i am getting a new motherboard and wondered if i need to do a clean install of Win7 or will it boot up and work fine without doing so?
There is some stuff that i would like to back up first so ideally need to boot back into windows and then maybe do a clean install afterwards if possible?
many thnks
You can connect the drive and see what happens. It will most likely keep asking you to do a startup repair. You will more then likely have to reinstall. But that`s best anyway. Get what you need off the drive first.
You could try this: Windows 7 Installation - Transfer to a New Computer
Method One is for your case, keeping the HD but replacing other components.
Kari
I remember i once was a bit lazy and wanted to do the same that your mentioning before. I kept getting bluescreen, you will most likely will too.
IF THE MOTHERBOARDS ARE THE SAME, there should be a high % of not needing a reinstall.
Thanks for the replies.
Unfortunately i cant access the hard drive or use sysprep before hand as the board has already packed up and im awaiting the new one to install.
So it i will try to boot first but it is a different make so im guessing i will have to install Windows first and lose some of my files.
As most new MOBO's now have a uEFI BIOS.
How to install Windows 64 bit on a uEFI BIOS:
UEFI (Unified Extensible Firmware Interface) - Install Windows 7 with
Without the ability to SysPrep on old hardware, if it won't start on new hardware you can use Paragon Adaptive Restore CD to auto adjust Win7 to boot on changed hardware.
To clean reinstall to the same HD, you can resize the Win7 partition to make room for a new installation using free Partition Wizard bootable CD which is the best partitioning tool we use here without failure. I would Resize from the left by as much as it will allow, to put your new Win7 installation in the first partition.
Then boot the Win7 DVD to clean install to the new partition you've created following these steps to Clean Install Windows 7.
Once it starts up you can access your files via Explorer.
You can also copy out your files to external, DVD, flash or another network location at any time using the Win7 DVD or System Repair Disk following this method: Copy & Paste - in Windows Recovery Console
You can always hook it up to another system and retrieve your files that way.
@theog Im not sure about the uEFI BIOS but check that link out thanks
@gregrocker thanks for the reply the only problem i have is that at the mo im using my wifes netbook laptop which has no cd burner so wouldnt be able to burn the bootable discs although once i connected all the components i maybe able to use the system repair disc and use the 'copy-paste' method.
@addram its an internal hard drive and have no other system to hook it up to im afraid
Write the Win7 installer ISO to flash stick easily using Universal USB Installer with Win7 in the dropdown menu.
You can then copy out your files to external by booting the flash stick installer with this method: Copy & Paste - in Windows Recovery Console
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