No you don't have to reinstall. All it takes is a free app that can scan and clean old devices and driverstore files. The part about "getting worse over time" is also a complete fabrication. They also don't "switch between amd and intel" constantly just because you had one or the other before.
Dont be lazy just reinstall from usb it takes like 20 minutes. And yest they have seperate ssd’s that are amd and intel for benchmarking. Does this guy literally think that every single time they test s new cpu mb combo they reinstall windows? Lol thats wxtremely counter productive
Would be nice if you made a video on reinstalling, namely what folders you might want to back up so you can get up and running quicker. Just an overall overview of how to reinstall efficiently so you aren’t starting from scratch.
It’s doesn’t hurt the pc when ya switch over bc any good pc maintenance program will remove the files that’s doesn’t need to be there anymore and it’s easy to reinstall just put which os you gonna use on usb and then your good to go
@@user-dz3sq9bf6s I do know how to reinstall, I mostly mentioned that part because as a general guide that would also make sense to include. What has always kept me from reinstalling despite multiple GPU and CPU upgrades has been that I don’t want to figure out everything to back up and have to keep track of everything that I need to install afterwards. I’m sure there are some folders that can be backed up separately that would make that process much easier, which is mostly what I personally would like.
@@flashlightning6742if you want to reinstall win it will delete everything on a partition you choose usually it C, and no you cant speed it up by leaving or deleting files
Usually what I do is move all of my pictures, music, data, configs, other files/folders and screenshots of all the programs on the PC to my hard drive (which doesn't get wiped). After reinstalling the programs from the screenshots I move all of the files back to the SSD
@@your_average_cultured_dude it’s good to have back up drives on pc and install games on the other drives so when ya reinstall windows you don’t have to reinstall the games and programs
That is why you link your Key to your microsoft account. That way when you log in, it automatically re-activates your key. If you change it again, you can transfer/re-activate it all over again. I did this 3 times in 1 week as I was troubleshooting computer problems. First installing on a fresh hard drive to eliminate that possibility, then finally changing my Motherboard and Processor. Both times I had to re-activate.
This is exactly true💯 3 days before I had to go with a new upgrade for my old motherboard of ASUS Prime H410M-A (almost 3 years used), upgrading to my new motherboard of ASUS Prime H510M-A due to some issues in USB ports. Nothing changed any other component in my PC. I'm using i5 10th Gen processor, same one for old & new motherboard. I have to install the latest bios updates and compatible drivers for my new motherboard and also surprisingly I have to re-activate my windows license key as well.. My old windows key was not supported for new motherboard, so I have to activate it with a new key like he said in this video. So my point is even if you're using the same processor and you're upgrading your motherboard to a different model, you have to change every stuff discribed in this video. Love this guy's content❤ He is doing good job! Highly appreciated❤✨️👌
It is even recommended to use "DDU" (display driver uninstaller - which can un-install other drivers as well) to clean out older driver versions that aren't needed anymore to not conflict with the newer ones.
Guys if it’s your key and you change you can call and get it moved over. It is tied to the motherboard, but if you will not be using that old motherboard then they will most likely transfer it for you.
I tried doing this but couldn't find how, it was easier to find a tool to hack it then it was to find out how to get my key moved over, thanks microsoft
you can reinstall windows just by downloading the ISO file then run it directly on your OS drive, you will have the option to keep the app as window's new installation will keep everything, clear all registry then reinstall your apps all at once without losing any data. Trust me I've don this many times, it works basically the same as reinstalling a new window but save the time you have to find the apps that you previously had.
I have been using one windows key every since I got my first pc and my still work every time once I upgrade my pc I had 4 pc and I’m happy the one I have at the moment 😊
I swapped an old PhenomII combi out for a Ryzen (mb, cpu, ram). The pc rebooted one or two times and works like charm still to this day. Also, no Windows activation issues. I work with the windows10 license from my friend i bought this system from many years ago. It automatically activated after the initial fresh install back then without asking for a key. I suppose it identified some hardware-ID.
