Question about installing windows after upgrading my motherboard

LockedOnTarget

So I'm getting a new motherboard/cpu installed, and since my current version of windows was a pre-installed OEM copy, I need to install a new windows on it afterwards. I've gotten ahold of a new copy of Windows 7, and would like to do this myself instead of paying the store to do it. But I've never done this before. Since I'm keeping my existing hard drive, I'm not sure how this works. What will happen if I try to turn on the PC after I get it back from the shop with the new motherboard put in? Will it actually load up my old windows program, or will my hard drive be effectively wiped, or what? Or will it just go to some sort of boot-up screen where I'll be instructed to put in my windows disc and go from there? Will this be pretty easy or complicated?

Also, are there any important system files I need to be backing up before doing this? Aside from using the "make a recovery disk" thing? I have an extenal hard drive if so. Will a recovery disk even be of any use, considering I'll have a new MB and will be cut off from my current windows?

Tav

It will just boot up as normal. Putting in a new mobo/cpu won't do anything to your hard drive. There's no harm in doing a fresh install of Windows but it really shouldn't be necessary.

LockedOnTarget

Well the windows my pc came with is an OEM tied to my current pc/motherboard. So a fresh copy of windows is needed with a new MB.

initiatefailure

On XP there used to be problems where windows couldn't recognize the hardware if you switched everything out. When I built my last computer going from 7 to 7 it din't complain at all, took a minute to update it's hardware profiles and booted up. I still did a clean install because I wanted that fresh look and feel.

Also, windows says it's tied to one PC but that's not really the case. However since it came pre installed on your old computer I'm guessing you don't have the cd key and possibly not even a windows disk. In that case I would say yeah buy a new copy but if you have an install disk or even just a key then you don't really need to buy anything new.

Tofystedeth

Also, windows says it's tied to one PC but that's not really the case. However since it came pre installed on your old computer I'm guessing you don't have the cd key and possibly not even a windows disk. In that case I would say yeah buy a new copy but if you have an install disk or even just a key then you don't really need to buy anything new.

With an OEM computer there should be a license sticker on it somewhere with your Windows license number on it. By should, I mean must. If there isn't it's a scam and MS would love to hear about it. Getting media with the OS on it is less common, especially these days, but you can buy it from your OEM for usually around $20.

If you sent it to some place to replace the mobo, they may or may not have wiped the hard drive. I've seen places wipe the hard drive before replacing the LCD in a laptop. Crazy.

Anyway. It may already be too late to back up your data. If it is, or if you don't have any data to back up, go ahead and toss that new Windows 7 disc and go to town. If you had XP on there previously, you wouldn't be able to upgrade it anyway. There's no supported upgrade path between XP and 7. You have to do a wipe. (There's apparently ways around that, but they don't always work well.)

nexuscrawler

Tofystedeth wrote: »

Also, windows says it's tied to one PC but that's not really the case. However since it came pre installed on your old computer I'm guessing you don't have the cd key and possibly not even a windows disk. In that case I would say yeah buy a new copy but if you have an install disk or even just a key then you don't really need to buy anything new.

With an OEM computer there should be a license sticker on it somewhere with your Windows license number on it. By should, I mean must. If there isn't it's a scam and MS would love to hear about it. Getting media with the OS on it is less common, especially these days, but you can buy it from your OEM for usually around $20.

If you sent it to some place to replace the mobo, they may or may not have wiped the hard drive. I've seen places wipe the hard drive before replacing the LCD in a laptop. Crazy.

Anyway. It may already be too late to back up your data. If it is, or if you don't have any data to back up, go ahead and toss that new Windows 7 disc and go to town. If you had XP on there previously, you wouldn't be able to upgrade it anyway. There's no supported upgrade path between XP and 7. You have to do a wipe. (There's apparently ways around that, but they don't always work well.)

When I tried to install 7 over XP the installer basically froze the xp install and moved it's files to a windows.old folder

worked pretty well

Tofystedeth

Right, but it doesn't upgrade your XP install, just puts it somewhere else. It's not like XP -> Vista or Vista -> 7, where it upgrades the OS and leaves all your installed programs.

Aeyther

LockedOnTarget wrote: »

So I'm getting a new motherboard/cpu installed, and since my current version of windows was a pre-installed OEM copy, I need to install a new windows on it afterwards. I've gotten ahold of a new copy of Windows 7, and would like to do this myself instead of paying the store to do it. But I've never done this before. Since I'm keeping my existing hard drive, I'm not sure how this works. What will happen if I try to turn on the PC after I get it back from the shop with the new motherboard put in? Will it actually load up my old windows program, or will my hard drive be effectively wiped, or what? Or will it just go to some sort of boot-up screen where I'll be instructed to put in my windows disc and go from there? Will this be pretty easy or complicated?

Also, are there any important system files I need to be backing up before doing this? Aside from using the "make a recovery disk" thing? I have an extenal hard drive if so. Will a recovery disk even be of any use, considering I'll have a new MB and will be cut off from my current windows?

Definitely back up everything you don't want to lose when you upgrade, just copy everything over to your external HDD. On the install part, if I were you though I would just do a clean install with the Windows 7.

Now most places sell an "upgrade" version of Windows and a "full" version. I don't know which one you got a hold of, but it can be done using either.

The full version can be booted off of and installed right there.

The upgrade is a little more complex but not hard.

The "upgrade" version requires you to have a pre-installed copy of windows before it'll do the full install, which it will do, it just needs to recognize that Windows is installed first.

First, boot from the disc and it'll give you two options, upgrade and clean install. Do the clean install. It'll be fairly quick and you'll have a small version Windows installed.

As soon as it's done, go to explorer and run the disc again in Windows. Start to install it again, this time selecting the "upgrade" option. This will take much longer and will install the full version since it recognizes you have Windows already installed.

After it's done, you can enter the product key and it should work.