Different mobo, same chipset and socket, avoiding formatting

ATG1412

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Aug 19, 2015
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Previous Mobo: ASUS H61M-K
New Mobo: MSI H61M-P31/W8
Before buying the new mobo, I had 3 partitions (C, D and E with Windows 10 installed on C).
My question is: if I install a new copy of Windows (7) on the C drive (which results in creating a Windows.old folder for the previous OS) and install the new mobo's drivers, then upgrade to Windows 10 and delete the Windows.old folder, will my computer encounter any problems?
Or can I just format the C drive where the OS is currently installed and leave D & E intact?
The reason I want to do this is because I have over 200GBs worth of files (on the D&E partitions) I don't want to get rid of and it takes me too much time to upload them to an online drive. A second HDD is out of the question in my case.
 
Solution
It is recommended that you reinstall the OS when changing the motherboard. In your case there is no need to wipe your other partitions to do this. You have 2 choices each with there own draw backs but both will work for you, 1st: format just the C:/ partition and reinstall the OS ( this erases all settings and info stored on the C:/ drive allowing for a clean install but may cause loss of info just on that drive) and 2nd: you can can do an Upgrade to Win 7 which will keep all settings but as you mentioned will leave you a large windows.old file that will need to be erased and force you to remove the old motherboard drivers yourself as they will be slightly different.

alternatively IF the system boots into the OS right away with...

PNP Andy

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Nov 21, 2015
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It's possible that you could just install the new motherboard and boot normally without reloading windows then update the drivers from there. You can reload Windows on the C: drive and not lose data on you other partitions it you prefer a fresh install.
 
It is recommended that you reinstall the OS when changing the motherboard. In your case there is no need to wipe your other partitions to do this. You have 2 choices each with there own draw backs but both will work for you, 1st: format just the C:/ partition and reinstall the OS ( this erases all settings and info stored on the C:/ drive allowing for a clean install but may cause loss of info just on that drive) and 2nd: you can can do an Upgrade to Win 7 which will keep all settings but as you mentioned will leave you a large windows.old file that will need to be erased and force you to remove the old motherboard drivers yourself as they will be slightly different.

alternatively IF the system boots into the OS right away with out issues you can remove the old motherboard drivers, upgrade to Win 10 then install the new motherboard drivers.
 
Solution