windows boot drive transplant

[Indian pc builder]

if i install windows on an ssd on one pc and then move that ssd to another completely different pc, will it still work the same and boot proprely?

[whispous]

Can he really not do an install from a cheap stick himself? And you do have to boot it on a computer and do the first part of the install on it. Windows isn't a fan of being installed onto a USB connected drive though.

Hook it up internally with YOUR other drives unplugged

 

When it does it's FIRST reboot, turn the PC off and send it in that state. Best bet.

[aledsav1]

 

[SorryBella]

26 minutes ago, Indian pc builder said:

i dont have the rest of the computer, only the drive

...genuinely why.

 

I guess you could try building a windows 10 ISO through Media Creation Tool, unplug all your other drives in your PC, and install it that way. External install is possible but its honestly more headache than internal, just make sure you dont put any activation code to avoid microsoft doing the funny and disable the code when it sees another board in another location.

[ImorallySourcedElectrons]

You can also find full VM disk images of Windows 10 and 11 on the MS website somewhere, you could probably just write those to an actual disk.

[Indian pc builder]

im willing to unplug all my other drives and just use the pc to install windows on  the drive but will the drive work in another pc once transplanted?

[aledsav1]

21 minutes ago, Indian pc builder said:

im willing to unplug all my other drives and just use the pc to install windows on  the drive but will the drive work in another pc once transplanted?

99% Yes it will work, I am always swapping installs from 1 pc to another

[ImorallySourcedElectrons]

1 hour ago, Indian pc builder said:

im willing to unplug all my other drives and just use the pc to install windows on  the drive but will the drive work in another pc once transplanted?

Yes, Windows - to its absolute credit - handles massively different hardware configurations like a champ, just make sure it has a network connection and let Windows Update do its job. What I would recommend is downloading the network, usb and chipset drivers for the target system ahead of time and putting them on the disk. That way if there would be an issue you should have a quick way out.