Question Motherboard switch

[dpmcshane124]

Hi I'm switching motherboards from a ASUS B550 AM4 Ryzen to an MSI B550 AM4 Ryzen

I have a 3700x
6700xt
And 32gigs of ram

Any ways when I do the switch do I have to reinstall Windows? Or can I use the product key I got when I first built my computer? Also will all the apps I have still be saved on my SSDs and M.2? Or will I have to reinstall them?

 

[dpmcshane124]

Yes.

You're starting from a bare OS, just like when you first put the system together.

So last question would I need to get a new Windows 10 OS or can I reuse the one I had the first time?

 

[USAFRet]

So last question would I need to get a new Windows 10 OS or can I reuse the one I had the first time?

Seeing as you purchased this Win 10 license individually, it can almost certainly be transfered to new hardware.

Looking in your MS account, is the system and license listed there?

 

[USAFRet]

For the OS install, this:

How To - Windows 10 clean install tutorial

If you are looking for the Windows 11 Clean install tutorial, you can find that here: Windows 11 Clean install tutorial (Click here) Otherwise, welcome to the Windows 10 Clean install tutorial This tutorial is intended to help you, step by step, to perform a clean install of Windows...

forums.tomshardware.com

 

[USAFRet]

What specific drives do you have in this, and what is on each?

 

[Nighthawk117]

I swapped a Gigabyte Z490 board for an MSI Z490 board about 6 months or so ago because I was having board problems. I've not had a single hiccup from moving to the MSI board nor have my benchmark results changed. I've also done this on AMD Ryzen without issue. My two cents would be you've got nothing to lose by trying, it's not like going from AM3 to AM4. If it is a complete disaster then you know the other posters are correct and you should reinstall.

In terms of the Windows licence if it's an OEM licence rather than a retail one then it might not reactivate once you change the board.

 

[Nighthawk117]

I got it from a Microcenter so it did not come with the computer. Would it still be best to just do a reinstall? And if I do a reinstall would I have to download all my applications amd games again?

If you got it from Microcenter then it should be a retail licence, it should simply deactivate your old install and activate the new one. If you reinstall Windows you will need to reinstall your applications, for Steam and Origin games on your OS drive, you can move these to a spare drive and copy them back later.

 

[dpmcshane124]

Seeing as you purchased this Win 10 license individually, it can almost certainly be transfered to new hardware.

Looking in your MS account, is the system and license listed there?

I will have to check

 

[USAFRet]

"Past performance is not indicative of future results"

Try it without the full wipe and reinstall, but be prepared for total fail.

 

[dpmcshane124]

I swapped a Gigabyte Z490 board for an MSI Z490 board about 6 months or so ago because I was having board problems. I've not had a single hiccup from moving to the MSI board nor have my benchmark results changed. I've also done this on AMD Ryzen without issue. My two cents would be you've got nothing to lose by trying, it's not like going from AM3 to AM4. If it is a complete disaster then you know the other posters are correct and you should reinstall.

In terms of the Windows licence if it's an OEM licence rather than a retail one then it might not reactivate once you change the board.

So there is a good chance I would not have to do a reinstall sense it's just going from one B550 to another B550?

 

[dpmcshane124]

"Past performance is not indicative of future results"

Try it without the full wipe and reinstall, but be prepared for total fail.

So just be ready to have to do a reinstall.

 

[USAFRet]

So just be ready to have to do a reinstall.

Yes.
OS, drivers, applications....everything.

(which you should be prepared for at all times anyway)

 

[Nighthawk117]

So there is a good chance I would not have to do a reinstall sense it's just going from one B550 to another B550?

If it was a fresh install when you built the first B550 system then I would say you most likely won't have an issue. Going from an older system to a newer one though can be more of an issue. You will need to uninstall any utilities for your old board though.