Can my laptop and my desktop share an SSD

Solution 1:

Yes, you can.

Is it a good idea? No, and it may not work either.

When you take out the SSD from your main desktop and plug it into your laptop, the SSD may be connected to a different physical port internally. The boot manager may therefore not be able to boot from the SSD, giving a BSoD in return. It can be fixed, and some PC's are smart enough to do so for you if you desired. If your laptop is able to correct the problem, but your main PC is not, then your SSD will not work on your main PC anymore.

Furthermore, assuming things work correctly, Windows will install drivers for the laptop, polluting your system, making it slower.

Not to mention that if your drive is encrypted, it will most likely not even work at all.

So my advice is: don't do it. It's only for a few days, and the mess you can get from it is definitely not worth it. You may end up not having a laptop with you at all.

Solution 2:

In addition to the previously mentioned driver issues, the Windows licensing process will usually recognize that it is on a new computer and will deactivate itself. If you have a retail license, you can deactivate it on the old computer and activate it on the new one. If you have an OEM license or the free upgrade license (most people), then you would have to buy a retail license.

This has a good expanded explanation, covering both the driver issues and the licensing issues: https://www.howtogeek.com/239815/why-cant-you-move-a-windows-installation-to-another-computer/