If I change my m.2 that has windows on it will I have to rebuy it or just redownload?

[jogs24]

I have recently built a pc and I realized I want my windows 11 to be on a different m.2 and am wondering if I replace my boot m.2 can I just redownload it and use the same product key?

[aDoomGuy]

Yep. Your key is linked to your mobo or MS account if you used one.

[Dukesilver27-]

No, just clone the OS from the old drive to the new drive, no new key is required.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jZBDluCITmE

 

PS. why is the question in the title is not the same as the thread?

[Chikensoops]

13 minutes ago, Dukesilver27- said:

No, just clone the OS from the old drive to the new drive, no new key is required.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jZBDluCITmE

 

PS. why is the question in the title is not the same as the thread?

This method doesnt work anymore. I tried them and both had a paywall. Macrium reflect works tho.

[Dukesilver27-]

12 minutes ago, Chikensoops said:

This method doesnt work anymore. I tried them and both had a paywall. Macrium reflect works tho.

I see, thanks for the info.

[Crunchy Dragon]

It's cleaner to just redownload and reinstall Windows than any cloning or migration software.

 

It's more guaranteed to work on the first try as well, in my experience.

[Chikensoops]

1 minute ago, Crunchy Dragon said:

It's cleaner to just redownload and reinstall Windows than any cloning or migration software.

 

It's more guaranteed to work on the first try as well, in my experience.

The advantage of cloning is that you can immediately use it without any extra installation. I have cloned SSDs to get windows multiple times and all of them worked first try, usually the only problem being MBR/GPT issues. So it really is up to OP whether to reinstall or clone

[jogs24]

7 hours ago, Crunchy Dragon said:

It's cleaner to just redownload and reinstall Windows than any cloning or migration software.

 

It's more guaranteed to work on the first try as well, in my experience.

 

7 hours ago, Chikensoops said:

The advantage of cloning is that you can immediately use it without any extra installation. I have cloned SSDs to get windows multiple times and all of them worked first try, usually the only problem being MBR/GPT issues. So it really is up to OP whether to reinstall or clone

 

8 hours ago, Dukesilver27- said:

No, just clone the OS from the old drive to the new drive, no new key is required.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jZBDluCITmE

 

PS. why is the question in the title is not the same as the thread?

I should have clarified more. I'm just looking to removed the m.2 that has my windows installed on and install a faster one. Then install windows on the new m.2 with the same product key from the original m.2.  Then I want to install the old m.2 back on my motherboard and wipe that drive and just use it for extra space for games. Just want to make sure that is possible. Thank you.

[Crunchy Dragon]

10 hours ago, jogs24 said:

I should have clarified more. I'm just looking to removed the m.2 that has my windows installed on and install a faster one. Then install windows on the new m.2 with the same product key from the original m.2.  Then I want to install the old m.2 back on my motherboard and wipe that drive and just use it for extra space for games. Just want to make sure that is possible. Thank you.

Yes, that will work.

 

Product keys are usually tied to your MIcrosoft account and your motherboard, so if nothing else changes, it should be just fine.

[jogs24]

On 11/30/2022 at 3:50 PM, Crunchy Dragon said:

Yes, that will work.

 

Product keys are usually tied to your MIcrosoft account and your motherboard, so if nothing else changes, it should be just fine.

Well this morning I swapped out the m.2 and the computer wouldn't boot and wouldn't detect GPU. So I swapped everything back and now I'm still getting error code d6. I had to leave to go to work. I will check all cable connections when I get home. Just wondering if you have any other ideas that I can check to resolve this issue. Thank you. PS: I did have to remove gpu to swap M.2.

[Crunchy Dragon]

1 hour ago, jogs24 said:

Well this morning I swapped out the m.2 and the computer wouldn't boot and wouldn't detect GPU. So I swapped everything back and now I'm still getting error code d6. I had to leave to go to work. I will check all cable connections when I get home. Just wondering if you have any other ideas that I can check to resolve this issue. Thank you. PS: I did have to remove gpu to swap M.2.

Look up what "d6" corresponds to in your motherboard's manual.

[jogs24]

5 minutes ago, Crunchy Dragon said:

Look up what "d6" corresponds to in your motherboard's manual.

d6 is no console output devices are found. I'm assuming its not detecting my graphics card for some reason. 

[Crunchy Dragon]

17 minutes ago, jogs24 said:

d6 is no console output devices are found. I'm assuming its not detecting my graphics card for some reason. 

Is your GPU installed in the top PCIe x16 slot?

[jogs24]

5 minutes ago, Crunchy Dragon said:

Is your GPU installed in the top PCIe x16 slot?

Yes it is. I actually put it all back together exactly how I had it when it was working and still giving the d6 code and will not boot. 

[jogs24]

41 minutes ago, Crunchy Dragon said:

Is your GPU installed in the top PCIe x16 slot?

I'll go into detail on what I did this morning. I removed my GPU and and took out my old m.2 and installed my new one. Put the gpu back in and connected power cables. I then booted my computer and did not get any error codes just had no video output for some reason. I then took the gpu back out and reseated the gpu and power cables again thinking maybe something was wrong. Still did not boot but with no d6 error code at that time. I then cleared cmos and that's when I started to get the d6 error code. That is when I removed my gpu again and swapped back to my original m.2 that my system was working fine with. powered on pc and still got d6 code. Maybe I messed something up with how it boots when I cleared cmos? any tips for me to check would be greatly appreciated. 

[Crunchy Dragon]

28 minutes ago, jogs24 said:

Maybe I messed something up with how it boots when I cleared cmos? any tips for me to check would be greatly appreciated. 

Clearing the CMOS will reset your BIOS, including what drive your PC boots to automatically.

 

Are you able to boot without an M.2 installed, or does your PC refuse to acknowledge your GPU entirely?

[jogs24]

1 minute ago, Crunchy Dragon said:

Clearing the CMOS will reset your BIOS, including what drive your PC boots to automatically.

 

Are you able to boot without an M.2 installed, or does your PC refuse to acknowledge your GPU entirely?

I have not tried booting it without a drive installed, I can try it. It doesn't acknowledge the gpu at all to my knowledge. Due to it not pulling anything up on the screen i cant even get to bios.  (i am going to try hooking display port to the motherboard to get into bios)

[jogs24]

5 hours ago, Crunchy Dragon said:

Clearing the CMOS will reset your BIOS, including what drive your PC boots to automatically.

 

Are you able to boot without an M.2 installed, or does your PC refuse to acknowledge your GPU entirely?

Problem is resolved. After trying multiple things I accidently bumped my gpu cables and boom the computer detected the gpu (they were fully seated in both the gpu and psu) so I tried different cables that I had laying around and everything is working perfectly. Looks to be faulty cablemod gpu cables. Thank you for your time!