Question question about migrating boot drive to a new build

[No Hands]

Hi there, i had a quick question. i'm going ahead with a rebuild of my pc this weekend as i had issues with my old build, everything but the CPU and storage is being replaced. I have my boot drive as my m.2 Nvme, my question is, can i take it from my old pc, install it in the new motherboard of my new pc, and be able to just boot up from there? I've read a fresh install is recommended so i was wondering if i moved it over, booted up, and then reinstalled windows once my pc is all built, would that work/avoid any issues with drivers and the like? Or would it be better to format my boot drive before placing it in my new pc, and fresh installing from a flash usb?

 

[Darkbreeze]

This really depends on whether or not the new motherboard is the same chipset as the old motherboard. If the chipset is the same, then there is a very good chance you can simply boot up and any other non-motherboard hardware changes will be accommodated by Windows so far as drivers are concerned.

If the motherboard is a different chipset, then chances are very good that without doing a clean install, you will end up having problems that might range from minor to severe to won't even run at all without major errors.

If you need to do a clean install, please use this or another guide. It might save you some headaches even if you've installed Windows in the past and think you understand the process. Your other questions are addressed IN the CLEAN install tutorial.

How To - Windows 11 clean install tutorial

Windows 11 Clean install tutorial This tutorial is intended to help you, step by step, to perform a clean install of Windows 11, version 23H2 or newer but can be equally applied to earlier versions which may have some basic differences in the screens you see but will largely remain similar in...

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