Replacing motherboard, CPU, and RAM. First time and have couple questions.

[Ftowngang916]

Hello this is my first time working on my computer by myself and after ordering some new parts I would like some help on getting everything to work correctly. I am confident that I can physically put the parts in place, but I am concerned about booting up my PC afterwards.

Do I have to reinstall Win7 after replacing Mobo and CPU? Or can I boot my computer up normally after the new parts are in? Also I have read that I need to delete the old mobo files from device manager. Is this necessary and how exactly do I do this? Below I have listed my current specs and the new parts I have purchased. Any help is greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance.

New Parts: [FONT=Verdana]AMD Bulldozer FX-6100 Six Core Processor 3.3GHZ Socket AM3+ 95W[/FONT]
[FONT=Arial]ASRock 880GM-LE FX AM3+ AMD 880G Micro ATX AMD Motherboard [/FONT]

Current Specs:
Win7
AMD Athlon 64 x2 6000+ Windsor 90nm
4gb ddr2 363mhz
ati radeon hd 4870
[FONT=Verdana][/FONT]

 

[gbhall]

Replacing a motherboard is a big topic, and there is plenty of advice about it if you google. Some of the highlights are - a new motherboard will necessarily mean a need for new drivers, and the existing installation might or might not boot up. Mostly it will not, but if it does, you will still need to do a 'repair' installation because lots of things need to be changed for the new motherboard.

Everything depends upon your installation media, because if it was supplied by a major Computer supplier/builder, then it will no longer work at all, either for a fresh installation or a repair installation. It will be tied to your old PC because a certain motherboard or HDD is expected. You will need a general installer (retail version in other words).

If you have a retail install disc, then as I said, you will need to reinstall, but it might only need to be a repair install, which is a lot quicker and does not destroy any data you already have.

Either way, be sure to have a full backup first. Good luck, and a happy new year.

PS. In the event that you can neither boot nor aquire a retail install of Windows 7, there is a possibility that Acronis Universal restore can do what you need. http://www.acronis.co.uk/company/inpress/2007/08-raid-array-image-7.html

I have no experience with this product, which would require you to first purchase, and install both TrueImage and Universal Restore, then produce a Drive Image before continuing to restore with new drivers. It might work out cheaper than purchasing a retail copy of Win7 but take longer. However, you would gain certain facilities that might be a life-saver at other times. I use Acronis TrueImage, but not Universal Restore. I dont regard TrueImage as very easy to use, but respect it's abilities.

Also note the date of that document - why is this product not well-known? Tread carefully.

PPS http://www.acronis.co.uk/homecomputing/products/trueimage/#add-migration says the option is still available, and overall, £32 GBP, so pretty cheap. Not well-known tho'

 

[St1ckM4n]

Personally, I'd take the opportunity to start with a fresh Windows install.