Motherboard upgrade (LGA 1155)

[Williamdry12]

Im helping my friend upgrade his PC and he has just brought a new Motherboard (ASRock Z77 pro 3) and he will be re-using his old CPU (intel core i7-2600)

now i know how to physically install the motherboard and all the components attached to it, but the software side i need a little help on.

If anyone could give me help on this, preferably a step by step for doing it, that would be awesome. Thanks in advance!

 

[OllieOxenFree]

Does the harddrive already have OS and all prev. files or are you starting with a fresh harddrive

 

[Wolfshadw]

Since you're installing onto a new motherboard, you'd be best off with a clean install of your OS.

Back up all your data onto a separate hard drive or other location.
Insert your OS Disk into the DVD drive (or use a USB stick) and begin the OS installation.

-Wolf sends

 

[Williamdry12]

No, he will be re-using his old HDD, with the OS, and all his apps installed on it

 

[Benevolence]

One way to do this is to uninstall all of the storage controllers while still running on the old platform. This will cause Windows to re-install the needed drivers for the new motherboard, and allow you to keep all of your programs.
http://www.sevenforums.com/tutorials/135077-windows-7-installation-transfer-new-computer.html
The above link should give you an idea of what you need to do. Other than that, it is recommended by tons of people to just re-install Windows (even though those Updates can be irksome).

 

[Williamdry12]

So to re install windows i need to find the serial key correct? magical jelly bean keyfinder i read is the way to go in regards to that.

and he has 2 x 1.5TB HDD's in his system, could i just copy everything apart from the windows files over to the secondary hard drive, is that essentially backing it up? (never really backed up anything before, so really a novice at it)

 

[OllieOxenFree]

Is this an OEM version of windows7. If so it will be tied to the first mobo it was installed on and will not activate on the new mobo. I have had decent luck with not having to reinstall everything seeing as you are working within the same architecture. I would try it the way it is first and see if it boots then update all of the drivers. If it doesnt work then partition the hard drive set the disk drive to default boot device and insert windows disk. Install all drivers manually from manufacturers web sites when windows finishes

 

[Yingda Wang]

If u are changing the mobo, u have to reinstall the os.
Os is optimized to the mobo that u installed on.
My suggestion is to partition the hdd and install the os on it. Then u can move files bit by bit

 

[OllieOxenFree]

So to re install windows i need to find the serial key correct? magical jelly bean keyfinder i read is the way to go in regards to that.

and he has 2 x 1.5TB HDD's in his system, could i just copy everything apart from the windows files over to the secondary hard drive, is that essentially backing it up? (never really backed up anything before, so really a novice at it)

Move everything he wants to keep to the non OS drive then partition the OS drive by going start>control panel>system security>administrative tools>computer management>disk management>right click the drive you want to select>select delete volume

 

[Williamdry12]

well the pc he has is a stock dell xps 8300, and updating due to compatibility issues with his new graphics card (r9 280x) and windows came with the PC as far as im aware. that being said, is it possible for windows to work on new motherboard?

 

[OllieOxenFree]

well the pc he has is a stock dell xps 8300, and updating due to compatibility issues with his new graphics card (r9 280x) and windows came with the PC as far as im aware. that being said, is it possible for windows to work on new motherboard?

Windows will work but you will not be able to activate it meaning no updates and after trial period your pc will shutdown every couple of hours. There is no product key as it is activated with the Oem install

 

[Williamdry12]

okay, so re-using the old os is pretty much out of the picture then? If he buys a new copy of windows then what will i have to do with the old os on the hard drive

Also when moving the files over to the secondary hdd, do i copy, or cut them over?

 

[OllieOxenFree]

okay, so re-using the old os is pretty much out of the picture then? If he buys a new copy of windows then what will i have to do with the old os on the hard drive

Also when moving the files over to the secondary hdd, do i copy, or cut them over?

The old OS will be removed when you follow the instructions I gave to partition. It doesnt matter if you copy or cut because you are going to wipe the drive you are copy/cutting from anyways with the new partition

 

[Williamdry12]

so when i delete the volume of the drive with the os on it, that will totally wipe the drive, just like i had just unboxed it? then i can just install windows onto that drive from a usb or CD?

 

[OllieOxenFree]

so when i delete the volume of the drive with the os on it, that will totally wipe the drive, just like i had just unboxed it? then i can just install windows onto that drive from a usb or CD?

essentially yes. It will not be completely clean such as a new in box but for all intensive purposes it will be.

There are ways to make more passes across a drive to completely wipe it so as to not be retrievable with special software (Used for drive recovery on damaged and failed drives).You dont need to do this.

 

[Williamdry12]

First of all thanks Ollie for all your help, been a real help (weird thing is im doing this for my mate... called ollie)

And just to run over everything one more time, is this correct?

Step 1: copy all files except old os onto secondary HDD
Step 2: delete the volume of the first HDD with the old os on it
Step 3: Turn off pc and install components
Step 4: install a fresh copy of windows
Step 5: install drivers

 

[OllieOxenFree]

First of all thanks Ollie for all your help, been a real help (weird thing is im doing this for my mate... called ollie)

And just to run over everything one more time, is this correct?

Step 1: copy all files except old os onto secondary HDD
Step 2: delete the volume of the first HDD with the old os on it
Step 3: Turn off pc and install components
Step 4: install a fresh copy of windows
Step 5: install drivers

Put hdd in another pc for step 2 that way you can delete all of it including the OS. If you perform this step with it in the computer it is running OS on you will have to come back to delete that part of the partition once you install the new OS

 

[Williamdry12]

What options will he have if he cannot get his hand on a new copy of windows?

 

[OllieOxenFree]

Not sure what all you are using the PC for but Ubuntu and Steam OS are both free linux based OS. Steam is obviously geared towards the steam machine and gaming but you can find a bunch of linux apps that will work to replace the equivelent program that was used in Windows.

 

[Williamdry12]

and to install them it would just be put the installer on a usb and boot from that?

 

[OllieOxenFree]

Yes you can put it on a USB. Here is a good step-by on the Steam OS.
http://steamcommunity.com/groups/steamuniverse/discussions/0/648814395797000712
You can also put Windows on a USB and boot from it.