Changing hard drives involves replacing or upgrading storage devices.
Changing hard drives involves replacing or upgrading storage devices.
You should avoid switching the old computer's boot drive to a USB at this stage. Instead, focus on transferring data from the old drive to your new setup carefully. Once you have all necessary files copied or backed up, you can safely replace the old boot drive with a USB stick and then reinstall Windows on the new computer. This way, you won’t lose important data and keep both drives free of Windows installations.
For transferring files between computers, using an external drive is a straightforward method. There seems to be a possibility of removing Windows system files and installing them on your new PC, though I’m unsure about file permissions which could affect access. Moving applications without installing them isn’t feasible either. Last time I set up a Windows system, I transferred everything I needed from a NAS, which took more time but minimized complications. Another person with more experience might have a better approach.