BACKUP TO DIFFERENT MACHINE?
Hi all! Newbie here.
I bought Acronis because it supposedly backs up everything on my hard drive, software etc. I'm using Cloud Backup.
The last time my computer hard drive failed, the machine was so old I figured I might as well buy a new computer, a newer version of Dell Inspiron. I was using Carbonite at the time so thought my data was safe. The techs at my computer shop (Staples) where I bought my machines told me it was illegal to download the same software I backed up, to a new machine, supposedly to prevent bootlegging. It took weeks to re-load and/or re-buy all my software and get the new machine functioning. I'm using Windows 7 and have no wish to deal with 10, so I hesitate to buy a new computer with 10 pre-installed
If this happens again, hard drive failure, is it better to install a new hard drive on my current machine and then do my full restore onto it, or can I buy a completely new machine and do my restore onto that? Would I need to have Windows 10 removed first? Will Acronis download my whole range of software, or will it download just my data files onto a new machine?
Thanks for any hints!
Jessie


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Assuming you successfully transfer the intallation to the new laptop, I cannot see how you will get over the problem of OEM Windows licence. There are some vendors still selling Windows 7 on the internet - you get a licence key and downlaod link. There is no way of knowing which ones are scams and which are not. Some are OEM rather than retail versions, and will be tied to your new machine.
Ian
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THANK YOU, Bobbo_3c0x1 and IanL-S!
You guys have nailed it for me. I never thought about the license for the old Windows 7 OS. I special-ordered it for this machine when Windows 10 first came out, but I hear it can no longer be special-ordered. So it was OEM when I bought the machine. If it can still be obtained legitimately via retail...will check on that, then I would have the correct license and drivers.
This presents a whole new set of wrinkles, but answers my primary question, which was, will Acronis be useful to me when I need it? I think I can work this out.
Very much appreciated!
Jessie
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