Funfact, you can just log into your Microsoft account (that has a key) and transfer or get a copy of that key so the Activate Windows text disappears. It took me 2 years to figure out or even try lol
It also requires having signed in with a Microsoft account, while a lot of power users use local accounts so they don't have to rely on the cloud to login to their own computer.
do a clean windows install on the same drive partition so that you can still keep most of your old files without clearing out the entire drive through the windows.old folder.
Idk how i avoid issues, but i went from a laptop that the motherboard fried in, that was an intel platform, moved my SSD to my new ryzen builld and it was seamless
The Windows thing is so true, moved from a Laptop to a Desktop and despite having the same boot drive and same account, nada, no luck with windows, got a new key for cheap tho
currently running 5600 I still use this OS from my i5 4590 days in 2019 and then r5 2600 in 2021 and 2023 i bought this 5600, didnt noticed any slow downs except for stupid AMD Update cmd which pops up from time to time.
Yeah I changed motherboard with the same cpu and had a rough time. I think the update that was supposed to install the chipset failed. Luckily it decided to make a restoration point on its own
This is why even with pcie ssds now being capable of being the sole drive in a system, I think you should always run two storage devices per system. How I am doing it currently is a 500GB PCIe Gen 4, and a 2TB PCIe Gen 4. the 500GB has only windows on it, and the 2tb is for all my stuff. This allows me to wipe the 500GB drive and not have to re-download a TB of games. A added benefit is that if one of the drives was to die on me I could run on just one temporarily. the 500GB drive is large enough to hold windows and a few other things, but not large enough to be comfortable. 2 Drives are better than one.
Regarding the windows license: you should always keep the windows install drive and key since you can transfer your specific copy of windows to any PC you own.
This is good advice for sure but it’s so hit or miss, I’ve done like 3 platform swaps and swapped drives a couple times along with multiple gpus, never reinstalled windows and never lost my activation never ddu for the gpus (all nvidia cards though). It was mostly just laziness since I figured I’d just cross that bridge if I got there but never did
Can say it starts as minor file errors or hanging apps, then progresses into blue screens n I actually had graphical glitches until I did a full reinstall of windows after upgrading my cpu from intel to amd.
I've switched from older intel to ryzen for two of my friends. It didn't even see the windows installation BOTH times. Nothing I could do got it back, so just expect a fresh (and fast) windows install.
I fine when you change your cpu you don’t need a new key you can get rid of the watermark with a cmd command if you don’t want the extra stuff with windows (and no I don’t remember the cmd command)
I had to get a new motherboard bc my old went out for some reason and my windows key that was linked to my Microsoft account just no longer wanted to activate never had that problem before I even switched from intel to Ryzen before and it worked just fine I think it’s bc of windows 11
Does that mean we can use the windows 10 media creator to reinstall windows? Or do arm just need to do a complete wipe of our pc and do everything from scratch?
Not bad info. I swapped from AMD to Intel and despite cloning with Acronis, over time, I noticed stuff not working, like my Windows troubleshooting tools being nonexistent and not even being able to check for updates.
Man. Yes even tho i agree with you. I Swap my SSD between two PCs and Windows 10 doesnt Care. And its No small Difference in Hardware. One is a b550 while the Other is an lga775 machine
I have had that activate windows thing for a over a year sometimes its there sometimes it's not, havent figured it out to this day its not even all that bothersome when its there. but sometimes for God knows what reason it will take a "picture" of a small rectangle that it overlays of what ever frame it was over block
Yeah, I just use a "small" SSD for my boot drive and applications. If I'm building a new system, time for a clean install. My data is on spinning rust, so photos, documents, etc just get moved on those drives. Clean up any file ownership issues and GTG
Can confirm. Windows went in the gutter quick after swapping to Ryzen. Was so bad I mained Manjaro for years cuz I thought windows just sucked. I still don’t like windows but it’s not that bad
Hey I have an i7 11700f but it’s on a z490 right now. Will there be any difference in performance if I swap to a z590 or b560? I never seem to use my pc resources well and I was wondering if this might be the cause.
Hold on before reinstalling if you get a blue screen from switching it should say the file causing the issue just boot into safe mode a delete the file I did this when I switched to Intel.
