Upgrading motherboard & CPU - Windows 10 questions

I recently bought windows 10 and installed it on my machine, but now I realize that I need a faster CPU and Motherboard to go with it. My understanding is that my Windows 10 serial key is tied to my motherboard UID and that upgrading my hardware could nullify my product key. I am also wondering about the possible side effects of switching out these hardware devices. I have a few questions:

1 - Can anyone tell me what the process is for upgrading CPU & motherboard when it comes to Windows 10 licences? I have read online that Windows will only permit this if the motherboard is defective. It should be noted that I bought a retail key for Windows 10 Pro. I have read a guide here that explains it is possible with a registry edit, but I'd like to confirm that this is still possible as of today's date.

2 - Also, I REALLY dont want to reinstall my OS, as it has taken me months to get everything the way I want it. Is it possible to switch out the CPU and motherboard without re-installation of the OS? If so, are there any detriments to this (like un-optimized performance etc)

Thanks

2 Answers

It depends on what type of licence you've bought

If you bought it directly from MS or another legal source, you can easily reactivate it after hardware change :

If you bought an "OEM" licence, that's indeed intended for one set of hardware only

This is possible if you link your license to your Microsoft Account before you upgrade. Originally, it was tied to hardware but after the first Windows Anniversary Update it became possible. You need to be logging into Windows with a Microsoft Account and not a local account. If you are already logging in using a Microsoft Account go to Settings > Update & Security > Activation and it should say

"Windows is activated with a digital license linked to your Microsoft Account"

If you are using a local account and don't want to use a Windows Account for authentication, you can create a new user profile on your system and use that with a Microsoft Account to link the license and then use that account to re-activate the machine after upgrading the hardware.

Tutorial here

As to whether you have to reinstall Windows or not - it's always best to reinstall. However, if you want to gamble, Windows 10 is pretty good at reconfiguring after significant hardware upgrades so it might work. Or it might not. Pre-installing hardware drivers for the new motherboard before upgrading may facilitate a motherboard swap, but it can be pretty messy. Whatever you do - backup all your data before you start any upgrades.