Acer RS880PM-AM to MSI 970A-G46

[MethozS402]

Hi everybody!! I have this Acer Aspire M3450-UR30P and after a week trying to install a use a EVGA GTX 960, my conclusion is that I need a new mobo, so this are my actual specs on the acer:

AMD FX 4100 / 3.6 GHz ( 3.8 GHz ) ( Quad-Core ) Turbo CORE Technology
RAM: 12 GB (installed) / 16 GB (max)
1 TB Hard Drive standard, Serial ATA-300
Graphics Controller: ATI Radeon HD 4250
OS Provided: Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit Edition
Power: 520 Watt
Motherboard: Acer RS880PM-AM

So I planning to keep everything except for the trashy and locked RS880PM-AM mobo and buy the MSI 970A-G46 AM3+ and a new case, so my questions are:
1) Do I need a clean HDD to make a installation of windows?
2) if is so, how do I clean/format my HDD if it has hidden partitions with Acer information?

Thnx in advance for your replays.

 

[SuperSoph_WD]

Hey there, MethozS402!

1. Well, you'd definitely need a new Windows OS installation altogether, but you can surely transfer the data from the HDD somewhere else before installing the new OS onto it. Changing the mobo is like changing the computer itself, besides the OS communicates with it whereas the HDD is just a storage carrier.

2. You won't need to manually format the HDD yourself, installing Windows will give you the option to re-format and even re-partition the HDD. However, if you want to be absolutely sure that it's wiped, you can use a third-party formatting tool that will allow you to fully erase your drive. Here's a similar thread you might find useful: http://www.tomshardware.co.uk/forum/16735-63-completely-erase-hard-drive-reinstall-windows

Good luck! Hope I was able to help you out!
SuperSoph_WD

 

[MethozS402]

thnx a lot men!! that's what I going to do!