Windows 10 (from windows 7 retail) My motherboard is broken, can I buy a different new one?

[Computing_Now]

I have Windows 10 which was upgraded from a retail copy of windows 7.

My motherboard broke can I buy a new motherboard that is a different brand and model?
Or will Microsoft say no? And want $200 or whatever windows 10 costs thesedays.

I'll never find the same brand and model because there was a product recall for it due to faulty sata controllers.

Everything else in the computer would stay the same.

 

[captaincharisma]

if it was a retail copy then it will still activate after the hardware change. the only way this would be a problem is if it your copy of windows 7 was OEM and not retail. after changing the motherboard though it is a good idea to backup importent data and do a clean install beacause you old windows install will be looking for too many drivers

 

[Snipergod87]

This post is in reference to this:
http://www.tomshardware.com/answers/id-3366840/buy-spi-bios-flash-msi-p67a-c43-motherboard.html

When you do motherboard swaps it is highly recommended to reinstall Windows anyways as there is a chance Windows wont boot at all and if it does you will be missing drivers and have wrong drivers installed resulting in decreased performance.

If you had your license key tied to a Microsoft account then you can easily transfer it to the new build.

 

[13thmonkey]

Yes you can.
https://answers.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/forum/windows_10-windows_install/can-i-transfer-windows-10-to-another-computer/3704e5b9-0a43-4d29-9492-0792181a8a44

The question is how.
https://win10faq.com/move-your-windows-10-license-to-a-new-computer/
There is a better way if you have the first machine in a working condition or have registered your license to an email address (MS account)

 

[Computing_Now]

I don't have any account, can I do it without the hassle of making an account?

How many details do they want to make an account anyway?
What are the contact methods for contacting support?

 

[captaincharisma]

I don't have any account, can I do it without the hassle of making an account?

How many details do they want to make an account anyway?

if you already have a hotmail,outlook, or xbox live account you can just setup that as your login to tie your licence to it. do you still have the retail key you used to activate windows 7?

 

[Computing_Now]

I don't have any of those accounts. How many details do they want to create an account? Yes I still have the windows 7 retail box with the key.

This is a nuisance still because I was thinking of getting a new amd computer in 6 months or so when more cpus come out but now I have to waste the one time transfer on a replacement motherboard for this old one.

So if you keep the same motherboard but change lots of other things you don't have to reactivate but if you keep everything and change the motherboard you do?

 

[13thmonkey]

So if you keep the same motherboard but change lots of other things you don't have to reactivate but if you keep everything and change the motherboard you do?

Yes, the mobo (and possibly CPU), is seen as being 'The Computer', everything else is attached to it.

 

[captaincharisma]

I don't have any of those accounts. How many details do they want to create an account? Yes I still have the windows 7 retail box with the key.

This is a nuisance still because I was thinking of getting a new amd computer in 6 months or so when more cpus come out but now I have to waste the one time transfer on a replacement motherboard for this old one.

So if you keep the same motherboard but change lots of other things you don't have to reactivate but if you keep everything and change the motherboard you do?

yes, because windows doesn't like you making too many changes to it and it will either not boot or not run right. if you still have the retail key then you can enter that in after the install to reactivate if you need to

making a MS account is as simple as creating an e-mail account the same as you do for gmail or yahoo.