I'm planning to install a new motherboard into my old rig, I have no CD for the motherboard:
1) Will Windows 7 boot with the new motherboard?
2) If windows boots up, will Windows Update find the drivers for the motherboard?
Most likely yes to both of your questions. I don't use the cd's that come with mobos. I go with Windows drivers and if something is missing, i visit the mfg website and download the latest driver from there.
The Win7 installer is driver complete, with newer quickly updated via optional Windows Updates.
This is not XP. I haven't found any mobo drivers yet which are not in the installer. There are sometimes stock MS drivers which are best replaced by newer chipset drivers but you should wait until performance dictates this.
Did you try to boot your XP OS with the new mobo? To boot XP on new hardware requires a Repair Install: http://pcsupport.about.com/od/operat...txprepair1.htm
I no longer have XP, this computer was the one that had XP on it, but then upgraded it to 7, and I want to put this mobo in, the only differnce in hardware excluding the mobo itself is the processor.
And yes, I attempted a boot when it was still XP but it kept going to what I think it the manufacture interface for the mobo, then it would reboot and continue the loop.
I'm hoping 7 would be a different story.
Win7 may start on the new hardware but it is not guaranteed. You can assure it will start by removing all of the drivers from Win7 using Paragon Adaptive Restore CD. There is not much else that will do this except making an image ahead of time using Acronis 10+ with Universal Restore which also removes the drivers.
If it won't start you;ll need to clean reinstall. Win7 should have the mobo drivers or stock drivers which are close enough.
Here are some tips for getting a perfect reinstall based on hundreds done here: re-install windows 7
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