How to Move Windows 10 to A New Computer with Dissimilar Hardware?

Key Takeaways:

• Get a smooth method to move Windows 10 to a new computer with dissimilar hardware.
• Figure out which Windows 10 license is available for moving.
• Try the "Universal Restore" feature of EaseUS Todo Backup, enabling you to restore Windows images to another computer with different hardware.
• Activate Windows 10 after Windows migration.

Quick Navigation:

Wondering Move Windows 10 to A New Computer with Dissimilar Hardware?
Can I Move Windows 10 License to A Different Computer?
How to Move Windows 10 to A New Computer with Dissimilar Hardware?
Re-activate Windows 10 After Migration
Windows 10 Migrate to New Computer FAQs

Wondering Move Windows 10 to A New Computer with Dissimilar Hardware?

Are you searching for a way to move Windows 10 to a new computer with dissimilar hardware? Maybe you're upgrading to a new machine and don't want to have to reinstall everything from scratch. Or perhaps you're having problems with your current system and want to start fresh on new hardware.

Whatever the reason, it's relatively easy to migrate your Windows 10 installation to a new machine, as long as you take the necessary steps to overcome the hardware incompatibility issue in this article.

Can I Move Windows 10 License to A Different Computer?

Yes, you can transfer a Windows 10 license to another PC. But you should check your OS types first.

See license details:

When moving a Windows 10 license to a different computer, there are three types: OEM, Retail, and Volume.

• OEM licenses are tied to the computer's motherboard and cannot be transferred.
• Retail licenses can be transferred, but only once every 90 days.
• Volume licenses can be transferred as long as the computer is within the same Active Directory domain.

How to Tell If Your Windows 10 Type is OEM, Retail, or Volume?

1. Search for Command Prompt on the Start menu and click "Run as administrator" to start.

2. Type command line: slmgr /dli, and then press Enter button.

3. You will see the Windows Script Host. Go to the Description line and check the license type.

How to Move Windows 10 to A New Computer with Dissimilar Hardware?

To move Windows 10 to a new computer with dissimilar hardware, you can use a backup and restore software - EaseUS Todo Backup.

EaseUS Todo Backup is safe and Techradar-recommended software. It enables you to create system image Windows 10 on USB, restore what you backup to another PC with the user-friendly "Universal Restore" feature, and create a bootable media to boot the computer.

On the brand-new device, you could set an automatic backup to protect data.

Download EaseUS Todo Backup on a Windows 10 computer:

Step 1. Launch EaseUS Todo Backup on your computer, and click Create Backup on the home screen and then hit the big question mark to select backup contents.

Step 2. To back up your Windows operating system, click "OS" to begin the backup task.

Step 3. Your Windows operating system information and all system related files and partitions will be automatically selected so you don't need to do any manual selection at this step. Next, you'll need to choose a location to save the system image backup by clicking the illustrated area.

Step 4. The backup location can be another local drive on your computer, an external hard drive, network, cloud or NAS. Generally, we recommend you use an external physical drive or cloud to preserve the system backup files. 

Step 5. Customiztion settings like enabling an automatic backup schedule in daily, weekly, monthly, or upon an event, and making a differential and incremental backup are available in the Options button if you're interested. Click "Backup Now", and the Windows system backup process will begin. The completed backup task will display on the left side in a card style.

* To perform system recovery on a none-bootable machine, try to boot the computer through the EaseUS Todo Backup emergency disk.

Step 1. Launch EaseUS Todo Backup, click "Browse to Recover".

Step 2. Guide to your backup destination, choose the system backup file you need. (The backup file created by EaseUS Todo Backup is a pbd file.)

Step 3. Choose the recovery disk. Make sure that the partition style of the source disk and the recovery disk are the same.

Step 4. You can customize the disk layout according to your needs. Then click "Proceed" to start system backup recovery.

Re-activate Windows 10 After Migration

Because another computer is already using Windows 10 license, you need to re-activate it on the new PC.

How to Reactive Windows 10

Log into the same Microsoft account you used on the old computer - Click Settings > Update & Security > Activate > Add an account 

After logging in to the same account, start to activate the license.

Windows 10 Migrate to New Computer FAQs

1. Can I move Windows 10 to a different computer?

Yes, you can. Here's how: 

If you're running Windows 10 on your current PC and want to upgrade to a new one, you don't need to buy a new copy of Windows. You can transfer an existing license to your new PC. Here's how: 

1. On your current PC, open Settings > Update & Security > Activation. 

2. Under "Switch to a different product key," click the link and enter the product key for your new copy of Windows. 

3. Follow the prompts to finish activation. 

4. On your new PC, open Settings > Update & Security > Activation and select Change Product Key. 

5. Enter the product key you used to activate Windows on your current PC, and then follow the prompts. 

6. Once you've completed the steps, Windows will become active on your new device.

2. Can I install Windows on a hard drive and put it on another computer?

The simple answer is no. You cannot install windows on a hard drive and put it on another computer. The reason for this is that each computer has its unique hardware configuration. When you install windows, it creates configuration files specific to your computer's hardware. These files tell windows how to interact with your computer's components, and they cannot be transferred to another computer.

3. Can I insert my old hard drive into my new computer and have it working without reinstalling windows?

The answer is maybe. It depends on a few factors, including what operating system was on the old hard drive, whether you have all of the same hardware in your new computer, and whether the old hard drive is still functional. 

4. Can I transfer my SSD with installed OS and programs to another computer?

The answer is yes. You can transfer your SSD with installed OS and programs to another computer. However, there are a few things to keep in mind when doing so:

• Make sure that the new computer is compatible with the SSD.
• Install the SSD on the new computer.
• Reinstall any programs that were on the SSD.