Changing motherboard without reinstalling Wndows 7 Pro

[ABC190]

Edit:

Hello again everyone,

I have another question and I thought it would be better to ask in the same thread. My Windows 7 install works fine with zero stability issues ever since moving to my new motherboard via Paragon, though I have a question regarding my boot/Windows drive.

My HDD was set to IDE mode rather than AHCI. First thing I did after installing the new motherboard was go into the BIOS and ensure that the boot/Windows HDD was set to IDE as I read that changing it to AHCI would prevent Windows 7 from booting.

Though considering that I used Paragon, would switching from IDE to AHCI still cause an issue?


Original post:

Hello,

I am thinking of upgrading my old AMD 965 to a newer Intel i5 3570K or i5 4670K setup. Obviously, this will require a new motherboard and RAM in addition to the CPU. However, I would like to keep my current Windows 7 Pro 64bit install. I have a lot of programs and games with mods set up in particular ways that are hard (if not impossible in some instances) to reconfigure in the same way. And my Windows 7 install is in good shape (69 from power on to Firefox) so I don't feel a need to wipe my HDD.

I am wondering if I can change my motherboard without having to reinstall Windows 7 Pro 64bit and what the process is. First, my current specs:

ASUS M3N78 Pro: M3N78 PRO - Motherboards - ASUS
Windows 7 Pro 64bit with latest updates
AMD 965
8GB GDDR2
GTX670
WD Black 2TB (boot drive)
Seagate 750GB (backup data drive, unplugged most of the time)
ASUS DVD burner
Antec Earthwatts 650 Green

What I am looking at upgrading to:
MSI Z77MA-G45:
MSI Global ? Motherboard - Z77MA-G45

With an i5 3570K and DDR3 RAM of whatever quality brand is on sale.

Or MSI Z87-G43:
MSI USA ? Motherboard - Z87-G43

With an i5 4670K and DDR3 RAM of whatever quality brand is on sale.


This is a big change, going from AMD to Intel and ASUS to MSI. So can this hardware change be done without reinstalling Windows 7 Pro 64bit? If so, can someone detail the steps must I take?

Note: I do have a data HDD which I use for data backups, so I do have a backup of all my files. I also realize a motherboard switch requires Windows 7 to be reactivated.

Thanks for your help.

 

[gregrocker]

You can try starting Win7 up on the new hardware, but it might not start. The easiest thing to do then is to Make Windows 7 bootable after motherboard swap - Windows 7 Help Forums.

 

[ABC190]

Thanks for the link.

Though in order to prevent myself from using that in the first place I have read it is best (essentially required) to uninstall all motherboard drivers and software first.

I am wondering if I uninstall motherboard drivers through the Device Manager and software through the Uninstall Programs List?

If so, I can not seem to figure out what is specific to my motherboard. Any help on what should be uninstalled would be great.

Device Manager:
http://i995.photobucket.com/albums/af73/Flogger23m/devicemanager1_zps78aee7c7.jpg
http://i995.photobucket.com/albums/af73/Flogger23m/devicemanager2_zpsfd1f16f9.jpg

Program List:
http://i995.photobucket.com/albums/af73/Flogger23m/programlist1_zps2dba4b1f.jpg
http://i995.photobucket.com/albums/af73/Flogger23m/programlist2_zps9a2cfcd4.jpg
http://i995.photobucket.com/albums/af73/Flogger23m/programlist3_zps5999e2c0.jpg
http://i995.photobucket.com/albums/af73/Flogger23m/programlist4_zps41dbb92a.jpg

Going to burn Paragon Adaptive Restore to a disc as well.

If anyone else has any advice I would appreciate it.

 

[Britton30]

You may also have a look at this: http://www.sevenforums.com/tutorials/135077-windows-7-installation-transfer-new-computer.html Pay close attention to the reference to an OEM version.

 

[gregrocker]

PAR disk does it all. It may prompt for SATA drivers but most likely not. WHen you start up Win7 it will change out drivers in a cascade you can monitor by clicking on the driver loading animation in System Tray. Do the requested reboot when it finishes.

