Do i absolutely have to reinstall Win 7 after Mobo and CPU change

[RakiaTime]

I currently have a Asrock N68-GS3 UCC and AMD Athlon II x4 640
I'm planning to switch to Asrock 970 Pro3 R2.0 and a FX-8350
Do i have absolutely no choice other than reinstalling Win 7

Honestly if i have to reinstall i'd rather cancel the whole upgrade

 

[kanewolf]

It might work or it might not. You might chase "ghost" problems for weeks before you finally give up and install the OS. While your current PC is working, gather all the installers, serial numbers, license keys, etc and backup your personal files. You can make it as painless as possible, but it is still a big change.

 

[atljsf]

i wouldn't let a old install on new hardware, it could work but surely something won't work well and you will have to reinstall later

remember that depending on the windows license used, you can or cannot move the install this way, what windows license do you have?

 

[RakiaTime]

I think its OEM but i'll have to check, it was pre installed when i bought the PC

 

[ScreamSilence]

Maybe...

This video says no https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JZn_hSlT0zk

But...
It's likely that since you are changing the board your win 7 key won't even work with your new board. Since the Keys get tied to your system.

the oem microsoft license agreement says:

“An upgrade of the motherboard is considered to result in a “new personal computer” to which Microsoft® OEM operating system software cannot be transferred from another computer. If the motherboard is upgraded or replaced for reasons other than a defect, then a new computer has been created and the license of new operating system software is required.”

Also (IDK a lot about AMD) if I am not mistaken AM3 to AM3+ is a change in architecture. So I personally say yes you would have to.

As for a CPU change no, you don't. You remove it from device manager and update drivers.

so Maybe....

I don't see that as a reason for cancelling an upgrade. Is installing windows really that troublesome? I would upgrade windows x:

(lel windows 7 :lol

Edit: actually AM3+ doesnt seem like a change in architecture to me since its compatible with AM3, so id say most likely you don't have to.

 

[bootcher]

The usual extensive troubleshooting if not doing a clean install usually takes a lot more time then just doing a clean install from the beginning. A clean install will guarantee all working drivers and no old drivers cluttered up in your install, as well as a fast new OS feel.

 

[atljsf]

if you are nice and ask to the microsoft tech support, they sometimes activate the oem licenses on new hardware

microsoft support sometimes is very friendly, other times they will tell you to buy another, well, such is life

 

[RakiaTime]

Its not as much the Win reinstall as the other stuff, programs, the games might be on another drive but still wont work because the registry is gone, and so on and so on

Also since i dont own a external drive or a big flash drive I'll have to buy one to backup my stuff

 

[ScreamSilence]

Its not as much the Win reinstall as the other stuff, programs, the games might be on another drive but still wont work because the registry is gone, and so on and so on

which games? I got games from my laptop hard drives which I stuck in my desktop running on my new desktop with a clean windows install. You just have to move the game's things from the AppData folder as well as the save data usually in my documents. Also I know steam and the battle.net client let you relocate your game install directory.

 

[ScreamSilence]

Also since i dont own a external drive or a big flash drive I'll have to buy one to backup my stuff

Buy a new smaller drive and install windows to it instead of doing a backup. 250GB SSD is like $75
120 SSD is like$50
1TB SSHD is around $75
cheapo depot brand junk 1TB HDD is $35

 

[RakiaTime]

Nah, i was just planning to stick everything on my 2nd drive

But hey, if i can get away with talking to Microsoft about my license and hunting down old drivers for a week instead of reinstalling im perfectly fine

 

[atljsf]

yes, steam lets you relocate games, ubisoft platform also has that capability, i have found that make backups of the game and install it again from the backup is simpler

 

[ScreamSilence]

Nah, i was just planning to stick everything on my 2nd drive

But hey, if i can get away with talking to Microsoft about my license and hunting down old drivers for a week instead of reinstalling im perfectly fine

Don't forget the AppData Folder 😛

 

[RakiaTime]

oh, and now i found out that putting a FX 8350 on this motherboard causes a VRM overheat, so i need a aftermarket cooler, this has turned in to a spectacular disaster

 

[ScreamSilence]

Ummm, I wasn't aware that it getting an aftermarket cooler was even an option to consider hehe.

But hey CPU coolers are one of those things that you can't really go wrong with buying used. The heat sinks don't really degrade, unless they were used in a humid area, but rust is visible in photos, even if some of the fins are slightly bent most can be rebent or left alone with no real lack of performance.

Also depending on the fan in the cooler (avoid sleeve bearing fans) rifle bearing fans can last indefinitely if you replace the oil with machine oil before the manufacturer's rated life time is up. Same for ball bearings. There's easy DIY tut's on YouTube.

I have used Singer brand all purpose machine oil from amazon with success. It is used in sewing machines and I daresay they are more intricate machines than a fan.



Also, has your problem been solved? If so could you tell us how you solved it or select someone as the best response.

People answer questions out of their free time free of charge. This would help further the community. Thank you!

 

[atljsf]

the vrm on some mainboards says it can tollerate 125 watts cpus but they really can't

buy the good heatsink with top to down fan blowing air over the vrms, you can also install some heatsinks on the vrms to help aleviate the heat problem

https://www.amazon.com/Enzotech-MOS-C10-Forged-Copper-Heatsinks/dp/B004CL89D8

but is a mod and is a risk