Windows 7: Will Motherboard swap require a reinstall?

My current motherboard is a socket 775 G41 chipset with 2 x DIMM slots for DDR2 RAM. I currently have 2 x 2GB Kingston RAM in them, but need to increase RAM to 8GB.

However 2 x 4GB DDR2 is so ridiculously expensive it is not economically viable to do this. Around £175 for branded RAM or £100 for unbranded stuff that might be dodgy.

So I am thinking of getting a motherboard that runs DDR3 RAM, then I can put in 8GB of cheaper DDR3 RAM and even with a new Mobo I am still better off, even using branded RAM.

16GB would be nice but I don't think socket 775 mobos exist that support that much.

I am keeping the same CPU (Core 2 Quad Q8300) and everything else. Running Windows 7 64 bit.

My question is will I need to reinstall Windows?

I would really rather not have to... in fact I probably wouldn't bother if that was the case. Given that it would be the same chipset, same processor I am hoping to get away with it. I know I will likely have to re-register Windows, but that's fine.



I don't really want to suck it an see as by then I will have bought everything and have the PC in bits etc! I am interested in hearing from people who have done something similar and what the results were.

Do you have a Windows 7 Install disk? If so what version is it? OEM, Retail or Upgrade?

If you do not know take a picture of the Case that the Disk is in then Upload the image

Josh

The standard advice is to reinstall, but there are numerous posts within this forum by people who did not reinstall and it all seems to have went well, particularly when staying with the same chipset and processor. I don't think you will have major issues, but wait to see what others say. I've personally never tried it.

I have an install disk - it is actually an 'upgrade' version - I upgraded from XP, which really means a clean install. So although it says upgrade it allows a clean install.

All legitimate just in case the software police start making assertions!

I know the standard advice is to reinstall, but that is a major hassle I would rather avoid.

I've done it. THe new and old hardware were probably generally pretty close.

The one chance of making a MB swap work is to boot the new system into safe mode the very first time. It will have a much better chance of surviving the massive hardware upset. Then once that succesfully boots and goes through hardware redetection ok. Then boot normally and let it finish new hardware detection.

There is only a 50/50 chance that it will work though.

And, as Shadowjk was alluding too. Likely only if you have a retail version of windows. An OEM version may boot but then not allow you to re-activate your windows copy because of the hardware change. Course you would have that same problem with an OEM disk if you did a complete reinstall even...

Hi kendonagasaki and welcome to Windows 7 Forums

Although many people have reported that they have virtually rebuilt their whole systems without needing to reinstall, I think that it is safer to err on the side of caution and assume that you will need to. You are correct in stating that you will need to reactivate, however this should be straight forward. Try the automated online method first, and if that fails, do it over the phone by speaking to an operator and explain what you've done.

My upgrade version is effectively a full retail version, not an OEM version.

I already had to reregister once (did it online with no probs) after swapping my HDD out as it was failing - I did a new rebuild then, and I'm not desperate to do it again!

Since you are going Intel chipset to Intel chipset, you shouldn't have any issues. Just make sure your SATA controllers are set the same, meaning IDE or AHCI. Between the two, you should be fine. I'd install the latest Intel chipset drivers once the new board is in.

You shouldn't have any issues, you may need to re-install the chipset drivers for the new motherboard. One thing you most likely will need to do is re-activate Windows after replacing the motherboard.