New motherboard, keep old windows copy?

[faycheung]

Hi all, my MOBO recently died so I upgraded to a new one as well as a new CPU. My old computer came from a HP (so OEM parts as well as OEM OS) computer. After putting everything together, my Win 7 copy would BSOD, after looking around for a while, it's due to hardware changes.

I currently do not have a system recovery disk with me, so I'd just like some advice on what to do next. Should I buy and reinstall a fresh copy of Win 7, try to acquire a recovery disk or contact Microsoft? There are a lot of program setups that I would really hope to avoid reinstalling (very annoying).

Sorry if this has been asked before, and I'd like to thank you all for this site, as it's helped me a lot in the past.

 

[Darkbreeze]

With a new board, and thus, an entirely different CPU and chipset (In your case), it's highly recommended to reinstall. Considering the cost is actually less or about the same, and the fact that you have new hardware (Specs?), it's probably to your advantage to go with Windows 8.1 instead of 7. I understand most people, myself included, hate the Windows 8 Metro start screen and crappy desktop behavior, but that's no excuse. You can simply download and install Classic Shell which returns the start menu and desktop to Windows 7 style with no adverse effects or crippling of resources. I do this on EVERY system I build, and I build two or three per week usually. Plus, Classic Shell is free, so there's no extra cost involved.

Classic Shell: http://www.classicshell.net/




Windows 8.1:

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

Operating System: Microsoft Windows 8.1 (OEM) (64-bit) ($87.75 @ OutletPC)
Total: $87.75
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-03-09 04:02 EDT-0400



It will also qualify you for the free upgrade to Windows 10 when it's released, but so will a new purchase of Windows 7.

 

[SkylerJacobs]

With a new board, and thus, an entirely different CPU and chipset (In your case), it's highly recommended to reinstall. Considering the cost is actually less or about the same, and the fact that you have new hardware (Specs?), it's probably to your advantage to go with Windows 8.1 instead of 7. I understand most people, myself included, hate the Windows 8 Metro start screen and crappy desktop behavior, but that's no excuse. You can simply download and install Classic Shell which returns the start menu and desktop to Windows 7 style with no adverse effects or crippling of resources. I do this on EVERY system I build, and I build two or three per week usually. Plus, Classic Shell is free, so there's no extra cost involved.

Classic Shell: http://www.classicshell.net/




Windows 8.1:

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

Operating System: Microsoft Windows 8.1 (OEM) (64-bit) ($87.75 @ OutletPC)
Total: $87.75
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-03-09 04:02 EDT-0400



It will also qualify you for the free upgrade to Windows 10 when it's released, but so will a new purchase of Windows 7.

I really don't understand the whole ppl not liking the metro start screen. Its basically a glorified start button. I personally thought i would hate it to begin with. But after just an hour of playing around with Windows 8.1, i absolutely love it.

 

[Darkbreeze]

Some like it, some don't. I don't. I don't even like it on my tablet or phone. I have classic shell installed on my Stream7 tablet and any system I install on. But some folks don't mind it, and that's ok. For those who don't, there's classic shell or start is back, among other utilities. Either way, the improved hardware support and better features of 8, including much better driver frameworks, makes using 8.1 a better option in cases where newer hardware is used. For some systems with older hardware, it may not even work. For some newer hardware, there may not even be driver support for windows 7.

 

[faycheung]

With a new board, and thus, an entirely different CPU and chipset (In your case), it's highly recommended to reinstall. Considering the cost is actually less or about the same, and the fact that you have new hardware (Specs?), it's probably to your advantage to go with Windows 8.1 instead of 7. I understand most people, myself included, hate the Windows 8 Metro start screen and crappy desktop behavior, but that's no excuse. You can simply download and install Classic Shell which returns the start menu and desktop to Windows 7 style with no adverse effects or crippling of resources. I do this on EVERY system I build, and I build two or three per week usually. Plus, Classic Shell is free, so there's no extra cost involved.

Classic Shell: http://www.classicshell.net/




Windows 8.1:

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

Operating System: Microsoft Windows 8.1 (OEM) (64-bit) ($87.75 @ OutletPC)
Total: $87.75
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-03-09 04:02 EDT-0400



It will also qualify you for the free upgrade to Windows 10 when it's released, but so will a new purchase of Windows 7.

Thanks for the quick response. I've upgraded from a H57 chipset i7-860 to a Z97 Pentium G3258. As for Windows 8.1, I'm afraid I can't choose this OS since the main program I use, Microsoft Flight Simulator X (9 years, whoop whoop!!) runs terribly on Win7+ OSes.

Looks like I'll have to start from scratch. Thanks for the response!!

 

[Darkbreeze]

Have you tried running it in compatibility mode, choosing the run as administrator option?