switching from intel to amd, do i NEED to reinstal windwos?

[nielski55]

i am switching from my intel rig to a ryzen 7 1800X. I was wondering what i would have to do software wise. do i really need to reinstal windows? if the's an other option by pre instaling the drivers for the new system that would seem a lot easier to me. reinstaling windows always brings some struggles with it in my case. never goed completly smootly. so is there an alternative?

 

[3 Lions]

I would do a clean install. 

[dizmo]

I would. It's not like it's a huge undertaking.

[GoldenLag]

its very much recommended to avoid issues. 

[GoodBytes]

You don't need. Windows 10 will detect at first boot and re-detect the new hardware.

However, it is recommended to do a clean install regardless, as you don't want driver left over, which may cause issues, just to ensure the best experience.

 

Keep in mind that your Windows 10 license will deactivate. If you have an OEM (System Builder) license of Windows, you will need to re-purchase Windows, as that license is not transferable. If you have Retail license of Windows 10 then it should re-activate, if not, do a phone activation method.

[Princess Luna]

Just now, GoodBytes said:

You don't need. Windows 10 will detect at first boot and re-detect the new hardware

Works fine usually if you stick to the same platform, I did re-use my windows install originally on an i7 6700+h110 then migrated to i7 8700+z370 and now on the i9 9900K+z390 and it's still fully functional albeit I always take good care of my OS.

 

My brother however when he tried re-using his Windows install from the i7 3770K to the Ryzen 7 1800X it totally brick, performance was awful and would occasionally blue screen, we were forced to clean install.

 

So I'd say; try re-using it specially if it's a good 'well cared' OS install, but have in mind you may still run into issues.

[TetraSky]

While you don't absolutely need to. It's recommended to do so just to rule out any potential issue from Windows loading drivers that are no longer needed when changing to a motherboard with different chipsets.

[homeap5]

11 hours ago, nielski55 said:

i am switching from my intel rig to a ryzen 7 1800X. I was wondering what i would have to do software wise. do i really need to reinstal windows? if the's an other option by pre instaling the drivers for the new system that would seem a lot easier to me. reinstaling windows always brings some struggles with it in my case. never goed completly smootly. so is there an alternative?

 

Just plug your drive and that's it. Windows detects new hardware and stops using old one. It's how drivers works - your system has lot of drivers and devices installed - even if you plug your pendrive, it's stored in registry and is not used when you unplug your usb drive. So - your operating system detecting hardware and use proper drivers for it, rest of them are ghosted (ready for use, but inactive). The only conflict is when you try to force installing manually wrong driver for any device.

 

If you want to clean old drivers - use Ghostbuster tool to remove them. And check your pagefile settings (if virtual memory is not set to auto).

 

Clean install is waste of time. But of course you can try it yourself - plug drive, use your system and you'll see that nothing wrong happens (unlike some people suggest).

 

Before you change your motherboard - if you have OEM Windows, link your local account to Microsoft account (register Microsoft account). This way your Windows activate after hardware change.

[Guest]

On 11/8/2018 at 9:12 PM, nielski55 said:

i am switching from my intel rig to a ryzen 7 1800X. I was wondering what i would have to do software wise. do i really need to reinstal windows? if the's an other option by pre instaling the drivers for the new system that would seem a lot easier to me. reinstaling windows always brings some struggles with it in my case. never goed completly smootly. so is there an alternative?

 

If you still use the same HDD controller (AHCI, raid or IDE)

You wouldn't need to do that.