Slugsie Posted September 13, 2017 Share Posted September 13, 2017 I recently changed my motherboard after the old one failed. I went from a Gigabyte mobo with an Intel i7 3770 to an Asus with a Ryzen 5 1600. On first boot Windows 10 took a few minutes to recognise and install for the new hardware, then apparently booted normally with everything seeming to work. However since then it's not been entirely smooth, with a few things leading me to believe that there are some older drivers hanging around causing conflicts. The biggest problem I'm having is that I can't activate Windows 10. I have 10 Pro as a free upgrade from 7 Ultimate, with my license tied to my MS account. At first Windows reported that it couldn't find a valid license to use even though I got it to list the previous activation. Since then however the Activation screen has just been saying 'Unable to reach Windows activation servers' since Saturday. Another problem I've seen is that sometimes one or more of the hard drives don't seem to respond properly. I have Windows installed to C: which is an SSD, but the Users folder in on D: which is a HD. A couple of times D: has stopped responding which causes all sorts of problems. I think this might be linked to some Intel SATA drivers that were installed for the Gigabyte mobo. If I try and uninstall them then Windows fails to boot, complaining that it can't access the boot drive and I have to do a system restore to get it back. Should I just bite the bullet and do a clean Windows 10 install? I thought Windows 10 was supposed to be able to cope with this sort of thing? Or is the change from a nearly 5 year old Intel setup to a very new AMD just too much to ask? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Circaflex Posted September 13, 2017 Share Posted September 13, 2017 If you go from AMD to Intel or vice-versa I always recommend clean installing. Too many drivers will be incorrect and/or not optimal. In regards to the license, all you need to do is call microsoft and explain your situation, they will deregister the key and allow you to activate again. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DevTech Posted September 14, 2017 Share Posted September 14, 2017 6 hours ago, Circaflex said: If you go from AMD to Intel or vice-versa I always recommend clean installing. Too many drivers will be incorrect and/or not optimal. In regards to the license, all you need to do is call microsoft and explain your situation, they will deregister the key and allow you to activate again. Good to know what type of license he had on Windows 7. His "digital entitlement" is currently linked to the old mobo and the Win 10 upgrade "eats" the Win 7 license. So he has to be careful how he explains the situation. As long as it is called out as a "repair" or "upgrade" on a single computer and the old mobo is "retired" then all is OK. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DevTech Posted September 14, 2017 Share Posted September 14, 2017 6 hours ago, Slugsie said: I recently changed my motherboard after the old one failed. I went from a Gigabyte mobo with an Intel i7 3770 to an Asus with a Ryzen 5 1600. On first boot Windows 10 took a few minutes to recognise and install for the new hardware, then apparently booted normally with everything seeming to work. However since then it's not been entirely smooth, with a few things leading me to believe that there are some older drivers hanging around causing conflicts. The biggest problem I'm having is that I can't activate Windows 10. I have 10 Pro as a free upgrade from 7 Ultimate, with my license tied to my MS account. At first Windows reported that it couldn't find a valid license to use even though I got it to list the previous activation. Since then however the Activation screen has just been saying 'Unable to reach Windows activation servers' since Saturday. Another problem I've seen is that sometimes one or more of the hard drives don't seem to respond properly. I have Windows installed to C: which is an SSD, but the Users folder in on D: which is a HD. A couple of times D: has stopped responding which causes all sorts of problems. I think this might be linked to some Intel SATA drivers that were installed for the Gigabyte mobo. If I try and uninstall them then Windows fails to boot, complaining that it can't access the boot drive and I have to do a system restore to get it back. Should I just bite the bullet and do a clean Windows 10 install? I thought Windows 10 was supposed to be able to cope with this sort of thing? Or is the change from a nearly 5 year old Intel setup to a very new AMD just too much to ask? It is not too much to ask. You just need to separate out your issues into a detailed list and don't assume any of it is simple or connected together. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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