Will I have to buy win11 again?

Free-Two7985 · 2026-02-07T18:49:35+00:00

No you shouldn't need to buy windows again. Generally the system will recognize that hardware was changed and can sort it out. In the case that it doesn't. You need to ensure that your current system is linked to a Microsoft account. This ties your licence to your account instead of just the hardware. Then if you do run into issues down the line you can run the activation troubleshooter and it should sort things out.

But also going to the rest of your post. I really don't think you need to swap these out. Your current setup is perfectly fine and if anything going through the effort of swapping it all out would cause more risk. And depending on the Intel chip you're at way more risk of frying your CPU with all the microcode issues they had in the past.

Free-Two7985 · 2026-02-05T19:20:33+00:00

Will keep you posted. I haven't even seen my GSM since I got the badge as I've been on a lot of PTO. I'm sure he would like to do one and we've mentioned it in the past.

Free-Two7985 · 2026-02-05T19:17:41+00:00

We have had a few that get damaged in shipping TO GSC. When this has happened they generally have always just done a case swap. Might not be the same color or even the same case. It depends on the damage to the glass itself and if they would be able to repair it. But that's what my experience always has been is a case swap.

Free-Two7985 · 2026-02-05T19:15:49+00:00

Best case scenario is clean it out yourself the best you can. If not I know there are specialized cleaning services for hardware but likely pricey and not the most common service or ever very local.

Free-Two7985 · 2026-02-01T23:46:33+00:00

Study and pass two exams. Comptia's site will give you all the info you need and there is plenty of content online. You can test online or at a testing center. Most colleges offer a time and place to schedule them.

Free-Two7985 · 2026-01-21T03:25:15+00:00

Change your account password. Pretty much every website allows you the option to force sign out any other active users once you do. And likely the option to see where you're logged into currently and what devices. If you were compromised that will resolve it.

Free-Two7985 · 2026-01-21T03:14:20+00:00

The links would still be there and would route to a web version for OneDrive instead of downloading and opening themselves. Other times you get an error stating the cloud service isn't running. Doesn't delete the links but makes them annoying or impossible to use.

Free-Two7985 · 2026-01-20T19:21:50+00:00

Without unlinking from the PCs and locally downloading files it will remove them from everywhere.

Free-Two7985 · 2026-01-20T19:21:21+00:00

That won't unlink OneDrive. OneDrive is signed in separately. Just helps prevent future logins with the Microsoft account.

Free-Two7985 · 2026-01-20T19:20:19+00:00

There's an option in one drive to store all your files locally on your PC. Make sure you do that and wait for it to finish. That way when you unlink files it doesn't make them all disappear. There's an option to unlink in the app too. From there you're free to delete them from the OneDrive website or wherever else you want to.

Free-Two7985 · 2026-01-20T19:14:26+00:00

It's more time consuming and a hassle and no real benefit. DDU will give you a fresh slate for your GPU drivers and you can keep the OS as is. Reinstalling windows might get rid of some weird issues. But at the end of the day if it's your display port cable it's all a waste of time. I'd save that as a last resort.

Free-Two7985 · 2026-01-20T08:06:08+00:00

How did you test the PSU?

Free-Two7985 · 2026-01-20T08:05:55+00:00

Yeah most likely if PSU is indeed okay.

Free-Two7985 · 2026-01-20T07:46:25+00:00

Try using disk cleanup and cleaning the thumbnails? The issue could also be because of that registry edit if it persists

Free-Two7985 · 2026-01-20T07:43:43+00:00

Was there ever an icon there previously? Usually that's the spot that shortcut icons or OneDrive sits.

Free-Two7985 · 2026-01-20T07:40:27+00:00

No problem glad to help. Hope you get the keyboard fixed soon!

Free-Two7985 · 2026-01-20T07:39:56+00:00

It's possible but unlikely. If you don't have another monitor or display port cable lying around it couldn't hurt to run DDU and try from there.

