Re-installing Windows 7 For New Mobo and CPU?! + Instructions how to save data?

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Shark Dentist

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Hey guys,

I'm just about to build my first PC and was wondering if anyone could give me an in-depth walkthrough of how to re-install windows without the disc. + Saving data to another HDD?

I got magic jelly bean finder to find my serial key.
(I have Windows 7 Ultimate, service pack 1 x64)
 
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indy17

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For windows, you will need a bootable USB stick.
Read this
EDIT: http://rufus.akeo.ie/

And ofc, write down your CD key, on paper! :D

THe relevant data for you would be in My Documents Folder + Desktop + Downloads (or under the Users in the Primary Partition (OS that is)). Just copy + paste it onto the other hardrive. (You can also choose Windows backup if u want your Outlooks conversations saved and every other settings, but this can take up to a few hours - Personnaly, I never did this!)
If you have any saved games, they are usually saved smwhere under My Documents too, so you should be safe.

As a piece of advice: when u start the fresh install, format (and partition, if u want/need) the entire drive (dont do this unless you already have more than one partition on the OS hardrive and you want to keep the data on the those other partitions. Eg: OC (C), Data (D), Data (E) - in this case, format only C.) Full format is always better ( I know from my personal experience).

After you make the bootable stick, go into BIOS and change the booting priority, so it boots from USB. If it doesnt, than your priority is not right yet OR the USB stick is not bootable. After you have installed the OS (when u arrive to 1st reboot, if i remember corectly, change the priority to normal again (or just remove the USB stick)).

Usually these things go smooth.

Dont forget to have some drivers saved on an external USB (other than the win 7 one) or on an external HDD or something. Atleast the Lan/Wireless drivers. This will allow you to connect to the internet in order to get the newest drivers online.

Goodluck
 
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Shark Dentist

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How big does the usb/cd that I'm putting Win7 on have to be?
and how do I put mylan/wifi drivers on a disc?

Btw,thanks for the help :)
 
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indy17

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How big will the disc have to be? I've heard that Win7 is over 30gb :eek:
+ Can I burn it to a flash drive?


The Installed Win 7 can get to that (but it`s closer to 20 GB).
The USB bootable stick has ~4.3 Gb if i remember corectly. With a 8 GB stick you will be 100% fine! I used it myself.

Also, I`m using a 60 GB SSD in my laptop, rest being hooked UP externaly via USB 3.
The 60 GB are more that enough for OS, Office, Photoshop etc. If u install Matlab, it will be a tight fit. With games you almost out. One would fit, 2 prolly not.

indy

EDIT:
The drivers can be easily found if u know your manufacturer WHICH you can find in your PC specs (eg Device Manager etc).
But at this point I think you can google it, it would be easier. I`m at work so not alot of time to tweak with this :D
Usually the most important is your Chipset driver. If u got that package, the basic LAN functions will work too.
 
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Shark Dentist

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I'm going to be using my 1tb HDD that I'm using now as my boot drive,then I have a 500gb HDD that I'll be putting files on to copy back to the main drive.. then I have a 120gb SSD for recording Fraps to.. so what how do I know which one is which? :eek: 2 HDDs look very similar. + How do I tell my PC to install windows 7 to my main drive and not the other 2?
 
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USAFRet

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By having only the target drive connected when you do it.
This serves two purposes:
1. No possibility of getting the wrong drive
2. It forces the System Reserved partition to be on that same drive.
 
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Shark Dentist

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Do I really need the lan drivers for the internet to work? :(
I always assumed the drivers were on the motherboard.

 
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Shark Dentist

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So they come pre-installed in the OS?

 
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indy17

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Personally I think you`re using the drives exactly the other way around as the optimal way.
You always want the OS to be the fastest and the smallest drive. Why is this important?
1) The OS boots faster, the programs load faster.
2) When you reinstall the OS, you will want to format it entirely and therefore you`ll need to move all the data to other harddrives (eg backup)(Now if you fill up your 1 TB, it wont fit on the other 2 drives combined :D).

