Best practices for switching MB/CPU without full install of windows

[asleeperj]

I don't want to fresh install windows on my wife's i5 2500. What are the best practices when upgrading MB/CPU from Intel to AMD. Going from the intel to ryzen 2700x

[Streetguru]

11 minutes ago, asleeperj said:

Going from the intel to ryzen 2700x

You can just try doing it, but more than likely you'll just have to reinstall, especially if it's not windows 10. Just keep the old PC around for now and build a whole new system? Only need to add a PSU and Storage assuming you already have a GPU to keep both systems running, can just use the iGPU on the 2500

[Sorenson]

Best practice is to back up everything and hope. If you’re able to boot into windows on the new cpu I would recommend doing a “reset windows”. 

[Founders]

This my be helpful to you as licensing will be the tricky bit. I've been doing some reading on this subject as I'm planning on doing the same thing. Many people report that migrating from an Intel based system to AMD went smoothly with existing Win 10 installs. There are those that highly recommend a fresh install which in reality is best practice. I'm going into it with the understanding that there is a high probability it will work, but if it doesn't I'll allocate the time for a fresh installation if need be. I've cloned my primary drive for testing. While I test the new hardware I will do so using my existing installation of Windows to ensure it works before pulling my current system apart. If you can; have both systems up and running at least for a short time so you can avoid any potential down time. I hope this helps.