amw297 :
jdog2pt0 :
amw297 :
jdog2pt0 :
So, read this https://scottiestech.info/2010/03/17/upgrade-your-motherboard-without-reinstalling-your-os/
Making the sure the computer will boot with the new motherboard will be the biggest thing. Your CPU and RAM won't really make a difference.
But, there's something else to take into consideration. Windows will de-activate after so many hardware changes, and will likely happen with yours. If you're on Win10 read this https://scottiestech.info/2017/02/26/upgrade-your-motherboard-without-reinstalling-windows-10/
I don't know how your Windows (assuming you're using Windows) was installed on your computer. If it was OEM, the re-activation will not work, and you'll have to purchase a new key. If you bought Win10 on your own, the re-activation will work. If you acquired your copy of Windows by other means, you'll have to figure that out on your own.
So I read both of those pages, and ran through the steps of the first one up until actually changing anything, so I'll be able to repeat those steps again most likely. As for my windows it was 8 that came with my previous laptop and I used the free upgrade to windows 10 but recorded the old Windows 8 key then used that key to get Windows 8 on my desktop PC, then upgraded that to Windows 10 as well (Sort of a round-about way but hey I have 2 devices with legit Windows 10 and didn't pay a cent as the laptop was second-hand). So what would happen in that case? For the W10 specific steps my OS is already linked to an over-arching Microsoft account, so that means I should be good right? I think so based off those articles and that I'm still on both Intel and Windows for my platforms. Oh and you said that Windows deactivates after a certain number of times changing hardware, for me this is the first time since setting up that I'm changing hardware (beside going from a HDD to a SSD for my OS and changing my CPU cooler to an aftermarket variant)
Shouldn't have said might deactivate. It will deactivate on changing the motherboard, no two ways around it. As for the key thing, the same rules apply, because the reactivation will look at the original key from the original installation, not the one given to Win10 after the upgrade. (figured this out the hard way). If I read that right, you used the Win8 key for your laptop (OEM) to install Windows on your desktop, which means that upon de-activation, you will not be able to reactivate it.
So when you buy a computer from a store like BestBuy or Walmart as an example and it comes installed with Windows, those copies are OEM? I only ask because that's the origin point of the first copy and after that they are all free upgrades to W10. Are the free upgrade versions not retail?
Yes, if you bought a machine with Windows pre-installed, the key in use is OEM. I'm not sure how exactly the key is generated for the free upgrade, but I do know (personal experience, found out the hard way) that when your Win10 copy is de-activated, you lose the right to re-activation because the re-activation will look at the old (OEM) key as it stored in the computer. On an OEM machine, the key is only valid for the hardware configuration that was present when the key was installed. Little changes generally won't trip the re-activation (e.g. GPU, CPU, RAM, HDD) up to a point, but when you replace the motherboard, as far as Windows is concerned it is a whole new computer.
So to sum it, because the original key you used on your machine, was an OEM key, when you replace the motherboard your Win10 copy will deactivate, and you will be unable to reactive it without purchasing a new key. (well, there is another way, but discussing such things on Tom's is highly frowned upon).
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