New MB & CPU = New Windows Install?

[tkline]

I'm going to be upgrading my PC from a i5-6500 & ASRock Z170 Gaming ITX, to an i5-9600K & Asus Strix Z390 itx. All other components will be the same. Can I just plop that in my case and connect everything, and windows will still work just fine? Or will I need to wipe my OS hard drive and reinstall windows (and all my apps) all fresh?

Last time I did this was like 15+ years ago and had to reinstall from scratch.. not sure if windows 10 is any better for that nowadays?

 

[Dark Lord of Tech]

You won't know till you try to boot it. Best to backup and clean install for optimal performance.

 

[Titanz]

yes!! for best performance and compatibility

 

[Khaydin1]

Your computer will work and boot just fine. There are only two things i can see giving you any problems:

1. Your boot settings. Is your windows install an EFI or legacy BIOS install? How is your current motherboard set to boot, look for Secure Boot, UEFI Boot, UEFI Compatibility mode, etc. Make sure they are set the same on the new motherboard.
2. Your copy of Windows 10 will deactivate. Windows 10 licenses become bound to a unique hardware ID on your motherboard when activated. You can change just about anything BUT the motherboard before being forced to purchase a new license or get license help from Microsoft.

If your Windows 10 install is of the old Legacy BIOS boot type, i would just take the time now to do a fresh install. The biggest benefit you'll see from UEFI booting Windows 10 is that it'll start a couple seconds faster than Legacy BIOS.

 

[tkline]

Thanks, I’ll just to a fresh install to be safe.

For my games, will I need to reinstall them (mostly World of Warcraft and some other random Steam games), or can I back up the game files so I don’t have to redownload the whole game all over again? I also have all of the adobe creative suite apps but I can reinstall those overnight. And yeah all of my data will be backed up to an external usb drive.

Sucks, I didn’t know I’d need a new license. So if i make an install USB, and reinstall windows from scratch.. do I just log in with my usual Windows account (which is also tied to my xbox) and then they will ask me to pay for a new license?

Last time I installed was when I got a new m.2 drive for the os a year or so ago, I downloaded and made the usb installer on an older PC, and when I installed on the newer system and new drive, it didn’t ask me to pay for anything… i guess because it was the same motherboard. At least now I should be keeping this motherboard for quite some time.

 

[Dark Lord of Tech]

Thanks, I’ll just to a fresh install to be safe.

For my games, will I need to reinstall them (mostly World of Warcraft and some other random Steam games), or can I back up the game files so I don’t have to redownload the whole game all over again? I also have all of the adobe creative suite apps but I can reinstall those overnight. And yeah all of my data will be backed up to an external usb drive.

Sucks, I didn’t know I’d need a new license. So if i make an install USB, and reinstall windows from scratch.. do I just log in with my usual Windows account (which is also tied to my xbox) and then they will ask me to pay for a new license?

Last time I installed was when I got a new m.2 drive for the os a year or so ago, I downloaded and made the usb installer on an older PC, and when I installed on the newer system and new drive, it didn’t ask me to pay for anything… i guess because it was the same motherboard. At least now I should be keeping this motherboard for quite some time.

Link your current PC to a Microsoft Account , and it "the Microsaoft Account" will activate your new upgraded setup without the need for a new license.

 

[Khaydin1]

Link your current PC to a Microsoft Account , and it "the Microsaoft Account" will activate your new upgraded setup without the need for a new license.

I have never seen what you describe work. I have 3 PCs in my home all with Windows 10 Pro, all linked and logged in with my microsoft account. Logging in with my microsoft account has never automatically activated any of them unless they contain a motherboard i've previously activated an install of windows 10 on.

The only behavior I've ever noticed is:

New motherboard with the same components = requires new license.
Move old motherboard (where a Windows 10 installation was previously activated) to new case with new hardware = No new license needed, will auto activate.

 

[Khaydin1]

Thanks, I’ll just to a fresh install to be safe.

For my games, will I need to reinstall them (mostly World of Warcraft and some other random Steam games), or can I back up the game files so I don’t have to redownload the whole game all over again? I also have all of the adobe creative suite apps but I can reinstall those overnight. And yeah all of my data will be backed up to an external usb drive.

Sucks, I didn’t know I’d need a new license. So if i make an install USB, and reinstall windows from scratch.. do I just log in with my usual Windows account (which is also tied to my xbox) and then they will ask me to pay for a new license?

Last time I installed was when I got a new m.2 drive for the os a year or so ago, I downloaded and made the usb installer on an older PC, and when I installed on the newer system and new drive, it didn’t ask me to pay for anything… i guess because it was the same motherboard. At least now I should be keeping this motherboard for quite some time.

For games, I know that Steam allows you to backup the game files so you don't have to redownload. You would need to manually backup any config files or game saves that aren't cloud saves. For blizzard games, not sure if they let you do a backup. You could probably copy the directory for WoW, then on the new PC initiate the download/install then stop it and exit the app, copy your files over the created directory and re-open the app.

The behavior you describe for upgrading a harddrive in an already acitivated computer is expected. You can change just about any piece of hardware or reinstall windows over and over and it should re-activate automatically as long as you don't swap out the motherboard. New motherboard = new license time or possibly contacting microsoft via phone/email and getting them to transfer your license to the new hardware. Doing that would probably then require your old motherboard to need a new license if you were to re-use it.

 

[tkline]

Another question.. so let's say next year they come out with 10th gen processors and it's compatible with my same motherboard.. would I be able to upgrade the cpu from my i5 9600k to the i9 10900k or whatever they call it, and just swap it out, and windows will still work fine and not need to reinstall again? And as long as the moterboard doesn't change, I won't need to buy windows again? Or is the CPU a significant enough change to force me to pay for windows again?

 

[tkline]

Finished my build last night.. and surprisingly everything worked perfectly the first time. I always feel like I'm gonna forget to connect something.

I ended up doing a fresh install on my new 2 TB m.2 and I'm going to just sell my old 512mb one. I prefer 1 big drive over having a separate OS drive. Windows just has a little reminder message in the bottom corner of my screen telling me to register it, everything else seems to be working fine. Do I really need to register it? Will it stop working one day? I think I remember it used to say you have 30 days to register, but this didn't mention any kind of time limit.