Changing motherboard windows 7 currently

Aug 1, 2018
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I am getting ready to swap motherboards and processors but the rest of the hardware will remain the same. 2 questions, without digging for my disk, can I find my key in my current running computer ? And can I clone the OS to a flash drive so when I change the motherboard I can just reinstall OS from flash drive?
I have the disk somewhere, but my wife decided to organize for me and packed all my software somewhere, but she and I have no clue where lol
Thanks
 
You can also use ShowKeyPlus to easily view your current product key and key type.

The key type should be either OEM or Retail. OEM licenses are tied to the motherboard you initially install them on and are only considered transferable in cases of repair. Retail licenses for Windows 7 are allowed to be transferred to new motherboards.

Cloning to a flash drive is not going to work for reinstalling Windows. You need to dig up installation media somewhere.

Microsoft provides Windows 7 downloads here.

Finally, depending on the equipment you are changing to, you may receive a recurring unsupported hardware warning from Windows after installation and some patching, and will be prevented further patches by Microsoft at that point. The solution is to not patch, to patch as far as you can, or to install a 3rd party patch that bypasses the CPU check. In all cases, you'll have to ignore the warning when it pops up in the middle of the screen, but the 3rd party patch does make the warning pop up far less often.

3rd party patch
 

NatalieEGH

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Nov 23, 2012
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What is the most recent motherboard/CPU combinations that can be used with the Windows 7 64 bit, either Professional or Ultimate. I have both but prefer Professional.

I know this has been asked in the past but I saw no recent answers. I hope there are more recent hardware.
 
FX CPUs and some, yes only some Skylake CPUs shipped by OEMs are "officially" supported in Windows 7 and 8.x.

This is Microsoft trying to strong-arm folks onto Windows 10. As all current CPUs are still x86-64 compatible, all are still compatible with Windows 7 and 8.x.

The problem is that Microsoft has a patch on Windows Update for Windows 7 and 8.x that activates CPU version checking, and simply refuses to allow new updates if they see that you have a CPU installed that is deemed to be too new. Since it's a CPU check, the motherboard used is irrelevant.

The 3rd party patch I linked to above will work around the CPU version checking and allows the continued installation of updates.

The version of Windows 7, whether Pro or Ultimate is irrelevant. Microsoft wants to force users of all versions of Windows 7 and 8.x onto the Windows 10 ecosystem.

Going forward, the issue with new hardware in Windows 7 and 8.x is driver support. If you need drivers for particular motherboard hardware, or specific CPU features, you may just have to live without.