What Should Be Done Before Changing a Motherboard?

[Denganim20]

So I am considering getting a new motherboard to replace my current FM2/FM2+ board. So I've been wondering, what necessary things should I do to my PC before switching?

What drivers should I uninstall? How will I keep my data and Windows OS?
Any help is appreciated!

 

[cin19]

1) Back up your data into other HDD.
2) If your OS is the OEM version, like from dell, HP, etc, you will need the new OS, because you can't use those OEM OS in the retail brand MB.
3) If you switch to intel MB, you are better to reinstall the OS and program. So make sure you have those software keys in hand for reinstallation.
4) You can download the drviers, like audio, video, network, chipset, etc first, but you can do it later.
5) If you had the games, like steam games, you can back it up first. Info https://support.steampowered.com/kb_article.php?ref=8794-YPHV-2033 or EA games http://answers.ea.com/t5/Technical-Issues/HOW-TO-Backup-restore-Origin-games/td-p/1926893

 

[Denganim20]

1) Back up your data into other HDD.
2) If your OS is the OEM version, like from dell, HP, etc, you will need the new OS, because you can't use those OEM OS in the retail brand MB.
3) If you switch to intel MB, you are better to reinstall the OS and program. So make sure you have those software keys in hand for reinstallation.
4) You can download the drviers, like audio, video, network, chipset, etc first, but you can do it later.
5) If you had the games, like steam games, you can back it up first. Info https://support.steampowered.com/kb_article.php?ref=8794-YPHV-2033 or EA games http://answers.ea.com/t5/Technical-Issues/HOW-TO-Backup-restore-Origin-games/td-p/1926893

The motherboard I currently have is a Gigabyte GA-F2A68HM-H motherboard which has an AMD Athlon X4 880K CPU. So would I be able to keep the current OS for this PC then? And would I have to backup that OS or just reinstall it?

 

[cin19]

Because the MB is the retail brand, and do you remember which OS you bought? If the OS is retail version, yes, you can keep it. But if it is the regular OEM, you may need to call microsoft to active the OS.

 

[Denganim20]

Because the MB is the retail brand, and do you remember which OS you bought? If the OS is retail version, yes, you can keep it. But if it is the regular OEM, you may need to call microsoft to active the OS.

If the PC was originally prebuilt does that make the OS a OEM version? Also I have seen a video that shows how you could backup the OS to a USB drive, is that really possible?

Also when backing up games, in the past I had to actually reinstall windows and when I did my games saved but all I had to do was validate them. This happened because my OS is on my primary HDD while my games are saved to second HDD. So if I changed motherboards would my games stay on my second HDD anyway?