[Kolin Klingon]

I have decided to change my motherboard for several reasons, mostly to get a few more slots and sata ports. I have a suitable replacement on its way right now.

Question: As it's only the motherboard I'm changing (yes I realise that is a BIG thing) and nothing else (all going back as was; will the old windows on the SD Hard drive still load (with quite a few complaints I expect) or do I have to do a reinstall?

[chrisjr]

It depends on what drivers it needs to talk to the new motherboard. If you are lucky it will sort itself out and perhaps load some generic drivers so that you can at least get in to Windows to update them properly.

However last time I swapped motherboards in a PC I had to reinstall Windows. The PC would not even boot into Safe Mode!

And you may also find that Windows needs to be re-activated because it might think it's a new PC. I had to do that on mine.

[Kolin Klingon]

I suppose it's a 'suck it and see' moment then.

Re-Activating windows shouldn't pose much of a problem.

[chrisjr]

Originally Posted by Kolin Klingon

I suppose it's a 'suck it and see' moment then.

Pretty much. Though be prepared for the worst and make sure your data is securely backed up. Even if Windows does play nicely always best to have a working back-up before doing any work like this just to be on the safe side.

Originally Posted by Kolin Klingon

Re-Activating windows shouldn't pose much of a problem.

I won't ask..

[Kolin Klingon]

Well my Windows 7 x64 is separate on my new 128gb SSHD. All the rest of the junk both good and bad is on a 1TB drive.

It's just all the millions of other programmes and their settings that takes days to get back to how I like them.

[Chanfron]

The main problem will be the Hdd controller chipset, if this is different from the current one it will cause windows to bluescreen when you change the board over.
If they are the same then it should load windows and then start re detecting all the new hardware items.

If you still have the current machine working you could set the Hdd controller to a generic standard controller and then that should allow it to work.

But it is still a case of try it and see, other factors may prevent it from booting.

[Kolin Klingon]

Originally Posted by Chanfron

The main problem will be the Hdd controller chipset, if this is different from the current one it will cause windows to bluescreen when you change the board over.
If they are the same then it should load windows and then start re detecting all the new hardware items.

If you still have the current machine working you could set the Hdd controller to a generic standard controller and then that should allow it to work.

But it is still a case of try it and see, other factors may prevent it from booting.

Interesting! How do I set the HDD controller to a generic standard one? Somewhere within Device manager?

[Kolin Klingon]

Ah I've found this guide to do it:

I'll post a link in case anyone else finds this thread and wants to know:

http://scottiestech.info/2010/03/17/...lling-your-os/

[c4rv]

which m/b are you going from / to.

[Kolin Klingon]

Originally Posted by c4rv

which m/b are you going from / to.

From: GA-73PVM-S2H
To: ASUS P5QL PRO

The reason I have gone from a Gigabyte to an ASUS is that there was a small problem with a sat card I had and the PCI-e X1 not liking each other. This may fix that being a different make - However, that would be a small plus point as I'm really changing for more slots and SATA ports.

Plus the new board can take more ram if I can ever afford it: up to 16gb as opposed to a max of 4gb that the old board does and currently has.

So it really is an upgrade to get me more of what I need.

If the worst happens, I can just reinstall windows. But I only did it all recently when I brought my SSHD. - All those bloody windows updates!