When my laptop was having issues. I downloaded the latest version of windows 10 (22h2) and created a bootable USB drive. I completely formatted the C drive in my laptop and installed windows again from the USB. I didn’t have to buy a new key. Windows activated itself because the key was bound to my Microsoft account it said.
Here's a question for you, I have a PCIE x4 slot that goes unutilized in my pre-built. I already have wifi and Bluetooth capabilities, and I'm considering getting a PCIE to Dual NVME adapter. Do you have one you recommend, or is there something else I should get for that slot?
What do you think about the RX 6600 now? The price of this GPU in my country is around 200-180$ And beats other GPUs, at the same price, and low power consumption..
I have the MSI ProSeries AMD Ryzen 2ND and 3rd Gen AM4 M.2 USB 3 DDR4 D-Sub DVI HDMI Micro-ATX Motherboard (B450M PRO-VDH Max) Motherboard in my shopping cart on amazon do you think its a good motherboard for gaming? Also if theirs anything else you recommend please lmk
i have one more question, if you change motherboard, cpu and gpu, would you need to format or no? (going from intel, to intel and from nvidia to nvidia)
I’m looking for a new gpu but I have narrowed it down to 2 options the rtx 3060 12gb and the rx 6650xt which do you think is better for getting the most fps per dollar
This is actually a pretty good answer
No you don't have to reinstall. All it takes is a free app that can scan and clean old devices and driverstore files.
The part about "getting worse over time" is also a complete fabrication. They also don't "switch between amd and intel" constantly just because you had one or the other before.
@@skorperswhat app?
@@dorez3448 Gonna try this again but I think i might be blocked by this channel now.
@@dorez3448 DriverStoreExplorer, and UWE Sieber's DeviceCleanup.
Dont be lazy just reinstall from usb it takes like 20 minutes. And yest they have seperate ssd’s that are amd and intel for benchmarking. Does this guy literally think that every single time they test s new cpu mb combo they reinstall windows? Lol thats wxtremely counter productive
Would be nice if you made a video on reinstalling, namely what folders you might want to back up so you can get up and running quicker. Just an overall overview of how to reinstall efficiently so you aren’t starting from scratch.
It’s doesn’t hurt the pc when ya switch over bc any good pc maintenance program will remove the files that’s doesn’t need to be there anymore and it’s easy to reinstall just put which os you gonna use on usb and then your good to go
@@user-dz3sq9bf6s I do know how to reinstall, I mostly mentioned that part because as a general guide that would also make sense to include. What has always kept me from reinstalling despite multiple GPU and CPU upgrades has been that I don’t want to figure out everything to back up and have to keep track of everything that I need to install afterwards. I’m sure there are some folders that can be backed up separately that would make that process much easier, which is mostly what I personally would like.
@@flashlightning6742if you want to reinstall win it will delete everything on a partition you choose usually it C, and no you cant speed it up by leaving or deleting files
Usually what I do is move all of my pictures, music, data, configs, other files/folders and screenshots of all the programs on the PC to my hard drive (which doesn't get wiped).
After reinstalling the programs from the screenshots I move all of the files back to the SSD
@@your_average_cultured_dude it’s good to have back up drives on pc and install games on the other drives so when ya reinstall windows you don’t have to reinstall the games and programs
When reinstalling windows, you can reuse your key, I did it like half a year ago and it worked out fine.
Depends on type of the key. If you got those cheap keys online, they are probably locked to a certain mobo.
@@petrinafilip96 i have my windows tied to my Microsoft account,. windows automatically reactivates when i log in with my Microsoft account.
And you can't use windows 7 keys anymore
I collect windows keys
I have a bunch of computers with keys for windows 10/8/7 that I will never need to buy them again
@@XenonXBRlet me guess you refresh businesses?
That is why you link your Key to your microsoft account. That way when you log in, it automatically re-activates your key. If you change it again, you can transfer/re-activate it all over again. I did this 3 times in 1 week as I was troubleshooting computer problems. First installing on a fresh hard drive to eliminate that possibility, then finally changing my Motherboard and Processor. Both times I had to re-activate.
