[SOLVED] Replacing a motherboard with a different one but with the same chipset, without having to reinstall Windows?

[The Electro Machine]

I have a GIGBYTE X570 Aorus Ultra rev. 1.2 which became faulty. Normally I would buy the very same model and install on it all of the already used by my hardware - including the disk with Windows [10 Enterprise 20H2 19042.746 x64]. But this model is no longer available. Is is then possible to buy an X570 from a different manufacturer and perform the same operation? Or will I get some possible glitches even after uninstalling drivers from GIGABYTE and installing proper ones from such other manufacturer?

On the one hand I have no time or energy to install from scratch Windows 10 and all those programs that I use and also for tweaking of operating system to my needs - but on the other hand if this replacement will not go well I will then have to do it after all, wasting time and energy in-between on this futile attempt of relatively quick replacement, risking damaging of other components

I suspect a faulty capacitor: so maybe an alternative would be to send it to the repair shop and work on a laptop in meantime? But then again: if they are unable to fix it I will then also loose time and energy- but what is worse I still will have the same problem to deal with. Or to try out first a new PSU? But then again- my power supply is a high end and quite new one: Seasonic Prime Fanless TX-700 700W SSR-700TL

 

[bill001g]

Maybe if you get lucky it will work. Windows is pretty smart and it will try to fix the drivers. Since a lot of the drivers are going to be the same with the same chipset it increases you chance. There seem to always be some difference though so it tend to not be real predictable. Even a bios update between identical boards can mean you need different windows drivers sometimes.

Even when it seems to work you can have strange issues that are only resolved by a reinstall. It is so strange that windows does this so poorly. Most linux distros that do not have a massive company behind them seem to tolerate major hardware changes much better than microsoft

I am not sure with enterprise edition but changing the motherboard even with a exact same model generally means microsoft wants a new windows license so even in best case you will have to find a way to transfer the license.

 

[USAFRet]

What answer would you like?
A guarantee of success?

That cannot be given.

Seeing as you're talking about the same chipset, it might work.
But....it might not.

Prepare for total fail.
Be glad if you don't need it.

 

[USAFRet]

I am not sure with enterprise edition but changing the motherboard even with a exact same model generally means microsoft wants a new windows license so even in best case you will have to find a way to transfer the license.

Actually, with Win 10, the license is the easiest part to work around.

 

[bill001g]

So I see you edited the post after I responded.

When you don't know if it is the power supply or the motherboard it makes it much harder. Do you have any other power supply. If you have a cpu with a embedded GPU you could try to remove the graphics card which is main power draw and even a lower watt power supply should be able to at least power the machine on.
All you really need is to see if you can get into the bios screen. It gets really hard to test machine when you do not have spare parts laying around.

 

[The Electro Machine]

[...]
If you have a cpu with a embedded GPU you could try to remove the graphics card which is main power draw and even a lower watt power supply should be able to at least power the machine on.
[...]

Now that is a great test to perform, that can be executed by anyone the moment a symptom [of being unable to power on the whole system] is experienced - because the external GPU can be just disconnected on the spot

 

[geofelt]

Your plan is likely to work.
Protect yourself first by cloning your C drive to a backup ssd.
If you buy another motherboard, buy not only the same chipset, but Gigabyte with the same specs as much as possible.
FWIW, newegg has a refurb that seems like an exact replacement:
https://www.newegg.com/gigabyte-x570-aorus-ultra/p/2MG-000K-000R3

 

[The Electro Machine]

[And as already reported here https://forums.tomshardware.com/thr...su-or-on-a-motherboard.3794595/#post-22921922]

It is not the fault of external GPU- disconnecting its cable from my modular PSU and even also the riser leading to it from motherboard] did not immediately fix the above issue. Also turning the PSU upside down and then back also did not help- only repeated pushing of POWER ON. If after a night cooldown there again will be problems of turning the system up, I will try to shortcut the POWER with paper clip, thus bypassing the front case wire. If despite this the problem will persists then this will more clearly point out to the motherboard as culprit

Unfortunately I am located in Eastern Europe, so no Newegg for me. And I have already searched through and through for the same and alike motherboard, finding a one unit of the exact model, taken out by the vendor from a showcase PC. I think I will buy it, no matter what revision it is, as I will get 3 years warranty for it. But it's hard to "invest" in an old socket [AM4], as it is a dead end. And as it turns out, my current motherboard is from 2019 [although I have its newest revision]

 

[The Electro Machine]

I do not know what has happened, but apparently turning the PSU upside down and then back apparently helped. Although not immediately, as still I had to repeatedly try to power on my machine - but nevertheless for the last 5 days I had zero problems. Which do not mean they will not come back and that whole putting-of-capacitors-of-PSU-on-their-heads did not really do nothing and it is just a coincidence that since thence everything seems to be working A-OK

Thus paradoxically now it is even worse, as I do not know if this is an opportunity and I should ASAP replace my PSU or motherboard [and which?] - or it was just some flux and I should forget about it

 

[drea.drechsler]

