[SOLVED] Windows 10 reinstall questions

[The_4_]

I am going to replace my motherboard, cpu and ram and I read on the internet that to prevent any incompatibility issues with hardware and drivers etc, I should reinstall windows 10.

Can I reinstall Windows through the OS itself (so without a usb flash drive) before swapping out for my new hardware? Or do I need to make a usb image?

And if my Windows 10 OEM key/ PC ID is linked to my microsoft account, will it recognise this automatically or will there be a significant chance I have to re buy a key?

 

[Lutfij]

You fabricate your bootable USB installer for Windows 10 using Windows Media Creation Tools. Then use that to reinstall the OS onto the storage drive. Had you simply replaced the drive on the same board or you performed a CPU/RAM/GPU or PSU(or cooling) upgrade, then a reinstall of the OS wouldn't have been needed, at best a clone of the drive.

 

[The_4_]

You fabricate your bootable USB installer for Windows 10 using Windows Media Creation Tools. Then use that to reinstall the OS onto the storage drive. Had you simply replaced the drive on the same board or you performed a CPU/RAM/GPU or PSU(or cooling) upgrade, then a reinstall of the OS wouldn't have been needed, at best a clone of the drive.

What do you mean with “simply replacing the drive”? I am forced to reinstall windows as I am upgrading to motherboard socket 1700.

 

[USAFRet]

You WILL need a flash drive.
Blank, 8GB or larger.

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

If your current Win 10 license is linked to your MS account, when you first log on, go to your MS account and tell it about this new PC.
You should not have to purchase a new license key.

Of course, this depends on the source and validity of your current license.