Windows Install

[KNS247]

hi, I'm planning to upgrade from an AMD to an Intel CPU and thus need to change my mother board as well. do I need to reinstall windows or can I just swap the hardware and it'll be fine?

[kb5zue]

To answer your question, NO, you can not just swap the hardware and expect it to work.  Microsoft and Windows don't work that way.  You will need to reinstall Windows.  Using the Microsoft Windows Media Creation Tool is the best and easiest way to do that.

[ChrisLoudon]

Hu buddy, as kb5zue said, no its not necessary but I always recommend it.

 

A reinstall of Windows doesn't take long these days and its always nice to get a new system up and running with a clean slate.

 

Its also a good way to narrow down any issues you may have when changing platform / hardware as a fresh install of Windows can easily rule out a software related error rather than hardware.

[LAwLz]

Yes, you can swap the hardware and it will work even with your old install. It is however very much NOT advised. 

The best case scenario is that you end up with a Windows install that is slightly unoptimized and full of drivers/config for hardware that no longer exists, but otherwise works.

The worst-case scenario is that you may end up getting stability issues because things try to use hardware that no longer exists.

 

There might also be some issues with Windows activation.

 

 

Just do a reinstall. It will ensure that everything works fine and you get a clean OS without a bunch of old stuff that might be in the way.

[rrats]

As LAwLz said, it's unpredictable. It would also require many things to be tinkered in the settings, and that process would be harder than flashing an USB disk straight from the _linux terminal

[KNS247]

Should I just format the currentt ssd that my windows is installed on and reinstall windows on there?

[LAwLz]

6 minutes ago, KNS247 said:

Should I just format the currentt ssd that my windows is installed on and reinstall windows on there?

That's what I would do. 

Remember to backup all data you might want to save before you format if you go that route. I've reformatted my drive before only to realize I forgot to backup some document. 

[KNS247]

Would i back it up by using the Windows back up feature? Wouldn't that bring over the drivers from amd?

Edited May 11, 2023 by KNS247

[KNS247]

Could give me a step by step of what to do, I don't want to lose the files on my drive. 

[LAwLz]

11 hours ago, KNS247 said:

Could give me a step by step of what to do, I don't want to lose the files on my drive. 

1) Plug in some external hard drive, USB memory stick or some other place to store your files on that isn't your primary SSD. If you have multiple drives in your computer you could also use one of those.

 

2) Transfer all the files you want to save to that drive. Try and keep it to only the important files and not entire program installs, because chances are anything that is installed will end up broken if you move it back and forth. So if you have for example a Diablo 2 save that you want to keep, then transfer the save files to your USB memory stick, but don't transfer the entire game because that won't work when you transfer it back (during installation, things like registry keys are written and those will not be there on your new install). Try and remember everything you want to save, and please remember that you want to backup files, not programs.

 

3) Disconnect the device you backed up to so that you don't accidentally erase the files on it.

 

4) Get a USB memory stick and use the Windows Media Creation Tool (If you want Windows 10, or if you want Windows 11) to create a bootable USB memory stick (not the same one as you saved the backups on!)

 

5) Build your new computer and once you are ready to install Windows, plug the USB memory stick we created in step 4 into the computer and boot to it. How this is done varies from PC to PC.

 

6) Select the advanced install when asked and then you should get a question where you want to install Windows. On this page, what you do is click "format" on all the partitions that currently exists. This will erase everything on the drive. When you are only left with a single thing that says "unallocated space", you can click next.

PLEASE NOTE THAT IT IS VERY IMPORTANT THAT YOU ONLY HAVE YOUR PRIMARY SSD, THE ONE WHERE WINDOWS WILL BE INSTALLED, CONNECTED TO YOUR COMPUTER AT THIS STAGE! OTHERWISE YOU RUN THE RISK OF ERASING DATA ON OTHER DRIVES AS WELL

 

 

7) Install Windows like normal.