I do not know what has happened, but apparently turning the PSU upside down and then back apparently helped. Although not immediately, as still I had to repeatedly try to power on my machine - but nevertheless for the last 5 days I had zero problems. Which do not mean they will not come back and that whole putting-of-capacitors-of-PSU-on-their-heads did not really do nothing and it is just a coincidence that since thence everything seems to be working A-OK

Thus paradoxically now it is even worse, as I do not know if this is an opportunity and I should ASAP replace my PSU or motherboard [and which?] - or it was just some flux and I should forget about it

It sounds to me like there is a loose electrical connection, possibly internal to the PSU. First thing to do is check all the plug-in connections on the PSU, assuming it's a modular one, as well as on the motherboard, GPU and SATA HDD's/SSD's to make sure they are fully seated and tight. Sometimes a pin on one of the Molex connectors (especially the 24 pin) gets pushed back into the body. Push on the back of the pin in the connector body (with power off and disconnected) to force it back into solid contact again.

If the problems return it might be a cracked solder joint inside the PSU or motherboard, in which case replacing one or both is the best choice. A determined and experienced tech might be able to find the cracked joint, then touch it with a soldering iron to reflow it, but it's as often as not an exercise in futility for which you're still paying for several hours of their time.

 

[Avro Arrow]

You might not have to re-install Windows but you will have to buy a new activation key for it. Microsoft attaches Windows keys to motherboards so you'll have to buy it again.

 

[USAFRet]

You might not have to re-install Windows but you will have to buy a new activation key for it. Microsoft attaches Windows keys to motherboards so you'll have to buy it again.

That is not a truism.

Except for a prebuilt system with an OEM license, a Win 10 license is generally transferable.

 

[Avro Arrow]

That is not a truism.

Except for a prebuilt system with an OEM license, a Win 10 license is generally transferable.

Yes, and most people have OEM licences because they're the cheap ones. Who's going to spend over $100 for a retail licence when an OEM key costs like $5? 😆

 

[USAFRet]

Yes, and most people have OEM licences because they're the cheap ones. Who's going to spend over $100 for a retail licence when an OEM key costs like $5? 😆

1. OEM licenses do not cost $5. Not valid ones, anyway.
2. A LARGE percentage of WIn 10 licenses were simple free upgrades from a previous Win 7/8/8.1.

Sites that advertise an "OEM Win 10 for $5" are absolutely not valid.
You can try to convince me otherwise, but it won't work.

 

[Avro Arrow]

1. OEM licenses do not cost $5. Not valid ones, anyway.
2. A LARGE percentage of WIn 10 licenses were simple free upgrades from a previous Win 7/8/8.1.

Sites that advertise an "OEM Win 10 for $5" are absolutely not valid.
You can try to convince me otherwise, but it won't work.

Well, I have two licences that not only cost less than $5 each, they cost less than $5CAD each. The first licence that I got back in 2017 cost me $15CAD on Kinguin and that licence was verbally confirmed by Microsoft themselves to be valid but was only valid on my ASRock X370 Killer SLI motherboard. The my second licence for my X570 Pro4 cost $10 and the last two licences were more recent, one for my Gigabyte 990FX motherboard that I used for mining and one for my Biostar A320MH (I know, it's Biostar, but it was on clearance for $40CAD so I wasn't going to say no). All keys worked, they all allowed me to download Windows from Microsoft and install it fully activated.

See, back when I bought an ASRock X570 Pro4 and I couldn't get Windows to activate. I spoke to Microsoft on the phone and initially the guy wasn't sure why it wasn't working. To me, all I did was upgrade my motherboard. He had to go ask someone else and came back to tell me that OEM Windows keys attach to the motherboard because that is the most core component of a system. It also allows for upgrades to the CPU, GPU, RAM and storage without issue because that's what gets upgraded most often. So I just went onto Google Shopping and found another key for four dollars and something cents (CAD) which was way less than what I paid for the first one. So, actually yeah, you can get valid keys for dirt cheap. I did it once for $15, once for $10 and twice for under $5 (all prices CAD).

This is why I made my post, so that if the OP was having trouble with the Activation key, that he'd know why.

I don't make stuff up, I couldn't be bothered to.

 

[Nighthawk117]

No I would not bother to reinstall Windows. I was in the same position last year, I went from one Z490 to another without reinstalling.

 

[SyCoREAPER]

You should install the MB first, deactive the Windows key, reactive. It will say there's an error (because the MB is different) and MS will reactivate binding to the new MB.

AFTER that you should 100% do a fresh install and save yourself a headache down the road. Came across plenty of instances myself where everything seemed to work until weeks/months later. For example tried updating, removing, reinstalling the chipset driver. Failed every time..

 

[USAFRet]

No I would not bother to reinstall Windows. I was in the same position last year, I went from one Z490 to another without reinstalling.

And I've seen similar things fail.

Sometimes it works.
Sometimes it fails.
Sometimes it works a little bit, and you end up doing a full wipe and reinstall anyway.

Don't give people false hope.