Cloning hard drive and running software from that on another PC?

Question

I have a technical software on the laptop whoch i use at work , i want to have a copy of that software but it is very expensive . So i was thinking to clone my laptop hard drive and then use cloned hard drive in another machine to use that software . I assume the license will be intact and it will work on another machine

Answer 1

Cloning a drive from one to another might work but it depends on a number of factors. Both machines would need identical hardware if it's on Windows (like maybe two identical laptops), if we're talking about an MS-DOS or Linux based program then it's more likely to work. Then you also have the issue of how the software is protected. Old software tended to be protected by dongles - a hardware device like a USB stick that the software checks is present before running, with these you can run the software on multiple devices but only one device at a time which most licences do actually permit, however now a lot of software checks the number of licences via the internet. Every time the software is loaded it checks with a server to see how many copies are using that same licence on the internet so you again can use the same software on multiple computers but not at the same time. Using it on more computers though than your entitled could lead to cancellation of the licence without warn.

Answer 2

Your question says PC so I believe you mean a Windows box & so, the rest of my answer assumes this

Not to overlook the legality of it, but speaking to the technical aspect of this; no that won't work. It has to be installed into your Windows operating system unless the software is virtualized (i.e. a portable app). Licensed software especially makes changes to the Windows registry, often in ways not visible to even the technically minded.

Now, even assuming that your going to use this cloned drive as your MAIN drive in the other system, chances are your still not going to be able to use it as all of the systems drivers including motherboard, chipset, CPU, etc. will likely be different & it probably won't even boot up.

The only way I can see this possibly working is that the 2 systems, the Cloned, & the destination, are perfectly identical computers & your replacing the destination O/S drive with the Clone.

And even this is sketchy because as Rasputin said the MAC address would have changed, other hardware ID's will have changed as well & if the software you want to use doesn't notice it, the O/S likely will & again you have the problem of the system not starting up.



AND as others have stated, this is not a legal thing to do.

Answer 3

Depends on the software, how it was designed.

Probably it would be easy to get a copy to run it at another PC, if is an old software.

Newer software are smarter with licensing etc.

Answer 4

I believe you mean a Windows box & so, the rest of my answer assumes this

Not to overlook the legality of it, but speaking to the technical aspect of this; no that won't work. It has to be installed into your Windows operating system unless the software is virtualized (i.e. a portable app). Licensed software especially makes changes to the Windows registry, often in ways not visible to even the technically minded.

Now, even assuming that your going to use this cloned drive as your MAIN drive in the other system, chances are your still not going to be able to use it as all of the systems drivers including motherboard, chip set, CPU, etc. will likely be different & it probably won't even boot up.

Answer 5

Not a good idea because it's illegal. If the company that owns the software has leased/sold so many licensed copies to your employer, and more copies are detected ( inside or outside of the business ), there will be problems. It won't take them long to track it down. It isn't worth the chance. See if you can get the needed software legally. The final coast could be your job!

Answer 6

Each hard drive has its own unique code so to speak, you may or may not get away with it (not legally I mean it might work), you certainly will if you don't go online. Some software will tell you, 3 computers or whatever. Try it

Answer 7

Well, there is maybe a 30% chance it will work if the PC's are identical. Most software will notice that the MAC address has changed.

Answer 8

"I assume the license will be intact"



Wrong.



The only way to run a commercial App on multiple PCs is to buy the NEW APP with a legal Activation Code.

Answer 9

If this were possible, a lot of people would do it. And this is indeed illegal. You are essentially trying to create a copy of something you do not own. Bad idea.

Answer 10

If you have two suits knocking on your door soon, don't be surprised. It's illegal.

Best policy is, if you did not buy it, don't try to install it in your computer.

Answer 11

Probably not. It depends how good the security on the product is, if it's expensive, they usually record serial numbers of components.

Answer 12

YES IT IS GOOD YOU CAN DOWNLOAD software also

Answer 13

yeah it is good you can download software also

Answer 14

nope. think again.