Make sure Automatically deliver drivers via Windows Update (Step 3) is enabled and run all rounds of Important and Optional Windows Updates to completion. This should provide any newer drivers and relevant patches for the hardware. None should be skipped - only Bing and Essentials can be hidden.

I would not import any drivers not still missing in Device Manager after doing all of that, unless issues arise pointing to a driver. Win7 is the authority on its drivers, not an outdated driver disk.

Sometimes it's necessary to run Startup Repair - Run up to 3 Separate Times
after confirming the Active partition is System Reserved or C, to repair boot issues.

 

[ABC190]

PAR disk does it all. It may prompt for SATA drivers but most likely not. WHen you start up Win7 it will change out drivers in a cascade you can monitor by clicking on the driver loading animation in System Tray. Do the requested reboot when it finishes.

Make sure Automatically deliver drivers via Windows Update (Step 3) is enabled and run all rounds of Important and Optional Windows Updates to completion. This should provide any newer drivers and relevant patches for the hardware. None should be skipped - only Bing and Essentials can be hidden.

I would not import any drivers not still missing in Device Manager after doing all of that, unless issues arise pointing to a driver. Win7 is the authority on its drivers, not an outdated driver disk.

Sometimes it's necessary to run Startup Repair - Run up to 3 Separate Times
after confirming the Active partition is System Reserved or C, to repair boot issues.

As a bit of an update, I am going from an ASUS M3N78 Pro to an MSI Z87-G43 full ATX. Ordered the parts and they should be here within a week.

Regarding the part in bold, are you saying PAR will detect my old ASUS motherboard drivers/software and uninstall those while allowing my new MSI drivers to install?

Essentially, are all of these steps required?:

1) Create image, move to backup HDD. (How big will 1TB of data be in a image file?).
2) Manually uninstall motherboard drivers/software (which I can't find in Windows 7).
3) Run System Prep method one.
4) Boot into Paragon P2P, follow steps as posted.
5) Exit into BIOS, then boot from HDD and into Windows 7.

Or can I skip step 2? What about step 3? Is that required with Paragon?

 

[SIW2]

Plug your existing HD into the new mobo. Boot up paragon cd. Point paragon at your windows installation. Done.

No need for syprepping, doing anything manually or any other mucking around.

When you boot up win 7 it will install the drivers from it's own system32\driverstore\filerepository.

It is only if win7 doesn't have the drivers, that you would add them with Paragon.

 

[ABC190]

Plug your existing HD into the new mobo. Boot up paragon cd. Point paragon at your windows installation. Done.

No need for syprepping, doing anything manually or any other mucking around.

When you boot up win 7 it will install the drivers from it's own system32\driverstore\filerepository.

It is only if win7 doesn't have the drivers, that you would add them with Paragon.

So to clarify, Paragon will make Windows 7 install the new motherboard drivers automatically? Or will I have to download them in advance onto the HDD? Essentially, how do I ensure that Win 7 will have the drivers beforehand?

And a quick question about the warning part:

Sometimes the internal hard drive is not recognized in Paragon P2P Adjust OS due to missing SATA or RAID driver. In that case add specific drivers to Windows PE based Paragon Recovery Environment.

Step 2 of the warning process is to find the .INF file for the required driver. Will Windows 7 already have this driver and where would I find it? I also have a 64bit OS, so if I have to inject drivers will I be able to do that? I ask because of the final bit saying I will need 32bit drivers for injection (if required).

Finally, will Paragon leave anything behind after it is done that might affect performance and boot times?

Thanks for all the help so far everyone, I really appreciate it.

 

[gregrocker]

What is unclear about what I wrote here?

PAR disk does it all. It may prompt for SATA drivers but most likely not. WHen you start up Win7 it will change out drivers in a cascade you can monitor by clicking on the driver loading animation in System Tray. Do the requested reboot when it finishes.

Make sure Automatically deliver drivers via Windows Update (Step 3) is enabled and run all rounds of Important and Optional Windows Updates to completion. This should provide any newer drivers and relevant patches for the hardware. None should be skipped - only Bing and Essentials can be hidden.

I would not import any drivers not still missing in Device Manager after doing all of that, unless issues arise pointing to a driver. Win7 is the authority on its drivers, not an outdated driver disk.

