Question Do I need to reset my pc if I switch motherboards

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AlxR25

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So I've somehow managed to mess up my bios on my Mobo and I tried to fix it. It took me 3 days of failing to finally take it to an expert and see what they can do. They contacted me a few minutes earlier, after 4 days, and told me that there's nothing else i can do than buy another motherboard. Will I have to reset my pc and have a clean installation of windows after I do that. I'm not getting a new CPU. Just changing the motherboard
 
I'd probably be curious enough to see what happens if I just do a simple swap and try to boot.................IF, I say IF, you are nonetheless ready, willing, and able to do a clean install if and when necessary.

If and when might be 10 minutes later or never.

Windows 10 is said to be more forgiving of doing that than earlier versions.
 

AlxR25

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Apr 18, 2022
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I'd probably be curious enough to see what happens if I just do a simple swap and try to boot.................IF, I say IF, you are nonetheless ready, willing, and able to do a clean install if and when necessary.

If and when might be 10 minutes later or never.

Windows 10 is said to be more forgiving of doing that than earlier versions.
If someone here tells doesn't tell me that it's dangerous for the rest of my system I'll just try it out and tell u if it worked
 

USAFRet

Titan
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I'd probably be curious enough to see what happens if I just do a simple swap and try to boot.................IF, I say IF, you are nonetheless ready, willing, and able to do a clean install if and when necessary.

If and when might be 10 minutes later or never.

Windows 10 is said to be more forgiving of doing that than earlier versions.
Yes, Win 10 is better than previous versions.
But by no means 100% guaranteed.

Identical motherboard, it will almost certainly work.

Anything other than identical, be prepared for total fail.

Basically, 3 possible outcomes:
  1. It works just fine
  2. It fails completely
  3. it "works", but you're chasing issues for weeks/months.
 

USAFRet

Titan
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If someone here tells doesn't tell me that it's dangerous for the rest of my system I'll just try it out and tell u if it worked
It won't physically harm the other components.

But, it may lead to a full wipe and reinstall. So unless you've prepared for that outcome, whatever is on that drive will be gone.

Prepare for a full wipe and reinstall
Be thankful if you don't have to.
 
What were you doing with the bios that messed things up?
Normally, if you pull the battery and clear the bios, it will reset to default.

If you can, buy an exact replacement motherboard.
It will likely work.
If your windows is oem, an exact replacement is supported.
oem license is, in theory tied to the original motherboard.
You may need to contact MS if you can't find an exact replacement.

If you need to buy something different, buy a replacement with the same chipset. If it boots, as is likely, then you should install the motherboard and other drivers that came with it.
 
I can imagine only one thing you could do in BIOS that would brick your system so bad that even clearing CMOS couldn't fix it: that would be raising key voltages so high it damages a component. But that would generally be a component like CPU or memory not the motherboard itself.

Definitely, clear CMOS first, double check all connections. This wouldn't be the first time a repair shop took advantage of an owner in an attempt to sell them new hardware.

But to answer your question: unless it's an identical motherboard (check board rev too) just do a fresh install of Windows. It may work if you don't but you'll almost certainly have annoying problems that don't resolve...certainly not easily.
 
So I've somehow managed to mess up my bios on my Mobo and I tried to fix it. It took me 3 days of failing to finally take it to an expert and see what they can do. They contacted me a few minutes earlier, after 4 days, and told me that there's nothing else i can do than buy another motherboard. Will I have to reset my pc and have a clean installation of windows after I do that. I'm not getting a new CPU. Just changing the motherboard
No but sometimes a PC won't perform optimally if your running an old Windows installation on new hardware. In this case though seeing as it sounds like you will be swapping for another board of the same generation with the same CPU I wouldn't bother. Can I ask what motherboard your on and what you would like to buy?

For reference I had a similar problem at the start of the year, I swapped a Z490 board for another Z490 of a different brand. Performance was identical and I've had no issues.
 
So I've somehow managed to mess up my bios on my Mobo and I tried to fix it. It took me 3 days of failing to finally take it to an expert and see what they can do. They contacted me a few minutes earlier, after 4 days, and told me that there's nothing else i can do than buy another motherboard. Will I have to reset my pc and have a clean installation of windows after I do that. I'm not getting a new CPU. Just changing the motherboard
You can certainly try it.

Might be a good idea to make plans for a full reinstall.
 

AlxR25

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Apr 18, 2022
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530
I'd probably be curious enough to see what happens if I just do a simple swap and try to boot.................IF, I say IF, you are nonetheless ready, willing, and able to do a clean install if and when necessary.

If and when might be 10 minutes later or never.

Windows 10 is said to be more forgiving of doing that than earlier versions.


Okay so i tried it and there seems to be no issues at all. You just need a new windows key because windows recognizes the device as a new computer which needs a new key
 

USAFRet

Titan
Moderator
Okay so i tried it and there seems to be no issues at all. You just need a new windows key because windows recognizes the device as a new computer which needs a new key
If the license is linked to your MS account, you don't need to purchase a new license.

MS knows that motherboards sometimes break.
As such, a transfer of the license is often quite possible.

Where did the original license come from?
 

AlxR25

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Apr 18, 2022
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If the license is linked to your MS account, you don't need to purchase a new license.

MS knows that motherboards sometimes break.
As such, a transfer of the license is often quite possible.

Where did the original license come from?

Well. me and a friend made an activation tool back in 2020 (Doesn't work now for some reason)
That's probably why it need a new key
 
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