Keeping windows after a mobo swap

Associate
Joined
27 Jul 2006
Posts
661
Location
Huddersfield
Ive read online that it is possible to keep your old windows 10 install without having to do a fresh install on a formated drive.

Can anyone advise if this is correct, and if so the best way to go about this?

I have backed up anything important and am currently downloading the various new drivers and such for the new board.

Should i remove the old drivers, and if so how?

Thanks in advance.

Brian.
 
Soldato
Joined
10 Mar 2003
Posts
6,743
Depends on the version of Windows. OEM is tied to the motherboard and you should buy a new key when changing (though you may get away with it - activation can be odd sometimes).

‘Full’ versions you should be able to activate again.

It is possible to keep your old version. Windows is much better at replacing hardware now. It depends really if you’re doing a like for like chipset replacement. If you were moving from Intel to AMD I’d want all the crap removed and probably find it easier to reinstall Windows as you can never be sure if an issue you get is faulty hardware or legacy drivers.


M.
 
Soldato
Joined
1 May 2013
Posts
9,692
Location
M28
Ive read online that it is possible to keep your old windows 10 install without having to do a fresh install on a formated drive.

Can anyone advise if this is correct, and if so the best way to go about this?

I have backed up anything important and am currently downloading the various new drivers and such for the new board.

Should i remove the old drivers, and if so how?

Thanks in advance.

Brian.

shouldn't pose a problem and leftover drivers can be removed post installation.

I do recommend doing an image beforehand of the system partition(s) with something like Reflect just in case anything goes wrong, better to be safe :)
 
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