Resolved Clone or Clean Install to SSD?

Pete, I did a clone from my HDD (W8.1 Pro) to a 250GB SSD - no problems. The only extra action required for me was the finalizing of my HP printer.
Windows asked me to insert the HP CD and it was all done in less than a minute.
The same thing happened when I Upgraded to W10 on this SSD. I had no problem with activation with the clone or the Upgrade.
I think the HD renewal and additional RAM and Graphics are accepted without the activation, but I will stand corrected if wrong.
I have renewed the Graphics card without the need for activation when I was running W8.1 on the HDD. Hope this helps your decision. Neil.

 

I have had successful clonings but I prefer clean installs - especially if the source drive has been through a lot of changes with installed service patches, OS upgrades, hardware change out, etc. If you started out with Windows 7 or Windows 8.x then upgraded to W10, there will be a whole bunch of remnant files and Registry entries left behind. I really don't want them on my new drives (especially SSDs which tend to be smaller and still cost more per Gb).

Also, there will be bunches of superseded Windows Updates, security program updates and files, and other program updates you don't need on your new SSD. There may even be a bunch of programs you downloaded, installed, but don't use any more. Why clone them to a new drive?

The "license" is tied to the motherboard - activation is tied to some hash sum based on all the hardware detected. If you have a UEFI motherboard, this information is in motherboard firmware and it would be highly unlikely swapping out everything but the motherboard itself would trigger new activation. But even it did, it rarely requires anything more than clicking a few links and the automated process is done. It has been probably more than 8 years since I actually had to pick up the phone and call MS - but even then it was automated.

 

Bill, I used CCleaner, cleared Temp files, defragged with Auslogic and made sure all drivers were updated and the latest versions of Mozilla were working OK before I did my clone.
Currently there is 52GB's used on the 250GB SSD. Neil.

 

All excellent precautions - especially the clean install before cloning to get rid of remnants of old operating systems.

Sadly, many don't clean out the clutter before cloning. But then if the drive they are cloning to has plenty of space, then there's probably no big deal.

I am just saying my personal preference when "upgrading" or building a new PC is to start with a fresh install of the OS.

 

Another success story for W10. Love the SSD's. I get a good comparison with W10 on one comp on HDD and this one on SSD. Neil.

 

Yeah, I'll take a slow SSD over a fast HD any day. I will never [willingly] go back to HDs.