Switching motherboards and chipset. I have two hard drives. Will I need to reformat any/all of them?

DasReichtangle

Commendable
Feb 24, 2016
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Last time I switched motherboards I needed to reformat my C drive and do a fresh install of windows (it was my only hard drive). This time around I have two hard drives, my C drive and another drive with a bunch of games on it. Would I need to reformat both of these drives or just the one with windows on it? I'd like to not lose all my stuff on the other one.
 

USAFRet

Titan
Moderator


You won't need to reformat the secondary drive.
Have it disconnected when you do the clean install on the OS drive.

Of course, any applications on that secondary drive won't be usable with the new OS.

And if this is Win 10, Read and do this before you change any parts:
https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/help/20530/windows-10-reactivating-after-hardware-change
http://www.tomshardware.com/forum/id-3164428/windows-build-1607-activation.html
 

Dugimodo

Distinguished
Not all games need reinstalling, steam for example will find existing game files if you create a new library in the same place as the old one and use them instead of downloading everything again. And Blizzard games like Diablo and world of warcraft will work if you just create a new shortcut to them (does need the launcher reinstalled but that happens when you try to run them).

But no as ASAFRet already said only the OS drive needs to be wiped and not the secondary. And definitely follow the advice to only have one drive connected when installing windows, it avoids unwanted headaches later.
 


What motherboard / chipsets are you switching from and to? I just changed from a B350 chipset to a B450 chipset motherboard. Windows10 booted up, searched for and found relevant drivers and everything went surprisingly smoothly. Something more radical that uses RAID, bitlocker encryption, off-PCH drive controllers, etc. will doubtless be far more fraught and problematic.

Things I did: turn off all security features like TPM and SVM, disable Secure Boot, put system in Compatibility Support Mode (CSM).

Afterward, I was ready to do a Repair Install using an in-place upgrade:

https://www.tenforums.com/tutorials/16397-repair-install-windows-10-place-upgrade.html

but didn't need to.

DO be aware of the type Windows license you have! In addition to being prepared to reinstall everything with appropriate back ups also be sure to capture all of your passwords that are auto-validated on the current system, especially ones like Steam, Origin and GoG passwords. In the worse-case scenario and it can't be don't without reinstalling, when you log back on those services will DL all the games you've registered through them. And, as well, all synced game-saves so be sure to set that up before final shut-down.
 

DasReichtangle

Commendable
Feb 24, 2016
10
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1,510

I upgraded to windows 10 in June when the windows 10 installer somehow detected my valid windows 7 key and it worked. I went ahead and linked it to my windows account since that's what I was told to do when changing hardware. Is it OK that I basically upgraded from windows 7?
 

USAFRet

Titan
Moderator


That only matters in terms of the licensing.
See my links above.

For the actual operation with new hardware, a clean install may or may not be needed.

There are 3 basic possibilities:
1. It boots up just fine
2. It fails completely
3. It boots up, but you're chasing little issues for weeks.

I've personally seen all 3.
Prepare for if it fails. Be thankful if it doesn't.
 

DasReichtangle

Commendable
Feb 24, 2016
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1,510


Alrighty. I looked at your links. I assume I don't have to do anything after linking up my account to my desktop?
 

USAFRet

Titan
Moderator


With the new hardware, it will fail to activate.
This is when you go through the Activation Troubleshooter, and tell it about your new hardware.

And that may fail initially. Give it some time.
I've even seen it take a day or two to finally 'activate''.
 


It depends on what type license you have: if you have an OEM license you may have problems as it can't be 'transferred' to another PC, which a motherboard change out may appear to be to the validation routines.

It's easy to deterimine what license type you have:

1. Open a command prompt WINDOW.
2. Type the command below into the command prompt, and press Enter.

slmgr -dli

3. After a short moment, a Windows Script Host dialog box will open to show you what license type your Windows is using.

What you want to see is 'Retail Channel' or 'VOLUME_MAK' (extremely unlikely unless you got it from an enterprise). If you see 'OEM' then you will very likely have to buy a new license to validate Windows on the new motherboard.

