Upgrading CPU and Motherboard - Windows 10 (or 11) how to ensure no loss of data?

CSR

Hi - First time upgrading my son's computer and got a new motherboard and CPU (will be upgrading RAM too while at it) and not sure how to make sure I dont mess it up.

• Ryzen 5 1600 upgrading to I7-11700k (from AMD to Intel an issue?)
• A320M Gaming upgrading to ASUS z590 plus wifi
• He has Windows 10 home edition now (I think eligible for Windows 11 but he is on 10).

How do I do this so he doesnt lose data at all (lots of games and some other things), optimizes any drivers etc needed for the new CPU/processor, and of course, make sure it actually boots up!

Thanks!!!

Chris

PowerSpec_MikeW

@CSR

First, I'd make a backup just in case. You can check out a software like Macrium Reflect that'll allow you to make image backups and restore the image to dissimilar hardware.

With those components, it most likely won't be an issue. Windows 10 is pretty smart about dealing with new hardware. It will attempt to install those new devices on startup, it doesn't just boot or die like Windows 7 and earlier version of Windows. There are some things that will cause a BSOD on startup. Main one is the storage mode. If your old board was RAID and this one is AHCI as an example you'll BSOD. Just go through the recovery mode prompts and boot into safe mode. Once it loads a driver it should boot fine.

Once you're in the OS, I'd go in and uninstall the AMD software you're not using anymore. Then download the latest drivers for your new board from the ASUS website.

CSR

Awesome. Thanks for the information and response. Greatly appreciated

CSR

just installed and started up with no issues. Took a bit for drivers to load etc, but no problems at all. Thanks again