New construction and windows installation.
New construction and windows installation.
You're planning a fresh installation soon and need to transfer your retail windows license from an old HDD to a new M.2 drive. Your idea of installing the HDD on the new system, booting from there, and cloning the OS onto the M.2 is a reasonable approach. It should simplify the process compared to other methods.
You can easily copy the Windows Installer to a fresh drive with tools like Macrium or Aoemi. But if you're setting up a brand-new computer, you'll need to buy an additional license. The activation code is tied to your motherboard, so unless you're using the same board in the new system, it won't have access and you'll have to reactivate it with a new one.
You can link your license to your Microsoft account, log in on the new device, and there’s a method (I haven’t tried it before) to move that license to the new machine. Your previous license will stop working afterward. Google might guide you correctly. Or, you could duplicate your old drive. However, I suggest beginning anew if possible.