I've done this a couple of times (a long time ago) in a sense. I changed the motherboard and ran Windows* straight away with re-installing. It detected the new hardware and installed drivers or I installed from the motherboard CD. Not much hassle. It was a long time ago. At least 5 years probably more like 8 years or longer.

* I can't remember if it was 98, 98se, Me or XP or even a couple of them.