Important question please help!

[XGameGhostX]

Hey,

Guys i am planning on changing my mobo and cpu but the prob is do i have to reinstall windows cause i have a oem computer. Will i lose any of my info when changing if so do i have to backup files Because i have to many. Im really skeptical cause people say that u cant reinstall windows on new mobo on oem. I have windows 7 home premium 64bit. Can i just without doing any thing install my new mobo and cpu the boot windows or will it not work? i do not want to purchase windows again. My computer is: HP Pavilion Elite HPE-400y Desktop PC

 

[weberdarren97]

You can always re-install Windows. It doesn't matter what version. OEM versions are tricky to get to activate though, I suggest calling Microsoft for assistance if you get stuck.

And yes, I recommend backing up all of your data. Even if you don't have to do a fresh install, a back up is always a good idea. Too many times have I seen Windows just crap all over the hard drive while attempting to adjust to a new chipset/motherboard.

How large of a backup are we talking about here? What do you have for backup media?

 

[XGameGhostX]

You can always re-install Windows. It doesn't matter what version. OEM versions are tricky to get to activate though, I suggest calling Microsoft for assistance if you get stuck.

And yes, I recommend backing up all of your data. Even if you don't have to do a fresh install, a back up is always a good idea. Too many times have I seen Windows just crap all over the hard drive while attempting to adjust to a new chipset/motherboard.

How large of a backup are we talking about here? What do you have for backup media?

I used well over 650gb it gonna take forever for it to backup. Do i rlly need to?

 

[blazorthon]

Sometimes you don't need to do anything and it will work after replacing the motherboard. Sometimes you need to install the board's drivers first. In all cases, a reinstall is usually the best idea even if it's not necessary. Also note that key for OEM Windows is technically tied to the motherboard, so that may or may not cause problems with Windows claiming to be invalid. You technically aren't supposed to change the motherboard out.

 

[XGameGhostX]

Sometimes you don't need to do anything and it will work after replacing the motherboard. Sometimes you need to install the board's drivers first. In all cases, a reinstall is usually the best idea even if it's not necessary. Also note that key for OEM Windows is technically tied to the motherboard, so that may or may not cause problems with Windows claiming to be invalid. You technically aren't supposed to change the motherboard out.

Will i lose any info if i just stick in my mobo and it failed can i put the old 1 back in and would it work?

 

[blazorthon]

Like weberdarren97 said, sometimes Windows will crap all over itself when you change the motherboard. Backing up is very important when doing something like this, even if it will take a few hours or even a day.

 

[XGameGhostX]

Like weberdarren97 said, sometimes Windows will crap all over itself when you change the motherboard. Backing up is very important when doing something like this, even if it will take a few hours or a day.

How do i back up, how long would it take and will it backup everything about 670gb of stuff?

 

[blazorthon]

How do i back up, how long would it take and will it backup everything about 670gb of stuff?

One way I like is to simply run a drive copy to another drive (any partition editor can do this). You can probably run a full drive copy to another 1TB+ drive in about two to four hours.

 

[XGameGhostX]

How do i back up, how long would it take and will it backup everything about 670gb of stuff?

One way I like is to simply run a drive copy to another drive (any partition editor can do this). You can probably run a full drive copy to another 1TB+ drive in about two to four hours.

I have to buy another 1 🙁 but if i do can i put that drive in a new computer and have same programs like microsoft word etc. without having to buy another license?

 

[blazorthon]

If the other computer has the same hardware, then maybe. Generally, no, the drivers for a different computer aren't installed yet. You can try installing them and it might work, but there's no guarantees. Either way, you're technically not supposed to because the license doesn't cover that.

 

[XGameGhostX]

If the other computer has the same hardware, then maybe. Generally, no, the drivers for a different computer aren't installed yet. You can try installing them and it might work, but there's no guarantees. Either way, you're technically not supposed to because the license doesn't cover that.

what is the actual chance of me losing my stuff after replacing mobo and cpu maybe gpu?

 

[ss202sl]

If your data is important, then you should have a backup. Forget re-installing or anything else. When the drive dies, all you have is your backup.

Do you NEED a backup? Only you can answer that

 

[blazorthon]

I can't put a number % on that question with any real accuracy. In my experience, it is unlikely, but it can and does happen on occasion. Note that I mostly don't do things with OEM copies of Windows, so my experience may be unrepresentative of what generally happens with doing these things on OEM Windows. A backup will drop the chance to almost zero.

If you reinstall windows using the same version of windows, IE put Windows 7 on it, then the installer for Windows *should* move all of your data to a Windows.old folder if you don't format the disk. It has never failed to for me, but I always backed up just in case.

Also note that if Windows figures out that you changed the board or reused a license on a second computer, which it sometimes does, then it will repeatedly post a nag screen to annoy you.

 

[weberdarren97]

Sometimes you don't need to do anything and it will work after replacing the motherboard. Sometimes you need to install the board's drivers first. In all cases, a reinstall is usually the best idea even if it's not necessary. Also note that key for OEM Windows is technically tied to the motherboard, so that may or may not cause problems with Windows claiming to be invalid. You technically aren't supposed to change the motherboard out.

Will i lose any info if i just stick in my mobo and it failed can i put the old 1 back in and would it work?

At this point, call Microsoft and tell them that your old motherboard failed. Even if that's not the exact reason you switched boards, it will get their attention. Also explain to them that you're unwilling to buy another copy of Windows. They will help you activate on the new board without needing to buy anything.