That's it. You can see these steps explained (better) at:

https://www.tenforums.com/tutorials/49586-determine-if-windows-license-type-oem-retail-volume.html

 

USAFRet

Titan
Moderator


A Win 7 and then Upgraded to Win 10 mostly does away with the OEMness of the original Win 7.
If it can be linked to an MS account, it can almost certainly be moved to new hardware.
 


In which case running "slmgr -dli" will come back and report "RETAIL"? Even if the original Win7 was OEM?
 

USAFRet

Titan
Moderator


Maybe, but it doesn't matter in terms of moving that to new hardware.


EDIT: And in testing, yes it does.
My Asus Transformer originally came with 8.1. OEM of course.
Since upgraded to Win 10.
slmgr shows it as 'RETAIL channel'
 


GREAT to know: I love dual-path confirmations when doing something as extreme as OP is doing!
 

USAFRet

Titan
Moderator


Here's a kicker for you.
A completely Unactivated Win 10 also reports as "RETAIL Channel"
This, from my test Win 10 VM.
Installed Dec 8 2016, and never ever activated. Just to see how long it runs like this.

TKU4LjO.png

Of course, the License Status does not say "Licensed".
 


Do "slmgr /xpr" in command prompt and it should tell you how long till it expires. Would be curious to know what it says!
 

USAFRet

Titan
Moderator


There is no "expiration". It was never activated by any method.
"Windows is in Notification mode"
(hence the nagtext at bottom right)

Unactivated (in the VM) on the left, normally activated on the right. Both Win 10 Pro.
KkOUXjg.png


This is normal with Win 10.
You can install and run Unactivated, seemingly forever. This was installed on Dec 8 2016. Almost 2 years.
 


I'm sure your case is not unique either. I suspect that policy will continue for so long as Microsoft also continues to see value from data gathered through telemetry.
 

Devlin_1

Reputable
Oct 23, 2015
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4,510
Just to add my experience regarding the Windows 10 license.

I had a Windows 10 license from the free upgrade period. The said license is linked to my Microsoft account.

I did a very big hardware change - you can consider it like buying a new PC.

I wasn't able to transfer my Windows license to my new PC because it is a "new device". I wanted to transfer my license since the SDD which held my previous OS broke so there's no way to access that OS any more. It's just weird how you're not allowed to transfer your license by deactivating the old device. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

I did the troubleshoot thing and also contacted Microsoft support but no luck. In the end, I bought an OEM License for around 14USD.

I've also read that an OEM license is tied to your motherboard, meaning you won't be able to transfer your license. And the Retail license is the one which you can install at any motherboard - only 1 device at a time.

PS: I just skimmed through the comments, didn't really read properly. My comment might be redundant.
 


In the case of a 'Retail Licensed' version of Windows you have access to Microsoft's tech support (as distinguished from OEM license where the system builder, e.g. HP, Dell, Acer, Lenovo, yourself, provides tech support). That being the case, you can contact Microsoft with your original retail licensed CD key and talk to a tech support person. They are USUALLY very tolerant when you tell them you can't de-activiate the license on the old device because it is broken and will help you re-activate it on a new device.

EDIT:
Here's how you de-activate and remove a license key from a licensed Windows instance:

https://www.tenforums.com/tutorials/35979-uninstall-product-key-deactivate-windows-10-a.html

You're supposed to do that so you can move a retail license to a new computer. But of course, the device has to be functional to do that.
 

Devlin_1

Reputable
Oct 23, 2015
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4,510


I didn't have my original product key. I wasn't expecting for my transfer to fail. And the tech support also kind of gave a vibe that my problem would have been fixed easily if only I had my original product key.

Oh well. What's done is done. I learned my lesson.
 


Sorry for that. But the good thing about OEM license keys is they can be had so cheaply. Just be careful to choose a reputable source, one that will help you if it turns out the key had been activated previously.
 

USAFRet

Titan
Moderator


Why would you buy from somewhere where that is a possibility?
Selling licenses that have been "activated previously" is the very definition of 'not reputable'.
 

Devlin_1

Reputable
Oct 23, 2015
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4,510


I bought mine from the site that Tech Deals also uses and it has been working great so far.