How to Upgrade Win 10 to Win 11 after Motherboard Upgrade

optimxr · Dec 13, 2021

Hi Dru2, so just to be clear, If I do a clean install doesn't that remove all my applications and data? I am hoping to avoid that since I have so many apps that I am not sure I have their original disks or install files. Maybe there are more options with Win 11 installation that I don't know. Also, doesn't a clean install replace all the drivers which for me, may be problematic due to old hardware and old applications?

Winuser · Dec 13, 2021

optimxr said:
Hi Dru2, so just to be clear, If I do a clean install doesn't that remove all my applications and data? I am hoping to avoid that since I have so many apps that I am not sure I have their original disks or install files. Maybe there are more options with Win 11 installation that I don't know. Also, doesn't a clean install replace all the drivers which for me, may be problematic due to old hardware and old applications?

With a clean install you will be starting new. You will lose everything.

spapakons · Dec 14, 2021

Experience shows that Windows 10 will automatically find drivers for new hardware when moved on another computer. The chance of a BSOD is smaller with every new Windows generation. However, since Windows XP there is a process called Generalising that prepares the OS to move on new hardware. I don't remember how it is done, but you can Google it. So you generalise your current Windows 10 installation and then you move it on the new hardware. After successful upgrade, activation and driver update, you can upgrade to Windows 11. See respective thread to bypass compatibility check.

optimxr · Dec 17, 2021

Good to know, spapakons. I am considering keeping my GPU and installing it on the new MB just to minimize the confusion. My current monitor has both DVI and HDMI so I can make the change to HDMI once I get Win 10 working OK before I upgrade to Win 11. I will check out the generalise process as you have suggested to be more informed. Thanks for the tip.

glasskuter · Dec 17, 2021

optimxr said:
generalise process

The generalize option is part of a process called sysprep. MS Article
How To

optimxr · Dec 17, 2021

Thanks for the clarification, glasskuter. I will check it out.

spapakons · Dec 18, 2021

I don't think generalisation is necessary, but do it just in case.

optimxr · Jan 8, 2022

Update: I have been successful at getting Windows 10 Pro re-activated after changing the MoBrd out and retaining all the old hardware such as the GPU and C: drive but I still do not pass the Microsoft PCHealthCheck. I get a Secure Boot error. When I check my UEFI Bios, the CSM feature is enabled( I did not make this selection manually). After some more checking, I discovered that my Windows version does not support Secure Boot and is booting into Legacy automatcally(see attached msinfo32 snapshot). If I disable the CSM feature in BIOS and reboot, the system only goes to the BIOS, never to windows. It seems clear that the only way for me to pass the Microsoft PCHealthCheck is to change my Windows version or the C: drive altogether. I will leave it at this point and say thanks to all who participated in this discussion. I have a new issue that I will post as a new topic.

NavyLCDR · Jan 8, 2022

optimxr said:
Update: I have been successful at getting Windows 10 Pro re-activated after changing the MoBrd out and retaining all the old hardware such as the GPU and C: drive but I still do not pass the Microsoft PCHealthCheck. I get a Secure Boot error. When I check my UEFI Bios, the CSM feature is enabled( I did not make this selection manually). After some more checking, I discovered that my Windows version does not support Secure Boot and is booting into Legacy automatcally(see attached msinfo32 snapshot). If I disable the CSM feature in BIOS and reboot, the system only goes to the BIOS, never to windows. It seems clear that the only way for me to pass the Microsoft PCHealthCheck is to change my Windows version or the C: drive altogether. I will leave it at this point and say thanks to all who participated in this discussion. I have a new issue that I will post as a new topic.

The problem is that your Windows is installed on an MBR drive as a legacy BIOS install. You need to convert it to UEFI compatible:

Convert Windows 10 from Legacy BIOS to UEFI without Data Loss

How to Convert Windows 10 from Legacy BIOS to UEFI without Data Loss

www.tenforums.com

Dru2 · Jan 8, 2022

optimxr said:
I get a Secure Boot error. When I check my UEFI Bios, the CSM feature is enabled( I did not make this selection manually). After some more checking, I discovered that my Windows version does not support Secure Boot and is booting into Legacy

1) How old is your GPU?
2) While I can't speak on MBR, I know for fact CSM needs to be "disabled" in order to enable Secure Boot.

And the reason for the question about the GPU is if it does not support UEFI, you can't disable CSM. With that if your GPU is newer than 2017, it should support UEFI. You can check by using GPU-Z. The main tab will have an area where a checkmark will indicate whether the card supports UEFI.

I'm out now so can't post links. Let us know.

spapakons · Jan 8, 2022

You have a legacy installation. You must either covert it to UEFI or do a clean installation in UEFI mode. To enable Secure Boot you must disable CSM Legacy boot. I find it easier to just delete the file C:\Windows.~BT\sources\appreserres.dll at first Setup screen before proceeding. This will skip compatibility check and let you upgrade your Legacy installation to Windows 11. I assume you have downloaded Windows 11 ISO, you mounted it and you started Setup from there.

Dch48 · Jan 8, 2022

I upgraded my PC with a new mobo and CPU. At bootup, Windows was not activated so I did the thing where you can activate after a hardware change and it worked. Then it turned out that the mobo was defective and I sent it back for a new one. At first bootup, again Windows was not activated and the hardware change option wouldn't work because it said I had already done it. I called Microsoft and the guy told me to do all the things I had already tried and of course they didn't work. Then he said there was one more thing we could try and that was entering the 8.1 product key the computer originally came with. I was doubtful that it would work but it did. Subsequently I have upgraded to Win 11 through Windows Update without any problems.

