Upgrading MoBo/CPU on Windows 7

E

eliteops1

New member
Local time
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Messages
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Hello, tomorrow I am planning on upgrading my current build:
Q6600
GTX 295
4gb G.Skill 1066mhz
EVGA 780i SLI Motherboard
Win7 RC 32bit
To a new i7 920 cpu, EVGA X58 motherboard, and 4gb of DDR3.

I was wondering how (if possible) to do this without having to wipe my harddrive.
Or, if there is no way to do this successfully, how to wipe my HDD and reinstalling Win7 (Or if I can just do repair .. ) on the clean HDD. I have heard many conflicting reports on various forums of how to wipe/repair using Win7, so any help would be greatly appreciated.
 

My Computer

OS
windows 7
Assemble your new rig with everything except the HDD. Leave your existing rig intact.

Attach your HDD to the new rig. Will it boot stable? Good. If not, you will need a clean install.

Changing chipsets (new mobo) is the snag. I have lost virtual money on this forum re: this issue, but I have also won some bets.

Even if it does boot, I would not trust it.

Besides, go 64-bit.
 
Just be safe, backup your data and reinstall. Why take any chances with instability or other problems? Would it really be that much trouble to set things up again?
 

My Computer

Computer Manufacturer/Model Number
Self-Built in July 2009
OS
Windows 7 Ultimate x64
CPU
Intel Q9550 2.83Ghz OC'd to 3.40Ghz
Motherboard
Gigabyte GA-EP45-UD3R rev. 1.1, F12 BIOS
Memory
8GB G.Skill PI DDR2-800, 4-4-4-12 timings
Graphics Card(s)
EVGA 1280MB Nvidia GeForce GTX570
Sound Card
Realtek ALC899A 8 channel onboard audio
Monitor(s) Displays
23" Acer x233H
Screen Resolution
1920x1080
Hard Drives
Intel X25-M 80GB Gen 2 SSD
Western Digital 1TB Caviar Black, 32MB cache. WD1001FALS
PSU
Corsair 620HX modular
Case
Antec P182
Cooling
stock
Keyboard
ABS M1 Mechanical
Mouse
Logitech G9 Laser Mouse
Internet Speed
15/2 cable modem
Other Info
Windows and Linux enthusiast. Logitech G35 Headset.
Thank you for the quick replies.
Should I wipe my HDD before installing the new components or just pop in the win7 disc after putting in the new mobo/cpu/ram?
Also, will the same Activation Key work if I have to reinstall using the same Win7 disc?

Edit: If I were to decide to reinstall using 64-bit, do I have to re-download the Win7 files and burn them onto a new CD. Also, I heard that Microsoft had stopped the Windows 7 RC downloads sometime in August, but I'm not sure if this is true.
 

My Computer

OS
windows 7
You do need a separate download for the 64-bit and unfortunately Microsoft is no longer providing this download to customers.
http://www.microsoft.com/windows/windows-7/get/download.aspx

You would have to obtain the download through some other means. If you don't have it and cannot get it, let me know and I could mail you a copy of the software. I could give you the RC1 release and an RC key. Or I could get you the RTM release, but without a key.
 

My Computer

Computer Manufacturer/Model Number
Self-Built in July 2009
OS
Windows 7 Ultimate x64
CPU
Intel Q9550 2.83Ghz OC'd to 3.40Ghz
Motherboard
Gigabyte GA-EP45-UD3R rev. 1.1, F12 BIOS
Memory
8GB G.Skill PI DDR2-800, 4-4-4-12 timings
Graphics Card(s)
EVGA 1280MB Nvidia GeForce GTX570
Sound Card
Realtek ALC899A 8 channel onboard audio
Monitor(s) Displays
23" Acer x233H
Screen Resolution
1920x1080
Hard Drives
Intel X25-M 80GB Gen 2 SSD
Western Digital 1TB Caviar Black, 32MB cache. WD1001FALS
PSU
Corsair 620HX modular
Case
Antec P182
Cooling
stock
Keyboard
ABS M1 Mechanical
Mouse
Logitech G9 Laser Mouse
Internet Speed
15/2 cable modem
Other Info
Windows and Linux enthusiast. Logitech G35 Headset.
you already have 4 gb ram and you're again getting 4 gb?
 

My Computer

Computer Manufacturer/Model Number
Samsung NP530U4B-S02IN
OS
Windows® 8 Pro (64-bit)
CPU
Intel® Core™ i5 Processor 2467M (1.60GHz, 3MB L3 Cache)
Motherboard
Samsung Electronics
Memory
6GB DDR3 System Memory at 1,333MHz (on BD 4GB + 2GB x 1)
Graphics Card(s)
AMD Radeon™ HD7550M 1GB DDR3 (Ext. Graphic)
Sound Card
Realtek High Definition Audio
Monitor(s) Displays
35.56cm (14.0) SuperBright 300nit HD LED Display
Screen Resolution
1366x768
Hard Drives
1TB S-ATA II Hard Drive (5400RPM) with ExpressCache 16GB SSD
Internet Speed
sucks
Antivirus
Microsoft Security Essentials
Browser
Google Chrome (Sync enabled)
Alright then, I think I'll just stick to 32-bit for now, or at least until the full version of Win7 releases in October.

How should I go about wiping my HDD. Do I just put in the Win7 CD into my current PC and click something on the installer like "Wipe" or similar?
 

My Computer

OS
windows 7
eliteops1 said:
Alright then, I think I'll just stick to 32-bit for now, or at least until the full version of Win7 releases in October.

