Will my Win7 copy work in this situation?

[AlienEd]

Hi guys,

I had an alienware m15x laptop with win7 'till one day the MOBO died. They couldn't fix the problem and because of the m15x getting discontinued just some weeks ago they couldn't send me a replacement either, that's why I'm getting a refund with which I intend to build a gaming desktop. I kept my laptop's HDD because of privacy measures. Now that you know to which situation I was referring, here goes my question: If I clone my 2.5" HDD to a 3.5" one and then install that HDD in my new rig will the OS still work? I know that if my lap had a OEM win7 copy it's going to be bounded to the original MoBo but I'm not sure if it was an OEM version, is there any way to know if it was one? I still have the original Win7 Disc . Thanks!

[jibz]

I'd try it and see.

Best case scenario: first boot it will detect new hardware install new drivers reboot and run fine.

Worst case scenario: Failure to boot requiring a new windows install, if you kept the key from the bottom of your laptop it might just work.

[enaberif]

Being an alienware it means it'll be a OEM license and will not work properly.

But you can try.

[Shadowmeph]

It most likely will work, if you have the CD key you can just download windows 7 and use that cd key

[enaberif]

Originally Posted by Shadowmeph

It most likely will work, if you have the CD key you can just download windows 7 and use that cd key

The key on the outside of the machine doesn't always match the one that windows has with OEM copies.

[Shadowmeph]

I know that is the same with windows xp and prior but I am not sure if that is the same as with Windows 7?
it is confusing to me here is a windows licencing its older 2009
http://i.zdnet.com/blogs/license-and...e_skin;content

[FlyingFish]

I pulled the drive out of my laptop when I upgraded it. Popped it into a desktop and it worked. Had to go into device manager and uninstall all the old drivers and reboot a few times but it worked.


After a few days it did ask me for a new CD key though. Probably because I was using the same one on my laptop as well. I swapped the key out for a different one and I've been using it it since.



TL:DR

You should be fine.

[AlienEd]

Some of the digits of the windows key tag got erased because of time. I know that with some programs like magical jelly bean you can know your actual key but the problem is that the OS must be running... any ideas in how could I manage to recover the key? Thanks.

[frontier204]

If it's anything like copies of Vista, it won't work and is against the license to do. I know Hewlett Packard and Dell bound their OS CDs to their branded motherboards (so I once used an HP laptop's OS disk to reinstall to an HP desktop without needing to have a key).
Maybe if your new desktop was another Dell / Alienware it would work.

<walk into grey area for forum policies>
Your product key is attached to the OS only and not to some OS + motherboard combo, so if Windows allows you to run applications before blocking you out, you can retrieve a key using software. Note as enaberif said, if it's a Dell branded OS, the key won't be any good to you anyway.
</walk out of grey area for forum policies>