Dru2 · Jan 8, 2022

Dch48 said:
Then he said there was one more thing we could try and that was entering the 8.1 product key the computer originally came with. I was doubtful that it would work but it did. Subsequently I have upgraded to Win 11 through Windows Update without any problems.

Yeah, that one usually works :)

optimxr · Jan 9, 2022

Thanks for the GPU-Z tip, Dru2. I ran it and it has a check box with UEFI. The card is an Asus GeForce GT-730-SL-2GD5 and I just updated the driver to a 2020 update so this eliminates any other legacy issues except for C: drive & Windows 10 Pro. I plan to install a M.2 SSD and transfer the C: OS to that drive in the near future which will allow me to format for GPT rather than NTSF and most likely clear the Secure Boot error. Is there anything else I need to consider?
Spapakons, I agree with your post but I'm not quite ready to do the upgrade to Windows 11 just yet. I intend to get all the upgraded hardware working properly before I move on to Windows 11. I just made a image backup using Macrium Relect 8 and once I get my M.2SSD installed, I will try to move the image to the new C: drive.

optimxr · Jan 9, 2022

Thanks for the link, NavyLCDR, this looks a little tricky but a lot easier and quicker than moving my C: drive to another drive with GPT formatting.
I will still do a backup image of my C: drive as a precautionary measure. I hope this will allow me to boot up in UEFI only which should enable the Secure Boot in my Windows System.

Dru2 · Jan 9, 2022

optimxr said:
I plan to install a M.2 SSD and transfer the C: OS to that drive in the near future which will allow me to format for GPT rather than NTSF and most likely clear the Secure Boot error. Is there anything else I need to consider?

You're getting yourself confused with terms and tech. GPT is a drive partition structure. NTFS is a file format. NTFS is the default file format Windows 10 and 11 uses, so no choice there. GPT is a drive structure and there is a choice between GPT and MBR, though GPT is the better more modern choice for modern systems - What’s the Difference Between GPT and MBR When Partitioning a Drive?

With that, I would urge you to slow down and don't get caught up tech jargon you don't understand. If you're not clear on something say so, and don't be afraid to recognize when something is above your head.

Anyway, and in keeping things simple, you should be running in UEFI, not legacy or MBR. That's tech of yesterday. Your hardware is tech of today.

Good luck.

spapakons · Jan 9, 2022

Make sure you install all drivers before moving Windows to M.2 as it might fail to boot if the M.2 controller driver is not properly installed. It is possible to convert MBR to UEFI disk with third party tools but if not done correctly it might not be bootable. If you have difficulty booting, have an UEFI USB Flash drive ready with Windows Setup. You can boot the computer from the Flash drive and then click on Repair Windows. This will copy the appropriate files on the disk to make it load Windows.

optimxr · Jan 9, 2022

Thanks for the correction, Dru2. I did mistake NTFS for MBR but I have a better understanding now. Sometimes typing the responses can be rushed a little, causing mistypes like this. I have been looking into using the MBR2GPT utility to change my C: drive but when they claim the data will not be touched does that include programs such as Microsoft Office or Adobe Photoshop? I think of data as only content or files that I have created and stored separate from my applications. I actually store the data on a separate drive which makes it easier to backup.

Spapakons: Is there a way to determine if the M.2 controller driver is current? Do I find that in device manager? Also, how would you suggest I create a UEFI bootable flash drive? I do have a emergency repair disk(flash drive) that I made when I installed Windows 10 but that was in 2014, probably not UEFI bootable.

NavyLCDR · Jan 9, 2022

@optimxr,

The MBR to GPT conversion does not alter any files in C: drive. The MBR to GPT conversion happens at the partition definition level, not in the NTFS filesystem itself. The MBR to GPT conversion typically takes less than 1 minute. Your C: drive is shrunk by a few hundred MB, the entire disk's partition definitions are changed from MBR to GPT, and a FAT32 EFI system partition is created and populated with boot files in the space resulting from shrinking the C: drive partition. The actual file contents of C: drive (and other existing partitions) remain untouched.

fmw · Jan 9, 2022

optimxr said:
I have a Windows 10 machine(Ver 21H1,build 19043.1348) with a Asus P8P67 MoBrd and am upgrading to ASUS Prime Z590-P MoBrd before I attempt to upgrade to Win 11. Will this make the Win 11 upgrade fail? The new CPU is i5-11600K(10th Gen) which I believe supports Windows 11 and TPM.

You are good to go with your hardware. Your CPU is 11th gen by the way. You will need to change the BIOS so that TPM is firmware instead of integral. Also you will need to change the secure boot element from other OS to Windows UEFI. If your Windows 10 drive has an MBR partition scheme you will have to change it to UEFI or else be prepared to have a drive with no data.. Nothing related to Win 11 works with MBR partitions.

The way to do the OS upgrade is to download the Win 11 ISO file from microsoft and copy it over to a USB drive. Then boot your computer from your windows 10 UEFI drive and go to the flash drive to run the ISO file. If you create a bootable flash drive with windows 11, you will not be able to upgrade without clearing the target drive. By booting from your windows 10 drive, the installation will accept your existing key and validate the installation. This will upgrade you to 11 without losing the contents of your drive. A second option would be to go to settings>update and let microsoft upgrade it over the internet.

How to Upgrade Win 10 to Win 11 after Motherboard Upgrade

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