Question Fresh W10 install with 3700x / X570

[cjdraper85]

Hi guys,

Just installed my new CPU/Mobo as the above. All running fine straight out of the box - in fact a little bit too well.

When i booted I was expecting my machine to go straight to BIOS but instead it went straight into Windows, with all my old settings, even to the point that the RGB on my ram etc is the same as before.

Should I not be having to run a fresh install of Windows with a new Mobo? All other gear is the same , including the SSD that my Windows install was on.

A few things are a bit screwy... e.g. the clock in Windows isn't right... but the rest seems fine.

Thoughts?

 

[britechguy]

I'll bet that if you check in Settings, Update & Security, Activation that you now have a Windows 10 that is not activated.

When you change out the mobo (not the CPU, but the mobo) you will "break the link" between the machine and the digital entitlement on Microsoft's servers.

If this was done because of a mobo failure, Microsoft does have a procedure in place (and you have to call) where they will reissue a replacement license key at no cost (or at least that's what I recall, as I don't think they can recycle the previous one). This happens so seldom that the details have become hazy. A mobo upgrade/change just because does not qualify, and you'd have to buy a key.

 

[USAFRet]

When moving a drive + OS to all new hardware, there are 3 possibilities:

1. It boots up just fine
2. It fails completely
3. It boots up, but you're chasing little issues for weeks.

You've found either #1 or #3.
Sometimes it works, sometimes it fails.


And of course your licensing/activation is almost certainly Deactivated.

 

[cjdraper85]

When moving a drive + OS to all new hardware, there are 3 possibilities:

1. It boots up just fine
2. It fails completely
3. It boots up, but you're chasing little issues for weeks.

You've found either #1 or #3.
Sometimes it works, sometimes it fails.


And of course your licensing/activation is almost certainly Deactivated.

Thanks, so from starting the usual run through of jobs, am pretty sure it's #3.

Indeed, licence is deactivated, I had it attached to my Windows profile and have tried reactivating but it doesn't like it.

Am also trying to download the latest Chipset etc drivers for the mobo and getting an error message with them all ("setup has detected an incompatible build").

So... sounds like a fresh install anyway.

 

[britechguy]

Setup has detected an incompatible build in reference to what? That's the question, and I doubt the answer is Windows 10.

I would be far more inclined to do a repair install (pick your instruction set from any of these three):

Non-Destructive Repair of Windows 10 - Answers to commonly asked questions

Doing an In-place "Upgrade" to Reinstall Windows 10 Keeping Apps/Programs and User Files

How to: Perform a Repair Upgrade Using the Windows 10 ISO file

Then afterward make sure you get a Windows 10 product key for the edition of your choosing and enter it in Settings, Update & Security, Activation Pane, Change product key link. You are not going to be able to use your existing key, as it's already linked to a different mobo.

If that doesn't get everything squared away, then do a completely clean install.

 

[USAFRet]

Thanks, so from starting the usual run through of jobs, am pretty sure it's #3.

Indeed, licence is deactivated, I had it attached to my Windows profile and have tried reactivating but it doesn't like it.

Am also trying to download the latest Chipset etc drivers for the mobo and getting an error message with them all ("setup has detected an incompatible build").

So... sounds like a fresh install anyway.

Yep.

When we see a thread asking "If", a lot of people chime in and say "Just slap the old drive in...it always works. I've never seen it fail"
I just point them to a thread like this.

 

[cjdraper85]

Yep.

When we see a thread asking "If", a lot of people chime in and say "Just slap the old drive in...it always works. I've never seen it fail"
I just point them to a thread like this.

Thanks, am just trying a ‘Repair’ install and seeing how that goes. Hadn’t appreciated that I would need a new W10 key with a new mobo, considering it’s tied to my profile. It is an OEM key though which can apparently make a difference.

 

[cjdraper85]

Setup has detected an incompatible build in reference to what? That's the question, and I doubt the answer is Windows 10.

I would be far more inclined to do a repair install (pick your instruction set from any of these three):

Non-Destructive Repair of Windows 10 - Answers to commonly asked questions

Doing an In-place "Upgrade" to Reinstall Windows 10 Keeping Apps/Programs and User Files

How to: Perform a Repair Upgrade Using the Windows 10 ISO file

Then afterward make sure you get a Windows 10 product key for the edition of your choosing and enter it in Settings, Update & Security, Activation Pane, Change product key link. You are not going to be able to use your existing key, as it's already linked to a different mobo.

If that doesn't get everything squared away, then do a completely clean install.

Thanks, yep and trying a Repair install at the moment and will see how that goes. Fingers crossed that sorts it.

 

[USAFRet]

Thanks, am just trying a ‘Repair’ install and seeing how that goes. Hadn’t appreciated that I would need a new W10 key with a new mobo, considering it’s tied to my profile. It is an OEM key though which can apparently make a difference.

"OEM" license obtained from where?

 

[britechguy]

Windows 10 licensing has, from day one, been directly tied to the motherboard on the machine. That's the "primary key" in the lookup table (though exactly how that's generated is a closely held secret).

Microsoft has also had in place a method, in the event of a motherboard failure, for replacement of the key at no charge under those circumstances, though you must call their support and go through a couple of pretty minimal hoops to get it.

I do not know how/if Microsoft keeps track of the "country of original use" of Windows 10 product keys, but the courts in the EU overturned Microsoft's ability to link any single machine Windows 10 license to a single specific machine. They can still only be used on a single machine at any one moment in time, but that hardware can change. I've now upgraded six different machines using "recycled" license keys from decomissioned machines. In most cases I've had to use phone activation (which I hasten to add does not involve actually interacting with a human on the phone) but had one or two just do the typical internet activation. What had been what we call an OEM, non-transferrable, license is now transferrable under EU laws.

 

[USAFRet]

Right.
Since Win 10 v1607, the OEMness has mostly gone away.
Given a valid original license, that you purchased and installed.


Where the problems come in is with grey market licenses, sold on fleabay and elsewhere. That may have been 'sold' and activated multiple times, all across the planet.
Try to activate it again, and it sometimes chokes.

 

[britechguy]

Right.
Since Win 10 v1607, the OEMness has mostly gone away.
Given a valid original license, that you purchased and installed.


Where the problems come in is with grey market licenses, sold on fleabay and elsewhere. That may have been 'sold' and activated multiple times, all across the planet.
Try to activate it again, and it sometimes chokes.

And, at the price I've paid, were it to choke and the seller turn out to be fly-by-night, I'd be out a couple of bucks.

None have turned out to be such a seller.

I would imagine anyone buying recycled licenses is aware that there are certain risks involved. Given the very minimal financial outlay, and the huge potential savings, there are a lot of people (myself included) who will gladly accept those risks.

I do not believe in theft or piracy and would never, for a single moment, encourage same whether it is against forum rules (which it is) or not. But the grey market is real and is not a black market. It is up to Microsoft to refuse to activate a license if same should not be activated. No end user, handed an MS license key for any product, has any way of knowing whether it should be activated or not -- that's Microsoft's job. They should certainly be able to track if the same key is being offered many times in rapid succession, and block activation very quickly if it were.

If Microsoft successfully activates a license for me, on any Microsoft product, my reasonable presumption is that the key is legitimate and legal.