I left a company [Education Academy] I was working for about 10 years ago. I don't need to re-install or anything like that, I would just like to be able to take the HDD out of this laptop and put it in the other laptop!

Could you explain about the slic table please?

 

[SIW2]

Same thing. Vista oem preinstall needs the correct slic table. His machine might have it, you can check before hand with any number of tools. If his machine came preinstalled with Vista, and is the same model, etc - it very likely does.

 

[Paul Black]

Thanks SIW2,

Vista oem preinstall needs the correct slic table. His machine might have it, you can check before hand with any number of tools. If his machine came preinstalled with Vista, and is the same model, etc - it very likely does.

I will have to ask him if he knows what it came pre-installed with. I think when he bought second-hand they had re-installed it with Win 7 or Win 8. He wants to keep the HDD and is willing to give the laptop to me.

When you say "it very likely does", do you mean that if his came pre-installed with Vista that it might already have the correct slic table?

I just read that the SLP [System Locked Preinstallation] certificate file must match the SLP code in the BIOS ROM. Is this something that I need to do something about?

Thanks in advance.

 

[SIW2]

When you say "it very likely does", do you mean that if his came pre-installed with Vista that it might already have the correct slic table?

Yes

I just read that the SLP [System Locked Preinstallation] certificate file must match the SLP code in the BIOS ROM. Is this something that I need to do something about?

Depends. Assuming his machine has a valid slic, you should be ok to swap the HD as you suggest.

 

[SIW2]

Windows Vista uses SLIC 2.0 .
If the laptop is 10 years old, I can't think what else it would have.
SLIC 2.1 came out with win7 - because there were "downgrade rights", I expect that also works for Vista.

 

[Paul Black]

Thanks SIW2,

Windows Vista uses SLIC 2.0.
If the laptop is 10 years old, I can't think what else it would have.
SLIC 2.1 came out with win7 - because there were "downgrade rights", I expect that also works for Vista.

So really then, I just need to compare my slic table with his?
I have not done this before. What shall I use to extract the slic table for comparrison please?
If the slic tables are the same, would I still need to use 1. Activation Backup and Restore (ABR).

Thanks in advance.

 

[SIW2]

You can use either of the tools I linked to in my previous post.

You might as well back up - just in case.

Otherwise, ( if there is a valid slic and it isn't activated for some reason) you can just insert the xml cert and product key.

 

[Paul Black]

UPDATE:

I backed up the SLP, OEM Product Keys etc and transferred the HDD over. I just had to make a few little tweaks and all is well.
Thanks SIW2 & samuria for the advice and help, it is very much appreciated