Only if you have a Retail, dont work for OEM keys.
Loved that sound effect of license key not activating🤣, keep up the awesome content
If you have the license saved to Microsoft account, you may be able to activate it.
Driver booster is free and updates everything and has always worked for me
Thanks for this. I asked my local shop this exact question bc I was concerned and they said I would be fine. I appreciate your perspective
This is exactly true💯 3 days before I had to go with a new upgrade for my old motherboard of ASUS Prime H410M-A (almost 3 years used), upgrading to my new motherboard of ASUS Prime H510M-A due to some issues in USB ports. Nothing changed any other component in my PC. I'm using i5 10th Gen processor, same one for old & new motherboard. I have to install the latest bios updates and compatible drivers for my new motherboard and also surprisingly I have to re-activate my windows license key as well.. My old windows key was not supported for new motherboard, so I have to activate it with a new key like he said in this video. So my point is even if you're using the same processor and you're upgrading your motherboard to a different model, you have to change every stuff discribed in this video. Love this guy's content❤ He is doing good job! Highly appreciated❤✨️👌
It is even recommended to use "DDU" (display driver uninstaller - which can un-install other drivers as well) to clean out older driver versions that aren't needed anymore to not conflict with the newer ones.
Guys if it’s your key and you change you can call and get it moved over. It is tied to the motherboard, but if you will not be using that old motherboard then they will most likely transfer it for you.
No need to call: it's been a feature on the Microsoft account website for a few years now!
I tried doing this but couldn't find how, it was easier to find a tool to hack it then it was to find out how to get my key moved over, thanks microsoft
you can reinstall windows just by downloading the ISO file then run it directly on your OS drive, you will have the option to keep the app as window's new installation will keep everything, clear all registry then reinstall your apps all at once without losing any data.
Trust me I've don this many times, it works basically the same as reinstalling a new window but save the time you have to find the apps that you previously had.
Bless bro 😭🙏 I wasn’t tryna redownload all my stuff. This helps
best answer lol
Thanks for the helpful information Zach!
Im fixing to swap my motherboard soon. Great stuff, thank you!
I kinda do reinstalls once or twice a year because windows always get a little funky over time
*Clean install everytime*
THANK YOUUUUU love your videos one day when I get to like 500k subs we should do a build together
Zach!
Can you do a short vid an about transfering an SSD into another system? Or how do you do it when flipping?
I have been using one windows key every since I got my first pc and my still work every time once I upgrade my pc I had 4 pc and I’m happy the one I have at the moment 😊
you can find your license key before reinstalling in a registry or through a command, did it when i just reinstalled my windows and it works perfectly
I swapped an old PhenomII combi out for a Ryzen (mb, cpu, ram). The pc rebooted one or two times and works like charm still to this day.
Also, no Windows activation issues. I work with the windows10 license from my friend i bought this system from many years ago. It automatically activated after the initial fresh install back then without asking for a key. I suppose it identified some hardware-ID.
That explains a lot...
have swapped platforms 3 times same install no issues of course all intel.
The Matt Hardy Delete caught me off guard 😂
Funfact, you can just log into your Microsoft account (that has a key) and transfer or get a copy of that key so the Activate Windows text disappears.
It took me 2 years to figure out or even try lol
That's if you had a retail key. If it's a key that lives and dies with the pc, this case it's a new pc as CPU and Mono changed so hardware ID is new
It also requires having signed in with a Microsoft account, while a lot of power users use local accounts so they don't have to rely on the cloud to login to their own computer.
I learned this the hard way it took two days to get my pc back up and running 😭
do a clean windows install on the same drive partition so that you can still keep most of your old files without clearing out the entire drive through the windows.old folder.
Basically build from the ground up. Best of luck ... ❤🎉😊
I just install the new drivers BEFORE taking the old system apart, it’s worked up fine up every time I’ve done it.
