Superlp12 :
Well, the last attempt to change motherboard and cpu, my previous windows 10 was upgraded from windows 7. I did not linked it to the Microsoft account and as such I was not able to activate it. I end up buying a new retail version of windows 10. I make sure I linked it correctly to the Microsoft account. With my change of mobo and cpu from a z270 to a z370, I was able to boot straight into windows 10 without issues. Windows 10 was automatically activated on first bootup. After using for a while, I was prompted to re sign in to micrfosoft account again. That's it. There was nothing else I need except updating some utilities and apps pertinent to the new motherboard.. No need to contact Microsoft or anyone! It was a real relief as I hate to do a reinstall. Thanks for all the feedback and I hope my experience helps clear some doubts. Cheers
That's not a
major chipset change, so the possibilities are good that it would have worked.
My recent system changes:
Pentium G840 -> i3-8100 and their relevant motherboards - No reinstall needed. Booted right up
i5-3570k and Gigabyte z77 -> i7-4790k and ASRock Z97 - Full reinstall needed.
In both cases, the Win 10 license transferred no problem.
As said, there are 3 possibilities:
1. It boots up just fine
2. It fails completely
3. It boots up, but you chase little issues for weeks.
I've seen all 3.