👍 #895 – Can I Move My Hard Drive to a New Computer and Have Windows Work?

Moving the goods

Wouldn't it be nice if, when you got a new machine, you could just take the hard drive out of your old one, move it to the new, boot up and pick up as if nothing had happened?

Yes it would be nice. No, you can't count on it working.

It can fail obviously and hard. In some cases it can actually work. What's frustrating, though, are all the points in between where it kinda-sorta works, or looks like it's working until you stumble on an issue that was laying in wait.

Yeah, no. I recommend you not even try. Can I Move My Hard Drive to a New Computer and Have Windows Work? has the details.

Also this week: My password is right, darn it! An update on updating to Windows 11. Getting files from an old hard drive.

As always, links below.

TEH Podcast

Colorado's on fire. My TV's on order. Y2K22's on mail administrator's minds. CES seems ... boring? Exposure notification apps are disappointing. "Don't Look Up" is anxiety provoking.

All that and more in TEH 152: Fires, TV dilemma, Y2K again, Launching Games, Covid app fails.

Take care,

Featured Article

Can I Move My Hard Drive to a New Computer and Have Windows Work?
It would make some things easier.

https://askleo.com/3448

Also This Week on Ask Leo!

I Know My Password Is Right, But I Can't Sign In. What Do I Do? What to consider when the system thinks otherwise.
https://askleo.com/15079

Should I Update to Windows 11? Not yet. When it's time, you'll know.
https://askleo.com/135037

How Do I Get Files From an Old Hard Drive? Recovering the past.
https://askleo.com/139225

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How Do I Get Files From an Old Hard Drive? If you've got an old hard drive and you want to get data off of it, there are several approaches. https://youtu.be/Tk4uivi_VZY

Should I Update to Windows 11? Windows 11 is out to much fanfare, hype, and confusion. Unless you have specific reasons, you don't need to upgrade yet. https://youtu.be/EMlPrhzSh2A

Can I Move My Hard Drive to a New Computer and Have Windows Work? In general, the answer is no, it will not work. But sometimes it does. And sometimes it?s something in between. https://youtu.be/tTfiSuco3TE

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