How should I go about wiping my HDD. Do I just put in the Win7 CD into my current PC and click something on the installer like "Wipe" or similar?
Click to expand...

Yes, when you get to the screen showing your hard drive, you can click the advanced button on the right and from there you can delete your existing partitions and then click on New to set them up again. You'll figure it out as soon as you get there...it's pretty easy.
 

My Computer

Computer Manufacturer/Model Number
Self-Built in July 2009
OS
Windows 7 Ultimate x64
CPU
Intel Q9550 2.83Ghz OC'd to 3.40Ghz
Motherboard
Gigabyte GA-EP45-UD3R rev. 1.1, F12 BIOS
Memory
8GB G.Skill PI DDR2-800, 4-4-4-12 timings
Graphics Card(s)
EVGA 1280MB Nvidia GeForce GTX570
Sound Card
Realtek ALC899A 8 channel onboard audio
Monitor(s) Displays
23" Acer x233H
Screen Resolution
1920x1080
Hard Drives
Intel X25-M 80GB Gen 2 SSD
Western Digital 1TB Caviar Black, 32MB cache. WD1001FALS
PSU
Corsair 620HX modular
Case
Antec P182
Cooling
stock
Keyboard
ABS M1 Mechanical
Mouse
Logitech G9 Laser Mouse
Internet Speed
15/2 cable modem
Other Info
Windows and Linux enthusiast. Logitech G35 Headset.
eliteops1 said:
My current ram is DDR2 because I have the Q6600.
Click to expand...

If you are already planning to get DDR3, i would suggest you to go for 8 GB instead of 4. You're already spending a good amount on the upgrade. So why getting the same 4 GB.
 

My Computer

Computer Manufacturer/Model Number
Samsung NP530U4B-S02IN
OS
Windows® 8 Pro (64-bit)
CPU
Intel® Core™ i5 Processor 2467M (1.60GHz, 3MB L3 Cache)
Motherboard
Samsung Electronics
Memory
6GB DDR3 System Memory at 1,333MHz (on BD 4GB + 2GB x 1)
Graphics Card(s)
AMD Radeon™ HD7550M 1GB DDR3 (Ext. Graphic)
Sound Card
Realtek High Definition Audio
Monitor(s) Displays
35.56cm (14.0) SuperBright 300nit HD LED Display
Screen Resolution
1366x768
Hard Drives
1TB S-ATA II Hard Drive (5400RPM) with ExpressCache 16GB SSD
Internet Speed
sucks
Antivirus
Microsoft Security Essentials
Browser
Google Chrome (Sync enabled)
Dinesh said:
If you are already planning to get DDR3, i would suggest you to go for 8 GB instead of 4. You're already spending a good amount on the upgrade. So why getting the same 4 GB.
Click to expand...

But with 32-bit, doesn't it only use a certain amount of RAM? (I heart it was 3.5 or 4gb)
 

My Computer

OS
windows 7
I would expect a DDR3 user to want to utilize triple channel RAM and thus get 6GB of RAM (3 x 2GB).

And yes, 32-bit OS's have a 4GB limit. With other devices and the way the memory is addressed, you typically have access to about 3.2GB worth of that RAM.
 

My Computer

Computer Manufacturer/Model Number
Self-Built in July 2009
OS
Windows 7 Ultimate x64
CPU
Intel Q9550 2.83Ghz OC'd to 3.40Ghz
Motherboard
Gigabyte GA-EP45-UD3R rev. 1.1, F12 BIOS
Memory
8GB G.Skill PI DDR2-800, 4-4-4-12 timings
Graphics Card(s)
EVGA 1280MB Nvidia GeForce GTX570
Sound Card
Realtek ALC899A 8 channel onboard audio
Monitor(s) Displays
23" Acer x233H
Screen Resolution
1920x1080
Hard Drives
Intel X25-M 80GB Gen 2 SSD
Western Digital 1TB Caviar Black, 32MB cache. WD1001FALS
PSU
Corsair 620HX modular
Case
Antec P182
Cooling
stock
Keyboard
ABS M1 Mechanical
Mouse
Logitech G9 Laser Mouse
Internet Speed
15/2 cable modem
Other Info
Windows and Linux enthusiast. Logitech G35 Headset.
Oh you are going for 32bit? Yes a 32bit OS will user between 3.5-3.8 GB only. However, i m sure your new rig will perform much better with 64bit OS.
 

My Computer

Computer Manufacturer/Model Number
Samsung NP530U4B-S02IN
OS
Windows® 8 Pro (64-bit)
CPU
Intel® Core™ i5 Processor 2467M (1.60GHz, 3MB L3 Cache)
Motherboard
Samsung Electronics
Memory
6GB DDR3 System Memory at 1,333MHz (on BD 4GB + 2GB x 1)
Graphics Card(s)
AMD Radeon™ HD7550M 1GB DDR3 (Ext. Graphic)
Sound Card
Realtek High Definition Audio
Monitor(s) Displays
35.56cm (14.0) SuperBright 300nit HD LED Display
Screen Resolution
1366x768
Hard Drives
1TB S-ATA II Hard Drive (5400RPM) with ExpressCache 16GB SSD
Internet Speed
sucks
Antivirus
Microsoft Security Essentials
Browser
Google Chrome (Sync enabled)
I would definetely go for the 64-bit if there was a way for me to acquire some kind of download of the 64bit RC and an activation key before tomorrow mid-day, which is when I need to have this PC built and ready.
Would anyone perhaps by any chance have a download link that they could provide, and an activation key? This would be greatly appreciated.
 

My Computer

OS
windows 7
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