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reinstall win10 with CPU/MB upgrade?

silk186

silk186

[H]ard|Gawd
Joined
Feb 26, 2008
Messages
1,628
Tomorrow I will pick up a new CPU, MB and RAM. Will I need to make a fresh install of Win10 or can I use the existing install. Will I need a new win10 key? I'm submitting my PhD dissertation in a few months so I would prefer to hold off on a fresh install until I submit and pick up an M.2 drive. I have a Windows 10 Education licence.
 
As far as Win 10 goes, it might work but I'd imagine it would be really flaky. I would definitely reinstall. The license issue - if you have a purchased full copy of Win 10, you'll be fine. You are allowed to have it on one computer at a time. But if your license came with a purchased computer, or if you obtained an OEM license, you will have a problem activating it. Somebody else may be able to elaborate.
 
I purchased a digital copy of Windows 10 Education licence.
Do i need to deactivate it before the hardware upgrade? It is liked to my Microsoft account.
 
Having made may MOBO upgrades over the years the newer Windows are much better about it - older versions would crash on boot without a reinstall.

It is easier and safer to reinstall then try and find and track down every driver that might need to be removed and replaced any of which could cause you problems for years if not properly removed.

How long ago did you activate the other windows? Last time I upgraded I only needed to select an option this was my new computer kind of thing, I do buy full retail versions of Win, some versions are locked to specific hardware - even then you can call and explain this is just a mobo upgrade, same computer.
 
I have installed new MB and CPU numerous times on my current Windows 10 install. I went from FX6300 -> FX8320 + MB -> i5 2500k + MB -> i7 6700k + MB.

You can go into device manager after and show hidden devices. There will be all your old devices greyed out that say they are no longer connected to the PC. I uninstall them but not sure if it really matters.
 
Good info for when I updrage, post after you get your new equipment to see what happened.
 
Elf_Boy said:
Having made may MOBO upgrades over the years the newer Windows are much better about it - older versions would crash on boot without a reinstall.

It is easier and safer to reinstall then try and find and track down every driver that might need to be removed and replaced any of which could cause you problems for years if not properly removed.

How long ago did you activate the other windows? Last time I upgraded I only needed to select an option this was my new computer kind of thing, I do buy full retail versions of Win, some versions are locked to specific hardware - even then you can call and explain this is just a mobo upgrade, same computer.
Click to expand...
I'm upgrading because of hardware trouble. I formatted and reinstalled a few months ago but with my submission day approaching, I don't want to mess around with all the software I'm using until my thesis is submitted. At the time I plan to buy a new M.2 NVMe drive and install a fresh copy of win10. I just need it to run stable for a few months.
 
g00z13 said:
Good info for when I updrage, post after you get your new equipment to see what happened.
Click to expand...
will do

I'm moving from an i5-2500k, Z68, DDR3 16GB to i7-7600, Z170, DDR4 16GB.
It's also a move from ATX to mITX which will be moved into a smaller case later.
 
nice, I just build my first pc. Went with a ryzen 5 instead of 7 for budget reasons but eventually i do want a ryzen 7 for video editing. :)
 
g00z13 said:
nice, I just build my first pc. Went with a ryzen 5 instead of 7 for budget reasons but eventually i do want a ryzen 7 for video editing. :)
Click to expand...
I would not recommend upgrading from Ryzen 5 to Ryzen 7 within the same generation. Wait another generation or two to either get something newer or something used.
 
thats the plan, this build is handling everything i'm throwing at it right now. Actually, coming from a laptop to this it's night and day. OMG the computer loads fast, everything is instantaneous and I converted some music files the other day. on my computer it would take a few minutes for 10 songs with verifying audio file. on my desktop i did 134 files in 37 seconds. I was blown away
 
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