New Motherboard questions.

[Digital X]

Considering a new Motherboard mainly for more connectors for fans etc. I've heard that using the same chipset from old mobo to new will not require a fresh install (as I don't have the disc, due to prebuilt)

Currently using an IPISB CH2(Chicago H67 Chipset) and not too fussed about what chipset I go with as long as the install/setup is easy as can be. Looking around the £50-£70 range.

1. Can I remove everything off my current one, install the new one and place everything back on and go as normal to the desktop just as I use my current PC?

2. If I did need to make a repair/install disc how would I do this? I have already had to do a new install due to a failed Linux install and something about partitioning and formatting, which was stressful and had no clue what I was doing, but managed it eventually)

3. What do I do about the chipset drivers, uninstalling software, Hard Drives etc?

Not sure "what kind" of prebuilt, I've just heard a lot about the OS being tied to a specific board and a reformat and re-install is needed.

 

[dma0991]

1. It is possible but there's a chance where it won't work. I've sucessfully done a transplant from an Asus P8P67 Pro with SB to a ASRock Z77 Extreme4 with IB and Asus E35M1-M PRO to an ASRock H61M/U3S3 + SB with no issues. I still do recommend doing a fresh install despite the possibility that it will work.

2. Never found a need for a repair disc as I always do a fresh install. I assume that you deleted the Linux partition which holds the MBR. As you delete the Linux partition, the Linux boot manager is deleted and the MBR of a Windows partition goes along with it. Here's how you fix the missing MBR.

3. Refer back to #1. Its usually better to do a fresh install to avoid any conflict with older drivers.

If your Windows OS is a retail copy, just give Microsoft a call and they'll reactivate it for you.

 

[spooky2th]

It won't work unless the new MB is very similar to the old MB. Like the same drivers or drivers that work in the new MB.

You can sysprep your OS before plugging it to new PC to avoid boot BSODs. To do this, go to C:\Windows\System32\Sysprep\sysprep.exe, check 'generalize', select 'OOBE' on drop down menu, and 'Shut down'.

When your new PC boots off of your old HDD, you'll get the 'out of box experience' screen, asking you to create new user account. Just call it anything and after that's done, you can log off and switch to your main user account.

Once you're logged in with your main account, you can safely proceed with deleting the newly made account in Control Panel > User Accounts applet

Sysprep basically gets rid of all platform specific data such as drivers and configuration files.

 

[spooky2th]

Why does that yellow-round-face appear in my post above??? I tried to edit it out and it reappeared again.

 

[Kougar]

I've transplanted my OS drive from an X58 board to a Z87 motherboard and the OS was fine. Windows 7 and 8 are both capable of adapting to newer chipsets in most situations as not much in them changes anymore.

The biggest factor is you need to make sure both boards are using the same AHCI SATA port setting for the OS drive, changing it from IDE to AHCI can cause blue screens and will require a hack to make it work.

As DMA0991 said you are taking a risk doing it, and you need to clean out the old drivers before installing the ones specific to the new motherboard. Also, a complete mainboard changeout will require you to reactivate your copy of Windows.

 

[abekl]

Why does that yellow-round-face appear in my post above??? I tried to edit it out and it reappeared again.

Because the keystrokes are the same as the ones used to make a smiley face.

 

[tkivisto]

I moved from an AMD system to an Intel system and it allowed it under Windows 7. I was blown away. That is NOT recommended but it worked (somehow...) I swapped motherboard, processor, but brought in the same ram, video card, HDD, and forgot to set the PC to boot from the CD so I could use Acronis to do a full disk restoration with changed hardware (which was the plan all along). It was a hilarious mistake and I was so shocked that I found myself sitting in Windows all of a sudden with the new motherboard and CPU working fine.

One that I did try on purpose was going from an H61 to an H77 mini-itx motherboard. So the chipsets were 1 generation apart. Windows didn't have a problem. Likely in your case, you will only need to get the drivers for whatever add-ons the new motherboard has (LAN, sound card, USB3, etc...) AND Windows will likely ask you to Activate. When I clicked on "Activate" it ran through and it was fine, no phone call needed or anything else.