Software/Mobo Questions, Windows 7 and Asus M4N68T-M Am3 Motherboard.

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Primordial Genesis

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Hey guys, my current setup is a Phenom II X4 925. I'm led to believe the OS (windows 7 in my case) is tied into your motherboard. My motherboard (Asus M4N68T-M) is broken, Audio is gone, and the sound card I used is also gone. The mobo itself works fine other than that. So I would like to replace the mobo without having to do a fresh install of windows 7.

If I replace the mobo with the exact same model will I be required to do a fresh install?(Windows 7 OEM is £70 and retail is £190, extortionate!)

If I do not need to do a fresh Install, Where can I buy a brand new Motehrboard of this model?

If it helps this is the Asus Page for it: http://www.asus.com/Motherboards/M4N68TM/specifications/

Cheers,

Primordial Genesis.
 
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spdragoo
OS is installed on the hard drive; your CPU is tied to the motherboard (in the sense that you need a Socket AM3/AM3+ motherboard to use your Phenom II).

However....

My experience with replacing a motherboard (Gigabyte GA-990FX-UD3) is that, even if the model number is the same, the revision number will also cause a problem. My old board was version 1.0, but the onboard Ethernet went bad & started causing other problems; the new board was version 4.0...& Windows 7 Professional (64-bit) didn't like the change & forced me to reinstall from scratch. Surprisingly, when I swapped out my Phenom II for an FX-8320 a few months later, all it prompted me for was a Windows Update (no reinstall required).

So, the chances are good...
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spdragoo

spdragoo

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OS is installed on the hard drive; your CPU is tied to the motherboard (in the sense that you need a Socket AM3/AM3+ motherboard to use your Phenom II).

However....

My experience with replacing a motherboard (Gigabyte GA-990FX-UD3) is that, even if the model number is the same, the revision number will also cause a problem. My old board was version 1.0, but the onboard Ethernet went bad & started causing other problems; the new board was version 4.0...& Windows 7 Professional (64-bit) didn't like the change & forced me to reinstall from scratch. Surprisingly, when I swapped out my Phenom II for an FX-8320 a few months later, all it prompted me for was a Windows Update (no reinstall required).

So, the chances are good you'll need to do a fresh install, even if you manage to get the same board. However, you should still be able to use your existing Windows key to reinstall the OS; it'll prompt you to call the toll-free number for a code to enter, but otherwise you should be fine.

That being said... I would recommend getting an improved version f your board. I would recommend their M5A78L-M/USB3 (http://www.asus.com/Motherboards/M5A78LMUSB3/): it's pretty close to what you already have in terms of expansion slots (PCIe x16, PCIe x1, 2 PCI slots), but has more RAM slots (4 total, max of 8GB/slot for 32GB total), plus has USB 3.0 ports. Here in the US, they run about $65 at the local Micro Center, so they should be fairly inexpensive.
 
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Primordial Genesis

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Thank you for your Answer, Lol I'm aware the OS is installed on the Hard drive, however I've read in so many places it's tied to your motherboard.

I'm still looking for this board because I may as well try it out and see if I don't need a fresh install. The reason I ask is, I bought this PC Pre Built and never received the disk for my OS, about 4 years ago! I have a feeling they might have used OEM that's why.

If someone can find me a brand new model of that motherboard in the UK I'll be very grateful, can't seem to find it on amazon.co.uk
 
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sora

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The OS is indeed tied to your motherboard if it is an OEM version and most pre-built computer companies do tend to use OEM versions of Windows.
 
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Primordial Genesis

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I've read the retail version is also tied to your mobo to stop people using it on multiple PC's.

 
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spdragoo

spdragoo

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Which is why most of the retailers have moved away from even providing you an install disk. They either have a "recovery partition" on the hard drive, or (as in the case of HP laptops) they "recommend" that you make your own backup/recovery disks as soon as you purchase it.

However... if you have your own Windows disk that you bought (as I did the last time I built my PC), the only limitation is that you can only have it active on 1 PC at any given time (1 key = 1 PC). It's a slight hassle to go through the phone system to reactivate it each time, but it's not that major.
 
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sora

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The OEM version is locked to the motherboard.
 
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