Dead Mobo - need advice!

[islandwarrior]

Hi everyone! 😀

So I ran in to some issues with my build (2 months old, was otherwise a happy PC) and the motherboard died - CMOS won’t reset via jumper or battery removal, won’t POST. Tried everything I could then had it confirmed at a repair shop.

I’m replacing it with a board of the same chipset (X470) and want to know what I’ll need to do to get it up and running. I’d prefer not to re-install windows (if only to avoid downloading 100GB in games), but if I have to so be it, there’s nothing irreplaceable on it.

Because my current board it bricked, I have no way to modify my boot drive (M.2) to delete drivers or registry files. What’s the best way to get my new(ish) system running? Can I just drop in the drive and hope for the best? Are there any risks involved?

I don’t have a way to nuke the boot drive, will a reinstall sufficiently reset it to squeaky-clean fresh drive status? I’m slightly lame and didn’t get a second drive (was on the list) so don’t have an alternative drive to boot from. Finally, from an optimization perspective, even if it works without re install, would it gum-up the system in any way to have the old drivers on it?

Relevant parts:
Old mobo - AsRock X470 Master Sli/AC
New mobo- MSI X470 Gaming M7 AC
CPU - Ryzen 7 2700X

PS: It was working fine (occasional memory issue but that’s because I was running an xmp profile on a finicky board) until it decided to stop POSTing. At first I thought it was a video issue, borrowed a friends verified working GPU - no dice. Multiple reboots solved the problem (but why?). Despite this, when it was in its death throes, the system ran fine while powered up. Then it deteriorated over 3 days (more reboots required) until it just quit. The ASRock board cut corners in a way that’s glaring now - zero support for troubleshooting, no beeps, no osd, no clear CMOS button, and not even an included CMOS jumper.

 

[CountMike]

I have great experience with my Asus Prime x470 pro. I suggest you look at it.

 

[Satan-IR]

First off I think you might need a new key to register your Windows as changing the motherboard constitutes 'a new system'.

Second, you said you're thinking about getting a board with same chipset and not the same brand/model. I fit was exactly the same mobo I'd say give it a try.

I'm saying this from experience changing hardware and keeping the old Windows is kind of a recipe for disaster. Hardware acting strangely, drivers conflicting, having to troubleshoot all the time and so forth. I'd say do a clean install of Windows.

What is your PSU brand and model? Are you sure it didn't kill the mobo? I'm asking because you said it started acting up, required power cycling and it "ran fine while powered up".

 

[drea.drechsler]

Just do a careful replacement of the motherboard, re-installing all the same components you had before. Windows should start up. You may have issues with network connectivity or on-board audio if installing a different brand or model, in which case uninstall the conflicting drivers and install the correct ones for every device.

I don't agree it necessarily will need a new key and even if it does it will still startup but complain about not being properly activated. If you get that, call the MS tech support line and tell the tech you had a hardware failure and see if he'll help you out.

PS BTW: you don't get 'beep' codes if you don't install a speaker. If it fails to startup or crashes repeatedly (plausible since you had so many problems before it finally died) you can do what's called a 'repair install' using an in-place upgrade. It preserves all installed apps and games and user accounts.

https://www.tenforums.com/tutorials/16397-repair-install-windows-10-place-upgrade.html

But before you do that run a CHKDSK routine and let it repair anything it finds.

 

[islandwarrior]

Just do a careful replacement of the motherboard, re-installing all the same components you had before. Windows should start up. You may have issues with network connectivity or on-board audio if installing a different brand or model, in which case uninstall the conflicting drivers and install the correct ones for every device.

I don't agree it necessarily will need a new key and even if it does it will still startup but complain about not being properly activated. If you get that, call the MS tech support line and tell the tech you had a hardware failure and see if he'll help you out.

PS BTW: you don't get 'beep' codes if you don't install a speaker. If it fails to startup or crashes repeatedly (plausible since you had so many problems before it finally died) you can do what's called a 'repair install' using an in-place upgrade. It preserves all installed apps and games and user accounts.

https://www.tenforums.com/tutorials/16397-repair-install-windows-10-place-upgrade.html

But before you do that run a CHKDSK routine and let it repair anything it finds.

Is removing a driver a tricky process? I’m considering a fresh install to avoid issues with drivers.

Do you think it’d be possible to start up as-is, then back up the SSD, do a fresh install, and restore a back up?