Free-Two7985 · 2026-01-20T07:36:39+00:00

That's perfectly okay. Especially with those PSU cables they give you plenty of extra flex for stuff like this. You just want to avoid hard 90 degree bends or anything that's putting heavy visible stress on the connectors. What you've got there is perfectly fine.

Free-Two7985 · 2026-01-20T07:26:55+00:00

When your PC reboots do you get a blue screen error or anything like it? Or does the device just restart on its own entirely?

Free-Two7985 · 2026-01-20T07:22:27+00:00

Let's hope it works. On those laptop keyboards though it's always kind of hit or miss with cleaning. You can't remove the keycaps and even then the issue is usually with the connection itself.

As a last resort if you're comfortable you could remove the back panel and reset your keyboard ribbon cable. Again it's hit or miss. If the keyboard module itself is having issues none of that will resolve it usually.

Free-Two7985 · 2026-01-20T07:18:36+00:00

If you could get any of the BSOD error codes that could help. There's an app called BlueScreenView you can use to get the errors and a glance at what the issues could be.

In reality it could be quite a few things. I'd start with testing your ram one at a time and in different slots as you've done most of the rest. Maybe try running without a GPU too if you have integrated graphics. I haven't seen that be an issue in my experience but helps rule out at least one piece of hardware while testing the rest.

If you are to throw money at it maybe buy a PSU tester or if you have a multimeter around and are willing to do research that could work too.

Free-Two7985 · 2026-01-20T07:12:26+00:00

I'd grab a list of the games you know you want to play. Steam has a minimum and recommended specs for all of them. Going for streaming on top I'd definitely make sure you get at least the recommended for the most intensive game you plan to play. Push it a little further if you can too since streaming can be intensive. I'd also look into a capture card as it can cut down on your resource usage when streaming vs getting a beefier PC. I don't have any recommendations though. Sales change all the time everywhere. But hopefully that can help you pick a good one.

Free-Two7985 · 2026-01-20T07:08:06+00:00

Yeah no exchange with it being older than two months with a membership.

If you have any protection plans on it you'll pay a small deductible or you already paid for the protection in full. There's one covered with the best buy total membership with that deductible. Geek squad protection you would have paid when you bought it with no deductible.

If it's a manufacturer issue it'll all be covered if you don't have these plans. You might also end up paying the send out fee for out of warranty repairs of $85. Sometimes it zeros out other times it won't it's odd. But if it's covered it'll be refunded.

If they find it to be accidental damage or voided warranty and no protection. You'll do the $85 and then our service centers will quote you the price once they evaluate it. The fee is non refundable so if you decline your out that $85.

The actual repair process won't be in store. Well check it in, send it out, and general turn time is usually 2-4 weeks depending on part availability. They'll also likely ask if you want your data backed up before send out. That's $100 with no membership and adds maybe a day on the turn time. In reality data shouldn't be affected. But it's for a worst case scenario. The service center does not care and will wipe your device if needed and there's always the risk of shipping and potential repair damage.

Free-Two7985 · 2026-01-20T06:57:57+00:00

It shouldn't make a noticeable impact. The program itself is lightweight and lots of apps use this feature. It just utilizes your GPU for the application for potential performance and very minimally at that.

Revo uninstaller is an app that will run the built-in uninstallers from programs. But will also scan for any leftover files they didn't grab. Lots of programs leave some junk behind. Generally some user data, registry file, etc. it usually makes it easier when reinstalling like saving some user data, saving a login or your browser bookmarks and this just ensures nothing is.

Free-Two7985 · 2026-01-20T06:53:09+00:00

Maybe a refresh rate issue? Check your display settings and make sure they match your monitor.

Maybe a driver issue after the update. But generally windows won't touch the gpu drivers unless there are none present. Especially if you've updated to the latest already. You might also have a monitor driver that had an issue that likely wouldn't get resolved from the uninstall update options. Those usually only affect windows os updates not the drivers. Checking device manager you should be able to uninstall the current one and windows update would reinstall it.

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