new board..clean windows install?

[pnico]

hi guys
Its been a while for me. Do I need to install a clean version of windows with my new board and cpu or is that not necessary?
thank you

 

[Paul NZ]

You should.

Not a good idea putting a hdd with an OS on it, on a new system.

It'll probably crash (if the chipset / drivers on the old system aren't the same as the new mobo)

And it wont activate either

 

[geofelt]

If your new rig will boot with your old windows, you should be able to install the new drivers and be OK.

That is not a bad idea if reinstalling lots of apps on a clean install will be a big problem.

As to activation, you will not have an issue if your windows 7 copy is retail or you are running windows 10.
Even then, you are likely to be able to activate with windows 7 OEM one way or the other.