Drivers

[astrais]

Hi,
Recently I ordered an AMD Bulldozer FX-8120 8 Core 3.10GHz - Asus M5A78L-M USB3 HDMI Motherboard - 4GB DDR3 RAM Bundle
as an upgrade.
My Current System:
Intel Core 2 Duo 2.3ghz
Foxconn G33M Mobo
AMD Radeon HD 6770 Vapor X
500GB HDD
500W Power Supply
Windows Vista 32bit(wont change this)

I ordered a bundle as it will be fully assembled and tested. I am confused on the drivers, I will not be installing a fresh windows copy. So I want to know should I install the drivers before I install the hardware and how do I get rid of my old drivers(foxconn mobo) without damaging anything.

Thanks.

 

[monu_08]

u mean to say ur hdd contains old driver but dont worry about it u can easily install new driver from new mobo just plug hdd sata slot into mobo and first of all read instruction manual of cpu it require to update of bios of mobo first before installing any other driver

 

[daneel97]

put the hardware together and let the bios do it's job after that re-install windows and all the drivers

 

[AntiZig]

I would recommend to do a fresh install of OS on a formatted HDD when replacing a motherboard

reason being as follows: you will not be able to install new drivers while using your old motherboard
there's a chance your PC will not boot with your old HDD still having old motherboard drivers, requiring you to format it anyway

So, my advice to you, to save you from possible headaches down the road, back up your data, and reinstall windows when you get your new board

 

[astrais]

When I first bought my computer I bought it from dell, then changed the case of it and gpu and power supply. So I think when I reinstall windows, they probably gave me an OEM version of it, so it probably automatically installs the old mobo drivers as part of Dells OEM windows. Btw How do I reinstall windows got no windows disc with my computer only got a restore disc and drivers disc.

 

[astrais]

should i follow step 4 on this page http://support.dell.com/support/topics/global.aspx/support/kcs/document?docid=52182

 

[astrais]

I think i should just follow this http://support.dell.com/support/topics/global.aspx/support/kcs/document?c=us&l=en&s=gen&docid=DSN_339949&isLegacy=true

 

[astrais]

I looked at the discs that came with my computer. Theres a dell OS Reinstall disc. Monitor driver disc. Microsfoft works 9. Roxio. Dell drivers and utillites. Ati Radeon HD 2400 pro drivers(my old gpu which i replaced, took out old drivers and put in new).

 

[astrais]

Guys, I dont understand something. Dell shows you how to reinstall and backup. How do I wipe my hard drive out/reformat it like take the windows out so that i can reinstall it. After I have backed up and how do i reformat it. this is what dell says




Step 4: Reinstall the operating system from the OS Setup Disk.
For Windows Vista

1 Insert the Windows Install DVD into the DVD drive, and then restart your computer. When the message Press any key to boot from the CD or DVD ... appears, press a key to continue booting to the DVD.

Note:
If the computer does not boot to DVD, follow these instructions. If it does boot to DVD ignore this note.
1 Power on the system and watch for the Dell logo to appear.

2 When the Dell logo appears, press the <F12> key to load the Boot Menu. If the menu does not appear, restart the system and tap <F12> several times at the Dell logo screen.

3 When the Boot Menu appears, highlight the CD/DVD drive (listed as "CDROM", "CD/DVD" or "CD/DVD/CD-RW") entry from the list and press <Enter>.


2 After Vista Setup loads, confirm the Language, Time, Currency and Keyboard Method settings are correct then click Next.

3 On the Windows Vista Installation page, click Install Now.

4 Review the terms and click I accept the license terms to proceed.

5 On the Which type of installation do you want? window, click Custom (advanced).

6 On the Where do you want to install Windows window, make sure the largest Primary Partition is selected then click Next. If the Primary partition has 0GB free, there should be a separate line for Unallocated Space. Select this unallocated space and click Next.

Note:
Your computer will restart several times during installation.
7 When the Setup window appears, select a user name, password, and picture for your user account.

8 On the next couple of screens, use the default or recommended settings prompted and click Next until you see the Time & Date screen.

9 Click to select your time zone then click Next.

10 After the Thank You message appears, click Start.

 

[Dark Lord of Tech]

Asus M5A78L-M USB3 HDMI Motherboard < your new motherboard makes that copy of windows not valid on the new pc,it will bounce back at activation as not genuine.

