question Can I move my laptop SSD to a desktop and have my data?

[Emuf]

So I am going to build a pc soon to replace my $300 laptop from 6 years ago, and after the hard drive in it died I bought an SSD to use in it. The performance on this thing is just so awful, it idles at around 80C, and things crash all the time, so I decided to build a desktop that will be miles ahead of this thing in every way. I want to know if I can just pull the SSD out of this, plug it into the new pc, install some drivers, and have my windows installation and all my data still on it. The laptop I am currently using is using an intel processor whereas the one I will be getting is using an AMD. I was unable to find much information on this topic anywhere so I decided to ask here hoping to get an answer. If you have any questions I am willing to answer them. I would really appreciate it if someone can tell me if this is possible and if not what files I should transfer over.

[Akira Shimazu]

if the form factor around 2.5-3.5 not small like M.2. yes

[Emuf]

Just now, Wolfycapt said:

if the form factor around 2.5-3.5 not small like M.2. yes

Its a laptop from 2013 it has not M.2 slot it, it is a 2.5" drive

[Akira Shimazu]

like i said. yes

[Emuf]

1 minute ago, Wolfycapt said:

like i said. yes

k

[191x7]

Windows probably won't work, and even if it would - you'd have issues. Make a backup and do a clean Windows install on the new machine.

Also, the same key won't activate it. You might need to resort to eBay or key selling sites for a new/cheap license.

 

[Emuf]

6 minutes ago, 191x7 said:

Windows probably won't work, and even if it would - you'd have issues. Make a backup and do a clean Windows install on the new machine.

Also, the same key won't activate it. You might need to resort to eBay or key selling sites for a new/cheap license.

 

I was going to get a windows 10 pro key from ebay for $2 anyways and sell my current key. But would the files all be compatible? And what would I back them up to?

[TheKDub]

43 minutes ago, Emuf said:

So I am going to build a pc soon to replace my $300 laptop from 6 years ago, and after the hard drive in it died I bought an SSD to use in it. The performance on this thing is just so awful, it idles at around 80C, and things crash all the time, so I decided to build a desktop that will be miles ahead of this thing in every way. I want to know if I can just pull the SSD out of this, plug it into the new pc, install some drivers, and have my windows installation and all my data still on it. The laptop I am currently using is using an intel processor whereas the one I will be getting is using an AMD. I was unable to find much information on this topic anywhere so I decided to ask here hoping to get an answer. If you have any questions I am willing to answer them. I would really appreciate it if someone can tell me if this is possible and if not what files I should transfer over.

Yes (assuming it's a SATA SSD, or that the new PC will have an M.2 slot if it's an M.2 SSD), however you won't be able to just move it over and use that Windows install on the new PC. You'll need to do a fresh install of Windows. I'd suggest putting any data you want to keep onto a different drive, then formatting the SSD and installing a fresh copy of Windows.

[Emuf]

2 minutes ago, TheKDub said:

Yes (assuming it's a SATA SSD, or that the new PC will have an M.2 slot if it's an M.2 SSD), however you won't be able to just move it over and use that Windows install on the new PC. You'll need to do a fresh install of Windows. I'd suggest putting any data you want to keep onto a different drive, then formatting the SSD and installing a fresh copy of Windows.

How could I copy this to a different drive? This laptop only has a single 2.5" drive bay

[TheKDub]

22 minutes ago, Emuf said:

How could I copy this to a different drive? This laptop only has a single 2.5" drive bay

The easiest way will likely be to get a flash drive large enough to store anything you want to keep, or an external hard drive, then move it all over to that.

 

You can get a decent 128GB flash drive for $19 USD (https://amzn.to/2GRsqJ0) or 256GB for $30 USD (https://amzn.to/2Kl4HDa)

Or if an external HDD is more of your style, you can get a 1TB one from Seagate for $45 USD (https://amzn.to/2GSeSge)

 

Alternatively, you could get another SSD or a HDD and then get a SATA drive dock, then connect that to the laptop, transfer files to it, then put that into the desktop along with the SSD from the laptop.

[191x7]

The third option would be an online backup to, for example, Mega or Google Drive / Google One.

[cracmeister]

I would suggest u just buy a main drive for you new pc, install fresh windows on it. and if you wanna get you data u can just connect the ssd from the laptop to your pc and just access it like a second drive. you will see the windows installation files and stuff, but as long as your drive is not encyrpted with bitlocker or something you should just be able to access it and pull your data with no problem.

Then you could just format your old drive to get rid of the windows installation files and other junk and just use the drive as a second drive in your pc. Or just leave the data on there in the mess of an old windows installation, whatever you like most.

 

Booting from that drive might be difficult with the missing drivers and the old setup. Fresh install is highly recommended.

 

And I don't think you can sell your old windows license, as nowadays it is associated with your hardware to some degree.

 

 

[cracmeister]

1 hour ago, 191x7 said:

The third option would be an online backup to, for example, Mega or Google Drive / Google One.

Sorry, but are you kidding? Clearly he is not talking about a few word documents and a handful of pictures. And with an avarage consumer internet connection it would take forever to upload more than very basic stuff. 

[Emuf]

12 hours ago, cracmeister said:

I would suggest u just buy a main drive for you new pc, install fresh windows on it. and if you wanna get you data u can just connect the ssd from the laptop to your pc and just access it like a second drive. you will see the windows installation files and stuff, but as long as your drive is not encyrpted with bitlocker or something you should just be able to access it and pull your data with no problem.

Then you could just format your old drive to get rid of the windows installation files and other junk and just use the drive as a second drive in your pc. Or just leave the data on there in the mess of an old windows installation, whatever you like most.

 

Booting from that drive might be difficult with the missing drivers and the old setup. Fresh install is highly recommended.

 

And I don't think you can sell your old windows license, as nowadays it is associated with your hardware to some degree.

 

 

in my basement I have an ancient 250GB hard drive and if that still works would I be able to install windows on that, do what you said, reinstall windows on the ssd, and take the hard drive out never to be used again?

[seagate_surfer]

Seagate’s compact, hard drives are perfect for backing up data on the go: 

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[cracmeister]

On 8/8/2019 at 1:29 AM, Emuf said:

in my basement I have an ancient 250GB hard drive and if that still works would I be able to install windows on that, do what you said, reinstall windows on the ssd, and take the hard drive out never to be used again?

Yes that would be possible if the hard drive is working correctly. But using a HDD for this process is a pain in the butt, because it is rather slow. But give it a try