Sometimes it's necessary to run Startup Repair - Run up to 3 Separate Times
after confirming the Active partition is System Reserved or C, to repair boot issues.

In addition put your Network adapter in your backup so you can install it to get online and do the Updates.

 

[Britton30]

You will have to install a LAN driver for Windows Update to start, otherwise there'll be no net connection.

 

[ABC190]

You will have to install a LAN driver for Windows Update to start, otherwise there'll be no net connection.

Would that be covered in Paragon or would I have to install those via flash drive/DVD after Paragon is done and I am booted into Windows?

 

[Britton30]

You'll have to boot to w7 and use your motherboard's driver disk for the LAN driver. You can also visit the board's support site and download it to put on a media of your choice.

 

[ABC190]

You'll have to boot to w7 and use your motherboard's driver disk for the LAN driver. You can also visit the board's support site and download it to put on a media of your choice.

Thanks. Already got them downloaded to a USB drive. MSI should supply me with a disk as well.

 

[ABC190]

What is unclear about what I wrote here?

PAR disk does it all. It may prompt for SATA drivers but most likely not. WHen you start up Win7 it will change out drivers in a cascade you can monitor by clicking on the driver loading animation in System Tray. Do the requested reboot when it finishes.

Make sure Automatically deliver drivers via Windows Update (Step 3) is enabled and run all rounds of Important and Optional Windows Updates to completion. This should provide any newer drivers and relevant patches for the hardware. None should be skipped - only Bing and Essentials can be hidden.

I would not import any drivers not still missing in Device Manager after doing all of that, unless issues arise pointing to a driver. Win7 is the authority on its drivers, not an outdated driver disk.

Sometimes it's necessary to run Startup Repair - Run up to 3 Separate Times
after confirming the Active partition is System Reserved or C, to repair boot issues.

In addition put your Network adapter in your backup so you can install it to get online and do the Updates.

Still a bit confused on the bold part. If Paragon can't find my HDD due to a missing SATA driver I am out of luck?

 

[gregrocker]

Did you read the first paragraph? It dealt with this possibility specifically.

Who said anything about PAR not being able to find a HD? I've never seen it happen yet.

If it prompts for SATA driver then provide it, but that is so rare I can't remember it.

The paragraph you bolded later explains what to do if any Updates are still missing after running all rounds of Updates. Do this exactly like I wrote. I understand old XP habits are hard to break but this is a new generation OS which provides its own drivers.

 

[ABC190]

If it prompts for SATA driver then provide it, but that is so rare I can't remember it.

Providing the SATA driver was the part that confused me, but luckily, that seems rare. Got my RAM today so I will look into doing it today/tomorrow.

For step 5 I'll allow it to adjust to the new drivers automatically. This is the step that should remove all of my previous motherboard drivers right?

At step 7 I'll select "Ignore missing drivers" and boot in to Windows and let Win 7 sort them out.

 

[ABC190]

Going to bump this as I need some help. First of all, I am in Windows 7 after my hardware swap and my hardware seems to be working fine. Paragon did its thing rather quickly (about 2 minutes total).

Everything else seems to be working fine at the moment (Windows 7 downloaded a lot of drivers, all successfully installed but one PCI card) except for one issue.

Every time I start Windows up, there is a slight pause after the Windows logo/animation and each time I get the following message:

Setup is preparing your computer for first use

Windows then loads fine. How would I go about resolving this issue?

 

[gregrocker]

Try method one here: Fix "Setup is Preparing Your Computer for First Use" on Every Reboot - Help Desk Geek

 

[ABC190]

I did the registry edit. The good news is that it seems to work going by the now shorter time it takes to load. Though another odd issue occurs. After the Windows logo/animation appears, my monitor starts switching to analog mode before finally finding HDMI again. When it finishes I am on the desktop.

Never had this issue pre-registry fix. I did export a copy of my unmodified drivers just in case.

 

[gregrocker]

Make sure you have the latest driver for your monitor from WIndows Update, along with all other Important and Optional Updates after enabling Automatically deliver drivers via Windows Update (Step 3).

Check your monitor settings.