What is the actual chance of you losing your stuff without performing a fresh install? I'm guessing about 10-20% chance.

Do you have any other computers with hard drives that aren't necessary for their operation? If so, just grab a hard drive out of one of them, hook it up as a secondary drive to this motherboard and back up to that drive.

 

[weberdarren97]

I can't put a number % on that question with any real accuracy. In my experience, it is unlikely, but it can and does happen on occasion. Note that I mostly don't do things with OEM copies of Windows, so my experience may be unrepresentative of what generally happens with doing these things on OEM Windows. A backup will drop the chance to almost zero.

If you reinstall windows using the same version of windows, IE put Windows 7 on it, then the installer for Windows *should* move all of your data to a Windows.old folder if you don't format the disk. It has never failed to for me, but I always backed up just in case.

Also note that if Windows figures out that you changed the board or reused a license on a second computer, which it sometimes does, then it will repeatedly post a nag screen to annoy you.

I can't guarantee the windows.old thing actually working in all cases. Sometimes it screws up while moving the data to the folder. This is rare, but it does happen.

Also, what are you defining as a nag screen? In my experience, it will deactivate if it senses a motherboard change.

 

[blazorthon]

On a computer that figured out I had reused a license (I know, bad me), upon booting, a dialogue pops up complaining about Windows not being activated before the desktop appears. Once the desktop appears, a similar nag screen would pop up. Whenever I opened up a Microsoft program, like notepad or paint, the nag screen appeared. Every 30 minutes or so, even if I'm using non-Microsoft programs or doing nothing at all, the nag screen appeared by first minimizing any full screen programs and then popping up.

Basically, the nag screen was just a dialogue box that would complain about Windows not being activated and you could close it once it opened or click on a link to buy a key. I eventually got around to grabbing another key from a friend's computer that failed. That was with Windows 7 Professional x64. The same thing happened to another computer of mine with Windows server 2008 R2, which is basically just Windows 7 with some features shifted around.

 

[rgd1101]

MERGED QUESTION
Question from XGameGhostX : "Important Question about motherboard:"

Hey,

So long story short: I bought a prebuilt computer about 4 years ago but now i am upgrading the mobo and cpu. My question is what do i have to do after installing it into the case i know how to do that i need help with what to do before and after. I heard that i need to reinstall windows but i dont have the KEY!!! I am a little nervous since i already bought mobo and cpu. I have windows 7 Home premium 64bit. I do NOT want to upgrade to windows 8 or 10 any suggestions?

Thanks a TON!

prebuilt PC with windows preinstalled, meas that you have OME license.
with OMS license you cannot change motherboard, as this will invalidate the license...

Even if you install the motherboard and try to boot and assuming that it will boot and windows will recognize the new devices (this is a very stretched shot) i am still not sure how you can exit this situation without a windows 7 key for your new motherboard.. because windows will most probably tell that this is invalid license...

When you're only replacing a few components it's kind of a toss up whether you need to reinstall win or not... I redid my entire computer except for my drives and one GPU, and my copy of Windows 10 still worked. Others have not been so lucky. If you really want to err on the side of caution, then it would be best to reinstall the OS, with a fresh key. If you're willing to chance it... you could do it without having to do anything, just replacing the motherboard + CPU and letting it detect your new hardware.

When you're only replacing a few components it's kind of a toss up whether you need to reinstall win or not... I redid my entire computer except for my drives and one GPU, and my copy of Windows 10 still worked. Others have not been so lucky. If you really want to err on the side of caution, then it would be best to reinstall the OS, with a fresh key. If you're willing to chance it... you could do it without having to do anything, just replacing the motherboard + CPU and letting it detect your new hardware.

I have a HP Pavilion Elite HPE-400y Desktop PC .If something happens will there be any turning back or am I screwed?

might not be a turn back. sometimes replacing the mobo and cpu will fail the windows boot. going back to original mobo, cpu might not solve it...

I mean... There's the turn back of formatting the drive, which is always an option. But at that point, might as well have fresh installed from the beginning. Never attempted to upgrade a prebuilt, always built my own.

 

[R_1]

MERGED QUESTION
Question from XGameGhostX : "Im about to change motherboard need help!"

OK i got a new mobo, cpu, and psu. I am going to replace those components in a prebuilt computer. I currently have Windows 7 home premium 64 bit. If I just replace it without doing anything and then turn my computer on what will happen? Will I have to buy a new key, hope not. And will I lose any data?

Thank you,

the prebuilts OS is tied to that system. it is an OEM Copy and that means once activated on one machine it cannot be activated on another, the new system would count as another.
your data can still be saved. move all the data you need to keep and put it in a folder on the hard drive called backup1 or another name not used by windows, when you re-install the new windows, you will have to re-install, the data in your backup folder will remain intact as long as you do not format the drive.
after the install of the new OS the data can be moved to where you need it

the prebuilts OS is tied to that system. it is an OEM Copy and that means once activated on one machine it cannot be activated on another, the new system would count as another.
your data can still be saved. move all the data you need to keep and put it in a folder on the hard drive called backup1 or another name not used by windows, when you re-install the new windows, you will have to re-install, the data in your backup folder will remain intact as long as you do not format the drive.
after the install of the new OS the data can be moved to where you need it

If i buy a new retail key would it confilct with oem system?

you would still have to reinstall. you may be able to upgrade the OEM edition.

 

[rgd1101]

stop spamming the forum