Donating your PC and swapping the SSD is feasible. It's still possible to maintain Windows on it.
Donating your PC and swapping the SSD is feasible. It's still possible to maintain Windows on it.
You’re considering passing your dad’s old PC along while adding an SSD upgrade. Since the Windows version is tied to a Microsoft account, you should check compatibility before proceeding. You have two SSDs—decide which one has Windows installed and plan the upgrade accordingly. Options include replacing only that drive or keeping both if possible. Make sure the new SSD supports the same specifications as the current one.
It's suggested to perform a clean installation, but I frequently switch my OS drive onto new computers. Usually there are no problems with my Microsoft account. Windows will require fresh drivers for new hardware, occasionally missing some which means manual updates are needed, and sometimes I have to log back into my Microsoft account. Overall it tends to work about 99% of the time.
A little unclear on what you're asking, but your existing install can be cloned to another SSD for dear old Dad. While it is indeed recommended you do a new install for a different machine, your existing install may work just fine. I swapped my SN570 to an ASRock B450M-HDV while my Asus Tuf B550-PLUS was being RMA'd. Ran fine, other than discovering neither board liked the RAM I was using, but I digress.
After logging in with your Microsoft account and enabling the PC, it should automatically reactivate during a fresh installation, even if you don’t have an active account on that device, because the activation server recognizes the hardware ID from a prior activation.
The problem lies in the mismatch of Microsoft accounts. It seems safe to retain my own, though I’m unsure it won’t lead to complications later.
Lol yeah I just went through some RAM issues as well. Basically I am asking how I can avoid buy windows again. He's getting my PC but the drive that has windows on it is going to be swapped out for a bigger one.
Unless you rely on the Internet, you won't be able to. Each device gets one license. There are inexpensive keys available, though some are fraudulent. Others were reported by someone who paid full price, but I received a genuine OEM installation DVD from One World Computing for roughly $140. You can find authentic OEM bootable USBs on Amazon at lower prices. I moved this temporarily to a workstation while my 5900X was being returned, but it reconnected once the machine was back online and had access to the Internet. You might consider purchasing a dead Windows 10 system for the key—options like Craigslist are possible.