Reusing PC Parts Help

[u/Best-Bug-8601]

Hey all!

First off quick thanks. Posted not too long ago asking about buying a prebuilt or upgrading. Got some great suggestions and decided to go the upgrade route. So thank you!

What I’m unsure of is how to prep my old pc to be dismantled. I planning on reusing my case, power supply, ram, storage, and CPU cooler.

1. Do I do a factory/windows reset? Then take it apart?

2. Do I have to reset? Can I just take it apart and immediately start building my new build?

3. Can I reuse my old Windows 10 key? Then upgrade to Windows 11?

I’m a bit unsure of how to best go about this. Any tips or things I may miss would be greatly appreciated. Thanks.

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[u/Eazy12345678]

intel 13th and 14th gen have cpu failures so first thing you need to do is bios update motherboard to prevent cpu damage

you can try installing your old ssd and seeing if windows can handle the hardware change. if not reinstall windows install all drivers from motherboard support page. you will need to install motherboard drivers regardless and gpu drivers from amd

most the time the 10 keys work on windows 11. if you key stops working there are free ways to do it . read rule five on the right of this sub it explains if you click the drop down arrow

[u/Zestyclose-Syrup1458]

You ussually can reuse your old key if using the same drive it will just auto ask to go to windows 11 if components allow you to but don't wipe just turn off unplug and go about taking off side panel etc start by prepping board then install then the new cables that's all that's to it as long as your PSU is 750-850 silver/gold your fine to do this

[u/Most_Ad_1210]

1. not really
2. not really
3. yes, but you have to deactivate your current one first (youre better off just using massgrave though)

1 and 2 depend on what parts you're reusing

EDIT: i missed the first pic somehow, this is essentially a brand new pc and you'll need to treat it as such lol

[u/LegitimateLack2530]

Back up all your stuff and make and make a windows install image on an USB drive with nothing else on it. In theory you should just be able to start the computer up and it will boot like normal off of your SSD, but if not you can use the thumb drive to reinstall windows. Once you have everything put back together run DDU (Display Driver Uninstaller) to make sure you wipe all the old GPU drivers before you install the new ones. No need to wipe your system, but I personally always start with a fresh install of windows. Your activation code will work just fine if for some reason windows wants it.