I’m waiting for a new 12th Gen Framework to be delivered and my 11th Gen will then be used by a family member and by me as a backup.
Am I right that I can just clone the SSD in the 11th Gen to the new SSD in the 12th Gen and then install the 12th Gen driver package? Is that safe and all I need to do?
I know I may need a new Windows product key and may have issues with other apps that have a hardware footprint etc but, apart from those issues, should that be enough?
At some point I may do a full reinstall but to start with I won’t have the time.
I’m not an IT guy and definitely not a Windows guy (I run Linux) but I would be =shocked= if attempting this saved you time. I would expect you can install Windows and all apps in under 1/2 hour so how much time will you possibly gain? If you have trouble with =anything= (Windows or Apps) you’ll lose that instantly.
You can download Windows 11 directly from MS here: https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/software-download/windows11
to generate a USB drive to install from.
Fully functional without a product key (with some limitation on customization) if getting a product key quickly is a problem.
Out of long term private experience and supporting family and friends I am tempted to say, do not get too shocked if a Windows installation with applications, updates and migration of data takes more than a day.
I already frittered away too much life time with windows installs and configuration, which was ages ago the main reason to search alternatives and switch my systems to linux. But I am out of luck since Windows wont let me go for professional and family reasons.
I have no experience with cloning a Windows 10 or 11 and certainly not on a framework but I would give it a shot. I think a reactivation (* of the very same product key) and a new driver pack should do.
I would not advise this. If both will be active you will have a licensing issue on one or both, and likely also an issue with machine id/product id/host id. Cloning the install is simply just asking for hard to diagnose issues, and a lot of wasted time trying to solve them. Do a clean install and move your data over, it will be much quicker than trying to clone it. Or you could simply remove the SSD on the 11th pop it in on the 12th and then deal with the 11th gen install later…but you are probably moving to a pcie 4.0 drive on the 12th gen in which case do the fresh install and move the data. Tomorrow you, will thank today you, for making their life much simpler.
Oh, I didn’t read carefully enough and ignored your statement about keeping the older machine as a backup. I stand corrected regarding the reuse of your existing product key, which in this case is indeed a bad recommendation. Sorry.