Full Win 10 licence - swap OS drive to new motherboard?

[Quartz11]

I'd like to upgrade my current processor/motherboard/RAM combo to newer generations once the 13th gen Intel stuff is released, but keep everything else the same, as it's all top notch, and my power supply is only 1.5 years old.  My current system is a 10th gen Intel one.  I have a lot of random stuff installed that's a pain to reinstall, just takes a while (specifically games and various photography processing software that all needs to be activated etc.).

 

Can I just move the OS drive to the new system and try to boot from it?  

 

1.  Will the new system allow me to boot from this drive?  If it asks me to re-activate Windows, that's fine, I have a full licence, non-OEM.  Will it auto-detect the new hardware and allow the boot, or will it somehow lock that drive and say that that install is inaccessible?  That's more what I'm worried about.  The current OS drive is not encrypted.

 

2.  If I can proceed with the boot, do you think I will have to reactivate the software I have on the drive, like Adobe Photoshop, CaptureOne, etc., etc.?  It's like 20 different programs in total, which is why I always dread and hate the process changing my system, following the fun of the actual new builds. 

 

Thank you.

[Origami Cactus]

1) yes

2)no

Should just work like it works now, but it may bootloop for a few minutes while it downloads new drivers and stuff, happened to my friend, but after a few boots all well.

[CommanderAlex]

43 minutes ago, Quartz11 said:

I'd like to upgrade my current processor/motherboard/RAM combo to newer generations once the 13th gen Intel stuff is released, but keep everything else the same, as it's all top notch, and my power supply is only 1.5 years old.  My current system is a 10th gen Intel one.  I have a lot of random stuff installed that's a pain to reinstall, just takes a while (specifically games and various photography processing software that all needs to be activated etc.).

 

Can I just move the OS drive to the new system and try to boot from it?  

Yes, you should be able to move the OS drive over to the new system. The OS should automatically reconfigure and download the appropriate drivers necessary that Windows may find, sometimes installing drivers that may not be compatible. If you're able to move that software to another drive in the system, you should be fine as I've done this before and haven't experienced major issues. 

 

@Origami Cactus

Keep in mind the only thing OP may have issues with is driver issues related to the drivers installed for the previous motherboard, and the new drivers for the new motherboard. This can cause BSOD as the drivers conflict.

[Quartz11]

12 minutes ago, CommanderAlex said:

Yes, you should be able to move the OS drive over to the new system. The OS should automatically reconfigure and download the appropriate drivers necessary that Windows may find, sometimes installing drivers that may not be compatible. If you're able to move that software to another drive in the system, you should be fine as I've done this before and haven't experienced major issues. 

 

@Origami Cactus

Keep in mind the only thing OP may have issues with is driver issues related to the drivers installed for the previous motherboard, and the new drivers for the new motherboard. This can cause BSOD as the drivers conflict.

 

Thank you -- so I should try to set boot to safe mode with networking prior to moving the drive to the new system?

[Kid.Lazer]

I would suggest cloning/backing up your current boot drive juuuuuuuuust in case the new hardware conversion totally borks something. Then you can easily revert to a working state. It shouldn't be a problem, but better to have a "plan b" than nothing at all.

[CommanderAlex]

3 hours ago, Quartz11 said:

 

Thank you -- so I should try to set boot to safe mode with networking prior to moving the drive to the new system?

I would backup the files, like @Kid.Lazersaid, and uninstall the old motherboard drivers if you plan on using the same OS image.