I’ve honestly never done this still using the same install of windows over 3 pcs lol never had an issue personally
Idk how i avoid issues, but i went from a laptop that the motherboard fried in, that was an intel platform, moved my SSD to my new ryzen builld and it was seamless
The Windows thing is so true, moved from a Laptop to a Desktop and despite having the same boot drive and same account, nada, no luck with windows, got a new key for cheap tho
currently running 5600 I still use this OS from my i5 4590 days in 2019 and then r5 2600 in 2021 and 2023 i bought this 5600, didnt noticed any slow downs except for stupid AMD Update cmd which pops up from time to time.
Yeah I changed motherboard with the same cpu and had a rough time. I think the update that was supposed to install the chipset failed. Luckily it decided to make a restoration point on its own
A Weird Question 😂
But I Need Answer … Can I Slap EPYC to My Desktop ..😂
This is why even with pcie ssds now being capable of being the sole drive in a system, I think you should always run two storage devices per system. How I am doing it currently is a 500GB PCIe Gen 4, and a 2TB PCIe Gen 4. the 500GB has only windows on it, and the 2tb is for all my stuff. This allows me to wipe the 500GB drive and not have to re-download a TB of games. A added benefit is that if one of the drives was to die on me I could run on just one temporarily. the 500GB drive is large enough to hold windows and a few other things, but not large enough to be comfortable.
2 Drives are better than one.
When you swap or upgrade just use registery program and its will remove them files
Regarding the windows license: you should always keep the windows install drive and key since you can transfer your specific copy of windows to any PC you own.
This is good advice for sure but it’s so hit or miss, I’ve done like 3 platform swaps and swapped drives a couple times along with multiple gpus, never reinstalled windows and never lost my activation never ddu for the gpus (all nvidia cards though). It was mostly just laziness since I figured I’d just cross that bridge if I got there but never did
i swapped from intel to amd 3 days ago...
so far no issues....
Could you tell us how to properly swap motherboard for upgrade (same cpu and pther)
My pc that has been switched from an i5 7600k to a ruzne 5600G: I’m MOSTLY fine.
Can say it starts as minor file errors or hanging apps, then progresses into blue screens n I actually had graphical glitches until I did a full reinstall of windows after upgrading my cpu from intel to amd.
I've switched from older intel to ryzen for two of my friends. It didn't even see the windows installation BOTH times. Nothing I could do got it back, so just expect a fresh (and fast) windows install.
Could u review the pcs on your website with gameplay im thinking about buying one
nice
I fine when you change your cpu you don’t need a new key you can get rid of the watermark with a cmd command if you don’t want the extra stuff with windows (and no I don’t remember the cmd command)
I have been upgrading from FX 6350 to Ryzen 7 1800X to Ryzen 9 7950X and NEVER reinstalled windows. Didn't have any issues so far
You can find your key in the registry
Hey I know brosfightnight I watches him a couple days ago
Commenting till you giveaway a gaming pc to me here in India!
I had to get a new motherboard bc my old went out for some reason and my windows key that was linked to my Microsoft account just no longer wanted to activate never had that problem before I even switched from intel to Ryzen before and it worked just fine I think it’s bc of windows 11
Does that mean we can use the windows 10 media creator to reinstall windows? Or do arm just need to do a complete wipe of our pc and do everything from scratch?
Not bad info. I swapped from AMD to Intel and despite cloning with Acronis, over time, I noticed stuff not working, like my Windows troubleshooting tools being nonexistent and not even being able to check for updates.
I need first PC to do something like this😅😅😅. I hope 😮😮
I went from a 6600k set up to a ryzen 7900 setup without a reinstallation. It's fine.
I generally do a fresh reinstall of windows about every 6 months or so.
In my experience from Intel to AMD, I just cloned the storage, also from HDD to nvme😅
Now i wonder about upgrading from am4 to am5
Man. Yes even tho i agree with you. I Swap my SSD between two PCs and Windows 10 doesnt Care. And its No small Difference in Hardware. One is a b550 while the Other is an lga775 machine
I have had that activate windows thing for a over a year sometimes its there sometimes it's not, havent figured it out to this day its not even all that bothersome when its there. but sometimes for God knows what reason it will take a "picture" of a small rectangle that it overlays of what ever frame it was over block
I noticed you Steelers jacket are you in Pittsburgh?
