Copy Windows 8 to external hard drive

[bizmodel]

I installed Windows 8 on my 60g internal hard drive. I then purchased a SDD drive to replace the original. I installed the new drive and reinstalled Windows 8. My problem is my key will not work. The key is for an upgrade. I did upgrade from XP to 8 originally. I can not get back to XP. So, can I copy my original drive, with 8 installed, to an external drive, and then back to the reinstalled SDD?

Moderator edit: Moved thread to the appropriate forum.

[basketb]

I think many people use Acronis True Image for these sort of things (I've used it a lot with XP but not with Win 7 or 8 ). If you search for it here or with google, you'll find all the info you need to clone your old HD to your new SSD.

[jjesusfreak01]

I installed Windows 8 on my 60g internal hard drive. I then purchased a SDD drive to replace the original. I installed the new drive and reinstalled Windows 8. My problem is my key will not work. The key is for an upgrade. I did upgrade from XP to 8 originally. I can not get back to XP. So, can I copy my original drive, with 8 installed, to an external drive, and then back to the reinstalled SDD?

Moderator edit: Moved thread to the appropriate forum.

You should be able to install normally and then activate over the phone.

[GomJabbar]

It is possible. I had a related experience. I installed Windows 8 upgrade on a computer that had Windows 7 installed on it. Later this Windows 8 install became corrupted and wouldn't boot. Using the following info, I was able to install Window 8 upgrade again without needing to reinstall Windows 7 first. See last post in the following thread.

http://www.eightforums.com/installation ... stall.html

[ganon11000]

just use the chat feature under customer service, its so quick and free http://support.microsoft.com/contactus/?ws=support#chat