Improve your PC without having to reinstall Windows 10
Improve your PC without having to reinstall Windows 10
I'm working on Windows 10 after upgrading from an ASUS Z97-A motherboard to a MSI PRO Z690-A system. I retained the GPU, PSU, and SSD with the OS, but moved everything to the new hardware. When I power on, it freezes at "getting devices ready" for about seven hours. Ethernet works fine, lights appear on the port. After a fresh Windows 10 install, everything functions properly. However, using the old SSD caused problems. I restarted hard but drivers didn't install correctly, sometimes causing a BSOD during installation. I managed to get driver files but they fail to install smoothly, leading to blue screens on reboot. I'm unsure if this damaged the OS and need advice on getting the old SSD to work without reinstalling Windows. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.
Users frequently note that Windows 10 now functions smoothly on older AMD and Intel processors. Many have found their outdated apps and programs still available, though difficult to access. This makes upgrading appealing without having to reinstall everything from scratch. Previously, the system operated well in safe boot mode, but drivers remain elusive, especially with the blue screen and other errors. I've attempted commands like sysprep /generalize /oobs /shutdown and moved the old drive to a new system, yet during device setup it still triggers a blue screen with "driver_pnp_watchdog," causing the PC to restart repeatedly and sometimes entering a boot loop with an error message. Despite trying all available steps in the manual, I'm unable to resolve the issue. Sysprep removes every driver, but it doesn't fix the problem. I'm considering an upgrade install with the "keep all settings, apps and personal data" option to test, or returning the new hardware if necessary.
As mentioned, it isn't a built-in function in Windows, though it occasionally functions. Alright then.
Successfully got it running after several attempts. Still unsure about the exact problem, but kept testing various solutions and used the event viewer to pinpoint the issue, followed up with multiple restarts.
I've tried similar steps by starting in safe mode, clearing old hardware in Device Manager, removing outdated drivers from installed apps, and rebooting. However, I suggest reinstalling everything and backing up your data if possible—this way you can still use your old device later.
I believe it was an Asus Com service and an AMD crash service that I disabled during startup services. I also added the network driver in Device Management and pointed it to the driver folder. I restarted several times even after encountering a blue screen, and it resolved the issue. I also purchased MacRumors Reflect, used its rescue media boot environment, and redeployed to new hardware. Eventually it worked, though I’m not entirely sure what steps helped. I was close to giving up and doing a full reinstall, but I wanted to try everything possible before proceeding. After all, it should generally function well and is a built-in Windows feature, especially with the sysprep admin tool.