 

[Dark Lord of Tech]

Your copy of Windows is locked to the PC on which you purchased it. You cannot transfer that license to another PC.
You can upgrade any components or peripherals on your PC and keep your license intact. You can replace the motherboard with an identical model or an equivalent model from the OEM if it fails. (However, if you personally replace or upgrade the motherboard, your OEM Windows license is null and void.)

 

[astrais]

http://www.pcworld.com/article/200827/upgrade_your_motherboard_the_easy_way.html
Is this possible, my windows is genuine and was preinstalled on my pc by dell.
Check that link, it says that I can do it. I really dont want to get a new windows.

 

[astrais]

Heres what is says
Post-Upgrade Follow-Up
Before you attempt to boot into Windows, get into the BIOS setup program by pressing F2 (Intel motherboards) or Del (most other motherboards). You want to check the boot order, particularly if you have more than one hard drive--you need to make sure that the Windows boot drive is the first drive the system sees. Most modern motherboards allow you to specify which SATA drive is the boot drive.

Also check that you have the right storage type specified for your configuration: IDE, AHCI, or RAID. (Note: If you're using a solid-state drive, don't enable AHCI.)

Once you're confident that the correct boot drive is specified, boot up the system.

Assuming you've connected everything properly, you should see the Windows 7 boot screen. You'll then need to wait as Windows enumerates all the new hardware. Since I installed the latest Intel motherboard drivers prior to taking out the old motherboard, this process went smoothly for me.

After all the devices have been enumerated and the drivers updated, you'll need to reboot the PC.

Once you've rebooted a second time, check to see if Windows thinks it needs to be activated. You may get a warning to this effect. You can just bring up the system property sheet (in the System control panel) and look at the bottom. There you'll see an 'activate windows now' query, along with an expiration period. I've encountered grace periods as short as three days in a motherboard upgrade; in other instances, Windows doesn't need reactivation. It seems to be something of a crap shoot, but the majority of the time, you'll need to reactivate the OS.



In my particular case, activating over the Internet worked fine. Bear in mind, however, that you may have to resort to contacting the Microsoft activation hotline via telephone if activation over the Internet is denied. The process takes only a few minutes, and requires entering codes into fields. If the automated system asks you how many computers this copy of Windows is running on, make sure you answer "1"

 

[astrais]

I have the reinstall disc that came with my dell pc. Will this work - I just boot up windows with my new mobo, cpu, ram. While using the old hdd windows install.

 

[astrais]

Can I Transfer Win Vista 32bit OEM to my new/old build

 

[astrais]

I think I should try booting from my current windows without reinstalling the os, if that does not work I will reformat

 

[AntiZig]

I think I should try booting from my current windows without reinstalling the os, if that does not work I will reformat

that sounds like a good plan, good luck.

 

[astrais]

Now as for the drivers. As I am going to be trying to boot from my old windows with new mobo, which chipset drivers/any drivers should I remove?

 

[astrais]

And how should I remove them? If I remove them while in windows wouldnt it like crash and damage the system?

 

[astrais]

It says on this page http://en.community.dell.com/support-forums/software-os/w/microsoft_os/1434.1-1-a-clean-install-of-windows-7-on-dell-systems.aspx

It says
If using retail media you will be prompted for a product key. Use your product key found on the COA sticker found at the base of your system or your purchased upgrade key/retail key/OEM key.

A Dell OEM disc should not require you to input this key and this screen should not display.

 

[AntiZig]

just try installing new motherboard drivers onto the HDD before you switch out the hardware

 

[astrais]

But should I remove the old drivers? and how?

 

[astrais]

Would this be ok?- Before installing the new hardware I backup data ( duh), Install new mobo drivers, change to standard controoler sata following this article http://scottiestech.info/2010/03/17/upgrade-your-motherboard-without-reinstalling-your-os/
and then i should turn off and begin hardware changes and then boot up and see if it loads into windows, if it doesnt i should use the dell reinstall disc and repair.

 

[astrais]

Now im just confused, there are soo many articles suggesting different ways to do this, like this one http://daywalkerfl.hubpages.com/hub/How-to-change-your-motherboard-and-avoid-reinstalling-Windows-XP

 

[AntiZig]

because typically it's not done this way as I've already explained to you many posts above. don't worry about old drivers, the main idea is to get the new board to boot with the old HDD and OS install, you can remove old drivers later.