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Upgrading Motherboard.

immodiumimmodium Member RarePosts: 2,610
in Hardware
I'll be upgrading my motherboard, cpu and ram next month and was wondering if I need to format my hard drive or I can just plug and play?

I watched this video and they make it sound so simple.


According to the video all I have to do is make sure I've associated my Windows license to my account. There's no mention of uninstalling any drivers related to the motherboard.

Is that true? I can just whip out the old motherboard, stick in the new one and windows will boot up happily and install needed drivers?

image

Comments

  • RidelynnRidelynn Member EpicPosts: 7,383
    edited May 2019
    You can try....

    I've never got so lucky in real life. Even when I have got a previous installation to boot up, the old drivers seem to conflict and cause issues and I ended up reinstalling anyway.

    Of all the things you do in a motherboard swap, honestly, re-installing Windows is the least painful of the experiences (if you have your data set up and backed up correctly).

    Motherboard swap is 75% of the work of building a new computer out right, but without the satisfaction of having an entire new computer. 
    immodium[Deleted User]
  • BloodaxesBloodaxes Member EpicPosts: 4,662
    Honestly, unless you don't want to do it, it's always good from time to time to format and reinstall everything. With time the system can get slower.
    immodium[Deleted User]

  • TillerTiller Member LegendaryPosts: 11,449
    edited May 2019
    I had this same question, the answer, it's more convoluted than you think and not worth the time it  takes to do it properly.



    Also key transfer is iffy. I'm not sure you can do it over the phone anymore. Watch this Linus Tech tips, he explains it.




    [Deleted User]immodium
    SWG Bloodfin vet
    Elder Jedi/Elder Bounty Hunter
     
  • immodiumimmodium Member RarePosts: 2,610
    Probably go with a complete format of my SSD then. Only got Windows and a few games on it. All important stuff documents etc are on separate HDD.

    I upgraded from Windows 7 to 10. When I reinstall 7 with the CD will it update to version 10? I have linked my license with my Microsoft account.

    image
  • TillerTiller Member LegendaryPosts: 11,449
    edited May 2019
    immodium said:
    Probably go with a complete format of my SSD then. Only got Windows and a few games on it. All important stuff documents etc are on separate HDD.

    I upgraded from Windows 7 to 10. When I reinstall 7 with the CD will it update to version 10? I have linked my license with my Microsoft account.
    Your license is now a windows 10 license, though you can go back still I think. Best thing you could do is create a USB windows media install and install a fresh copy that way. Trust me, you'll thank me later.



    immodium[Deleted User]Grunty
    SWG Bloodfin vet
    Elder Jedi/Elder Bounty Hunter
     
  • QuizzicalQuizzical Member LegendaryPosts: 25,483
    I would recommend that you reinstall.  What I've done is to install to a different SSD and get that up and working, then plug the old SSD into the computer and copy files over.  That way, the file transfer happens at SSD speeds.
    immodiumSandmanjw
  • TEKK3NTEKK3N Member RarePosts: 1,115
    immodium said:
    I'll be upgrading my motherboard, cpu and ram next month and was wondering if I need to format my hard drive or I can just plug and play?

    I watched this video and they make it sound so simple.

    Just plug and play, no need to format.
    Though if you have sensible data, you might want to make a back up, in case you mess up the installation (really unlikely).
    The hard drive is the easiest hardware to install, not much different than plugging an external hard drive.

    Usually the Windows license is associated with the hard drive itself (my case) or your Windows account (which I don't use).
    Worst that can happen you will have to re-register Windows on the new machine (5 minutes process).
    As long as Windows is associated with one machine only, you are good to go.
    immodium
  • OzmodanOzmodan Member EpicPosts: 9,726
    Tiller said:
    I had this same question, the answer, it's more convoluted than you think and not worth the time it  takes to do it properly.



    Also key transfer is iffy. I'm not sure you can do it over the phone anymore. Watch this Linus Tech tips, he explains it.



    Yep you can still do it over the phone, just did it for my gf a couple months ago.
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