Is there a way to move the Windows hdd to another machine without reregistering all the software again? Might it be possible to alter the device id or so?

 

Hello @nmkeraj, you only need to re-register some software programs. When I moved the original C:/ hard drive to another PC, I only had to re-register about 10 of the approximately 1,500 installed plugins. There's no way to do this. Many programs are tied to the CPU, which has its own number.

 

Windows finds the new hardware automatically. Which software you have to re-register you just have to see I guess. What you can do is to clone the hdd to SSD for example then just test it in the new pc. Often Windows licence is tied to the motherboard so maybe you also have to get a new licence for Windows

 

If I ditched the legal system and used the same key for every machine, would it helped in any way. How about changing the id of the motherboard?

Once I installed the hdd image to another drive and had to reregister almost everything.

 

Unfortunately, that doesn't work.

You can't change that with software. The numbers are in the chips on the motherboard; they're fixed.
The CPU also has its own number. Then you'll have to re-register for a few days. A lot of work and stress.

 

Last edited: Oct 27, 2025

no. new different machine with different mac address of its network interface and BIOS id will invalidate lots of the software/plugins unfortunately

 

This has worked for me on Windows 10 to change my WiFi's MAC:

GUI: https://technitium.com/tmac/