Storage replacement

Question

On my laptop, my 256gb ssd is filling up a lot faster than I thought it would, so i'm thinking about upgrading to a 1tb or 2tb ssd. As someone who has never done this before, if I were to replace the ssd, would I need to buy a new win 10 install? my computer only has one m.2 slot so I wouldn't be able to simply transfer the files internally. I may be sounding stupid, but I just simply don't know and don't want to have to spend extra money if I don't have to

Answer 1

if I were to replace the ssd, would I need to buy a new win 10 install

Hello,

If you replace SSD, you don't need to buy new Windows 10 license.

If you've OEM license, it is tied to motherboard of system. If you've retail license, it has transfer rights.

However, after hardware change, you may need to reactivate your Windows 10:

https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/reactivating-windows-10-after-a-hardware-change-2c0e962a-f04c-145b-6ead-fb3fc72b6665

Hope this helps!

Answer 2

@Michal Kadzielawa
Hi,
If you just replace the SSD, you don't need to buy a new license.
You should consider the type of license. Windows 10 license based on an OEM license (came pre-installed on a PC) or Retail (purchased separately to a PC)
https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/reactivating-windows-10-after-a-hardware-change-2c0e962a-f04c-145b-6ead-fb3fc72b6665
Hope above information can help you.

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Answer 3

No.
You don't have to buy a bew Windows 10.

Kindly see:

Reactivating Windows 10 after a hardware change