New
#1
Transfer installation to new hardware
I'm upgrading to a new ASUS motherboard, new chipset (x79 to x99) and a new processor. I'm going to try to run my current Windows 10 installation (a retail copy - not OEM) without reinstalling from scratch.
On the previous install (after backing everything up) I removed as many of the old system drivers as made sense (USB3, graphics, etc..) and deactivated any software that needed that. I'm close to ready to see what happens. If it all fails then I'll just reinstall from scratch - which I'll do anyway on some rainy day. I'm just interested in seeing how well Windows 10 will cope with such a change of hardware - though it's still an ASUS Deluxe board, a recent Intel Chipset, and a fairly recent processor.
BUT - HERE'S THE QUESTION: When one makes such a major hardware change Windows10 will certainly complain and require reactivation. But is there any grace period??
I'm hoping I might have a couple of days to confirm that everything works properly before having to call Microsoft. If there's a serious hardware issue then I would have to revert back to my old hardware until any problems are resolved.
Does anyone here know what will likely happen? I'm just concerned that I might be stuck with a computer that's locked until reactivated and then find that there's a serious problem with the new system.