What is the best eGPU build for a new HP Pavilion with a i7 1360P?
Yeah, I just use a "small" SSD for my boot drive and applications. If I'm building a new system, time for a clean install.
My data is on spinning rust, so photos, documents, etc just get moved on those drives.
Clean up any file ownership issues and GTG
Can confirm. Windows went in the gutter quick after swapping to Ryzen. Was so bad I mained Manjaro for years cuz I thought windows just sucked. I still don’t like windows but it’s not that bad
Good to know
I'm doing this soon but quick question do I need to do this just to my c drive or all? Also thanks.
Could you make a video on how to properly reinstall windows?
Me who has changed motherboard 4 times and still have the same OS
I have a i3 3rd generation processer which graphics card is prefect it and know it's old but low money to spend Soo hope u will reply
Hey I have an i7 11700f but it’s on a z490 right now. Will there be any difference in performance if I swap to a z590 or b560? I never seem to use my pc resources well and I was wondering if this might be the cause.
My brother doesn't understand and requires a long form explanation that a toddler can understand
Hold on before reinstalling if you get a blue screen from switching it should say the file causing the issue just boot into safe mode a delete the file I did this when I switched to Intel.
Try Sysprep apporach maybe ?
What is the best pc build under 700 dollar? (I want to go for amd if it gives better dollar to performance) don't need any extra coolers (cpu cooler)
Whats the most powerfull gpu you would pair with an i5 12400f and 16gb of ddr4? Love the content btw
When my laptop was having issues. I downloaded the latest version of windows 10 (22h2) and created a bootable USB drive. I completely formatted the C drive in my laptop and installed windows again from the USB.
I didn’t have to buy a new key. Windows activated itself because the key was bound to my Microsoft account it said.
Do i need to reinstall windows again if i were about to swap/upgrade from ssd to NVME m.2?
My windows didn't activate i just clicked i swapped hardware and it worked
Reinstall chipset driver when changing motherboard
Will Microsoft give you a new key if you call support?
Here's a question for you, I have a PCIE x4 slot that goes unutilized in my pre-built. I already have wifi and Bluetooth capabilities, and I'm considering getting a PCIE to Dual NVME adapter. Do you have one you recommend, or is there something else I should get for that slot?
Just upgraded from i7 7700 to r5 5600
over time they for sure would most likely get blue screens
How is this not known?
What do you think about the RX 6600 now? The price of this GPU in my country is around 200-180$ And beats other GPUs, at the same price, and low power consumption..
I have the MSI ProSeries AMD Ryzen 2ND and 3rd Gen AM4 M.2 USB 3 DDR4 D-Sub DVI HDMI Micro-ATX Motherboard (B450M PRO-VDH Max)
Motherboard in my shopping cart on amazon do you think its a good motherboard for gaming? Also if theirs anything else you recommend please lmk
i have one more question, if you change motherboard, cpu and gpu, would you need to format or no? (going from intel, to intel and from nvidia to nvidia)
Don’t need a key just keep restarting the pc when it pops up
Don't have to buy key just use cmd files to activate windows
Also, chipset drivers, amd has terrible power plans otherwise.
What's the best GPU for a 5600x 32gb ddr4 and a 550w psu?
Right now I have a Nvidia gtx 950m and a intel core i5 6600 do I need to upgrade yet because it still works good for gaming
Hey zach, what is a amd gpu the has similar or better performance then an rtx 4070 ti for a lower price
But what about if you use DDU to uninstaol the drivers?
how about just swapping motherboard with out changing any parts?
I’m looking for a new gpu but I have narrowed it down to 2 options the rtx 3060 12gb and the rx 6650xt which do you think is better for getting the most fps per dollar
Does this also apply to upgrading and keeping the same branding. Amd to amd
Always buy retail keys so you can swap motherboards with no problems...
Is the rtx 4080 or 4070ti better for a thousand watts power supply a intel i7 13gen and 64 gigabytes of ram
as long as you're microsoft windows key is linked to you're e-mail account. once you log in you'll be fine.