Someone suggested that since I changed motherboards but kept the same hard drive this might be my issue. I have Windows 7 ultimate 32 bit OS with dual core processer. I Had problems with my motherboard so replaced it. I was able to do a system restore and everything looked fine until you go to the start menu and it's blank. Almost all programs I run I get "Windows cannot access the specified device, path, or file. You may not have the appropriate permission to access the item". The problem is I can't go to the Control Panel to check or change administrative access on either my user or guest user. I was trying to do a scan for bad files in CMD mode but it wouldn't work because I don't have permission. I've tried restoring to several different restore points, most don't work or if it does, same results.
Was the new motherboard the same make and model as the previous one? If not I think I would just start over with a clean install of windows, and install the correct drivers etc.
My Computer
At a glance
Windows 10 Education 64 bitAMD Phenom II X4 980 Black Edition Deneb 3.7GHz8GB 4GBx2 Kingston PC10600 DDR3 1333 MemoryZotac NVIDIA Geforce GT640 2 Gig DDR3 PCIe
Computer type
PC/Desktop
Computer Manufacturer/Model Number
Home Built
OS
Windows 10 Education 64 bit
CPU
AMD Phenom II X4 980 Black Edition Deneb 3.7GHz
Motherboard
Asus M4N68T-M V2 µATX Motherboard
Memory
8GB 4GBx2 Kingston PC10600 DDR3 1333 Memory
Graphics Card(s)
Zotac NVIDIA Geforce GT640 2 Gig DDR3 PCIe
Sound Card
VIA VT1708s High Definition Audio 8-channel Onboard
Was not the same manufacturer. I was told by the Frys tech dept that this was easy to do and I didn't need to re install windows. I do have a carbonite backup but I don't trust it as I've had problems with them in the past losing data.
Foe me personally, new hardware (especially the motherboard) means new install. You can swap out your motherboard without a re-install but you need to do things before the swap. One way is to sysprep windows just before the swap. Then install the correct drivers for the new hardware after the swap. If you don't do that windows may try to load the drivers for the old hardware and that can cause some weird things to happen. My advice is to backup your documents, pictures, etc and start over with a clean install of windows.
My Computer
At a glance
Windows 10 Education 64 bitAMD Phenom II X4 980 Black Edition Deneb 3.7GHz8GB 4GBx2 Kingston PC10600 DDR3 1333 MemoryZotac NVIDIA Geforce GT640 2 Gig DDR3 PCIe
Computer type
PC/Desktop
Computer Manufacturer/Model Number
Home Built
OS
Windows 10 Education 64 bit
CPU
AMD Phenom II X4 980 Black Edition Deneb 3.7GHz
Motherboard
Asus M4N68T-M V2 µATX Motherboard
Memory
8GB 4GBx2 Kingston PC10600 DDR3 1333 Memory
Graphics Card(s)
Zotac NVIDIA Geforce GT640 2 Gig DDR3 PCIe
Sound Card
VIA VT1708s High Definition Audio 8-channel Onboard
For some people it can be a hassle, I still think its worth it though. You get the best chance for a stable system over a long run. These days I have everything on USB flash drives including my install media. In an hour or two I can be back up and running with all the essentials installed.
My Computer
At a glance
Windows 10 Education 64 bitAMD Phenom II X4 980 Black Edition Deneb 3.7GHz8GB 4GBx2 Kingston PC10600 DDR3 1333 MemoryZotac NVIDIA Geforce GT640 2 Gig DDR3 PCIe
Computer type
PC/Desktop
Computer Manufacturer/Model Number
Home Built
OS
Windows 10 Education 64 bit
CPU
AMD Phenom II X4 980 Black Edition Deneb 3.7GHz
Motherboard
Asus M4N68T-M V2 µATX Motherboard
Memory
8GB 4GBx2 Kingston PC10600 DDR3 1333 Memory
Graphics Card(s)
Zotac NVIDIA Geforce GT640 2 Gig DDR3 PCIe
Sound Card
VIA VT1708s High Definition Audio 8-channel Onboard
Was not the same manufacturer. I was told by the Frys tech dept that this was easy to do and I didn't need to re install windows. I do have a carbonite backup but I don't trust it as I've had problems with them in the past losing data.
The guy in frys must still be using windows 98 as NTFS doesnt really work like that :/
There is a certain piece of software out there you can boot and create yourself a new admin account from, but you will have to use the power of search engines to find it as were not allowed to talk about it in front of these respectable folk at sevenforums.com
Still I would only do this for backup and driver gathering purposes prior to a clean install.