Also for those curious it’s running on an EVGA supernova G3 750 so I’d be surprised if the PSU fried the board.

 

[drea.drechsler]

Just do a careful replacement of the motherboard, re-installing all the same components you had before. Windows should start up. You may have issues with network connectivity or on-board audio if installing a different brand or model, in which case uninstall the conflicting drivers and install the correct ones for every device.

I don't agree it necessarily will need a new key and even if it does it will still startup but complain about not being properly activated. If you get that, call the MS tech support line and tell the tech you had a hardware failure and see if he'll help you out.

PS BTW: you don't get 'beep' codes if you don't install a speaker. If it fails to startup or crashes repeatedly (plausible since you had so many problems before it finally died) you can do what's called a 'repair install' using an in-place upgrade. It preserves all installed apps and games and user accounts.

https://www.tenforums.com/tutorials/16397-repair-install-windows-10-place-upgrade.html

But before you do that run a CHKDSK routine and let it repair anything it finds.

Is removing a driver a tricky process? I’m considering a fresh install to avoid issues with drivers.

Do you think it’d be possible to start up as-is, then back up the SSD, do a fresh install, and restore a back up?

Also for those curious it’s running on an EVGA supernova G3 750 so I’d be surprised if the PSU fried the board.

In your case it shouldn't be tricky at all. If you do it as I suggested you'll be installing the same CPU, drives and GPU and the motherboard itself will have the same chip-set so those drivers won't be a problem anyway. The only possible conflicts left would be network driver and audio, which aren't critical for basic operation.

Any motherboard specific applications will refuse to run. You just go down the app list, right click on them and click on 'uninstall'. That simple. Then install your new motherboard's applications.

Definitely back up your SSD if you have the means to do so, then if things should go south you still have the option of doing a fresh install with reformat. But it's highly unlikely you should have to since even if you can't get it to settle down all you have to do is the 'repair install' which does the same thing as a 'fresh install' but without blowing away apps and games.

I've done that 'repair install' numerous times on different computers, some with motherboard changes and some where Windows was crashing because memory was overclocked too high and it corrupted the partition. It worked perfectly every time. It's not that difficult as it actually proceeds just like a 'fresh install', you just have to be careful to select a few different options is all.

 

[islandwarrior]

Just do a careful replacement of the motherboard, re-installing all the same components you had before. Windows should start up. You may have issues with network connectivity or on-board audio if installing a different brand or model, in which case uninstall the conflicting drivers and install the correct ones for every device.

I don't agree it necessarily will need a new key and even if it does it will still startup but complain about not being properly activated. If you get that, call the MS tech support line and tell the tech you had a hardware failure and see if he'll help you out.

PS BTW: you don't get 'beep' codes if you don't install a speaker. If it fails to startup or crashes repeatedly (plausible since you had so many problems before it finally died) you can do what's called a 'repair install' using an in-place upgrade. It preserves all installed apps and games and user accounts.

https://www.tenforums.com/tutorials/16397-repair-install-windows-10-place-upgrade.html

But before you do that run a CHKDSK routine and let it repair anything it finds.

Is removing a driver a tricky process? I’m considering a fresh install to avoid issues with drivers.

Do you think it’d be possible to start up as-is, then back up the SSD, do a fresh install, and restore a back up?

Also for those curious it’s running on an EVGA supernova G3 750 so I’d be surprised if the PSU fried the board.

In your case it shouldn't be tricky at all. If you do it as I suggested you'll be installing the same CPU, drives and GPU and the motherboard itself will have the same chip-set so those drivers won't be a problem anyway. The only possible conflicts left would be network driver and audio, which aren't critical for basic operation.

Any motherboard specific applications will refuse to run. You just go down the app list, right click on them and click on 'uninstall'. That simple. Then install your new motherboard's applications.

Definitely back up your SSD if you have the means to do so, then if things should go south you still have the option of doing a fresh install with reformat. But it's highly unlikely you should have to since even if you can't get it to settle down all you have to do is the 'repair install' which does the same thing as a 'fresh install' but without blowing away apps and games.

I've done that 'repair install' numerous times on different computers, some with motherboard changes and some where Windows was crashing because memory was overclocked too high and it corrupted the partition. It worked perfectly every time. It's not that difficult as it actually proceeds just like a 'fresh install', you just have to be careful to select a few different options is all.

It worked like a charm, didn't even have to reinstall audio or network drivers. Plug-n-play