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Changing motherboard without reinstalling Wndows 7 Pro
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.
Last edited by ABC190; 03 Nov 2013 at 12:23.