So, back to the basics.
Back in 1998 with windows 95 and 98 you had to program under MS-DOS all the partitioning. Now it`s way simpler.
First of all, when you start installing the OS, you will have a window appearing where you have to choose where you want your os to be installed. It wont be hard to figure out which one it is (the 1 tb, 500 GB or 120 GB SSD) as they have their names stated (ed WD, Toshiba, Kingston etc) and their specific space (9xx GB, 4xx Gb and 12x GB). You just cant go wrong there.

If you prefer the SSD for fraps, I think you can spare the 20-30 GB for OS on it + the rest for Fraps.
When it is filled up, just move the data to the other hard drives.

This one is optional:
IF you want your drives to appear in a specific order when you`re prompted for OS place installation, this one is done by changing the SATA slots in which you connect the specific drives.
So, if you want the OS drive to appear first, move it to SATA 0 slot on your motherboard etc.

indy

The DRIVERS are software. Always have been.
No Win OS will come with a lot of drivers in it. Just imagine how much space that would take considering how many millions of items that need drivers are in the world.
The OS has some basic drivers, like for basic graphics, so you can see what you`re doing, keyboard, sometimes sound, mouse.

People rarely DON`T know what chipset they have as it is imperative to know this when installing everything. It is written even on the Mobo box. It should be easy to find. As I said, google How do I know what driver chipset I need.

In the Device Manager, look under Network Adapter for the Name of the adapter. Now google [Network adapter name] drivers for windows 7.
 
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Shark Dentist

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Oh ok :) thanks for the info!
And something that I'm kind of panicking about is the lan/wifi drivers... do they come pre-installed in the OS? If not, could you tell me what drivers to get? I looked in device manager under "network adapters" and what came up is called "Microsoft Virtual WiFi Miniport Adapter"
Does this sound right? :|
 
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indy17

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Good point, thou the OP needs to know how to find this too, as next time he/she will be asking the same thing :D

Back in the days I learned by making my own mistakes. I actually copied a few GB of information on an unformatted drive. Appearently MS DOS didn`t warn me that I should format the new HDD 1st. Data lost, lesson learned :lol:
 
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Shark Dentist

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I just bought a Gigabyte Z97-HD3 board that I'm going to be installing shortly.
 
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indy17

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It will come with all the drives you need then.
Usually you have a CD with them. If it is a CD and you dont have a CD ROM, go to a neighbor and copy the content to a USB stick and keep it nearby. When OS installation is done, stick it in and install the chipset drivers and rest what you need. Once you got internet connection, you can find the rest online. You can even get programs that automatically analyse your computer and suggest + download the drivers for you. Don`t know how reliable they are as I`ve never used one.
 
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Shark Dentist

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I'm not sure if this is important but... The 1TB and 500gb HDDs I'm going to re-installing windows on, I'm using now on my current pc.
That's why I'm re-installing Win7 on them because I got a new mobo,CPU,GPU,PSU, and SSD.
 
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USAFRet

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You install the OS on only one drive.
And as said above, I agree that you're designating your drives the wrong way:
SSD for OS and applications
500GB to record to
1TB for all that other junk
 
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indy17

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It sounds like you`re installing WIN 7 on all 3 of them.
To make it clear: you can only install WIN 7 on one at a time and the OS will remain there. The other 2 drives can be hooked up and removed at any time at your convenience.

You can actually put only the 120 GB ssd in the new rig and install the OS on it. Afterwards you can connect the other 2 drives. Just don`t forget to power the PC down before doing this. :)
 
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Shark Dentist

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I need the SSD to record to..
When recording to an SSD and not from it you get a significant fps boost because the write speeds are faster.. so that the drive doesn't slow down the game (dropping fps) to match with the writing.
 
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USAFRet

USAFRet

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The main FPS consideration when recording is recording to a different drive than what you are playing from.
Doesn't have to be an SSD.

Trying to play and record to the same drive is the problem most people see, not HDD vs SSD.
 
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