Updating motherboard losing game data

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bigbasedrum

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Mar 23, 2012
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Hey guys I'm thinking about updating my motherboard. Would this mean I'd have to reactivate all my games? Meaning that I have to have all the CD keys? And is there a risk that I could lose my savegame data? The reason I'm worried about the activation keys is that I accidentialy lost the cover of Dirt 3 and so the CD key also(I really did lose it it is an original) Help would be appreciated :)
 
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only your operating system is tied to your system config but even then you can swap out parts without having to activate windows again... on oem versions theres a limit on howmany times you can activate windows but you just ring them and tell em you upgraded and they will issue a new key...

you can swap out any hdd, gfx or even the cpu 1 at a time and windows should be fine. as should your games... if you swap out the mother board theres always a chance you will have to reactivate windows but again this will have no effect on your games...
if you do swap out the motherboard your best off doing a repair install anyway... any games you have installed would likely need a new activation but if your keys are legit then you will have no...
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DM186

DM186

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First off, your data is not stored on your motherboard(MOBO). It is on your HDD (hard drive). So upgrading your MOBO will not be a problem for your games. That is the good news.

Now for the bad. Nobody on here will give you a CD Key at all. You will have to get hold of the people who sold or made the game. That way they can help you with your problem of loosing your CD Key.

Tom's web site frowns on this because of piracy that is all over the place. I know it sucks when that happens and you put out that kind of money. I do wish you the best and good luck on your game.
 
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bigbasedrum

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I'm aware that the data is stored on the HDD:). What I meant was that i read somewhere that the HDD is tied to the motherboard. This is to stop piracy so when you update a motherboard you have to deactivate and reactivate everything(including Windows and games). Is this true, and is it necessary? I'm also aware that nobody would give me a CD key, I wasn't asking. What I meant was that if I phone Codemasters with the serial number of the game, would they be able to help me? I could also give them my Games for Windows account details. I'd imagine that would help? Thanx for the advice :)
 
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DM186

DM186

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I don't know where you herd that but I have up dated MOBO's before and I have never lost any type of games or programs. If that is the case it is sure a new one on me.

I wasn't trying to get on your case about CD Keys I was just trying to inform you to be carefull. Codemasters should beable to help you and if not they can point you in the right direction.

Back to your HDD. I am trying to figure out how your HDD stores any information on a MOBO and then up grading your MOBO would cause you to loos all your info on your HDD?

I just can't see that happing. When you put a new MOBO in and plug in the CD that come's with the MOBO and you download all the drivers and bios etc. How would that make you reformat your hard drive?

I could totally be in the dark and there might be some truth to that. In My opinion I don't think that would happen but I have been wrong before. I do wish you good luck and I hope you don't have to loose all your info.
 
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whatsthatnoise

whatsthatnoise

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He was just talking about programs (games) that uses some kind of DRM that ties the install to your hardware. Just like windows does.

Such stupid type of DRM really exists for certain games. Some even go as far to only allow the customer to install only a set number of times on different hardware, like 3-5 times. After that you can't play the game you payed for, anymore. :p

God bless those copy protection systems, woohoo.
 
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DM186

DM186

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^^
Thanks for the update. I totally forgot about DRM. I am getting to old I can't remember things like I use to. Yeah they should do away with that for sure. You would have to wipe your hard drive in order to install the game with the new MOBO. Or you are up a creek without a paddle. Thanks man :pt1cable:
 
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bigbasedrum

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haha glad we all on the same page now :D. Thanks guys u been a big help ! :)
and dm dnt worry about the CD key thing we all feel the same about piracy it just makes it difficult for us honest gamers.
 
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bigbasedrum

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Hey guys. Just got a reply from Codemasters. They say that I don't have to worry and that as long as I sign into the same GFWL profile that I registered the game to I don't need the CD key. I'm in the process of asking abt non-GFWL Codemaster's games.
 
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DM186

DM186

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Wow that is some good news to hear. Thank you for reposting.
 
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bigbasedrum

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Codemasters replied again! :) They say I also don't need to worry about non-GFWL games as none of their games are tied to the MOBO in any way. It appears you were right DM! Looks like most games aren't tied to your MOBO and the few that are won't be much of a problem! YAY! :D
 
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HEXiT

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only your operating system is tied to your system config but even then you can swap out parts without having to activate windows again... on oem versions theres a limit on howmany times you can activate windows but you just ring them and tell em you upgraded and they will issue a new key...

you can swap out any hdd, gfx or even the cpu 1 at a time and windows should be fine. as should your games... if you swap out the mother board theres always a chance you will have to reactivate windows but again this will have no effect on your games...
if you do swap out the motherboard your best off doing a repair install anyway... any games you have installed would likely need a new activation but if your keys are legit then you will have no issues there either...
this isnt because they system setup has changed but because a repair install changes some reg entries and its that, that may cause some games to stop working. not there DRM...



 
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HEXiT

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no... you cant upgrade from xp to 7 in the way you can from vista to 7. its always a fresh install even if you choose upgrade... form xp
you also cant directly upgrade from xp32 to win7 64 as the bitrate is incompatible so again it will be a fresh install...

when you boot off the win 7 disk you will have to format the hdd as they file system (mbr) is slightly different so you will have to delete any existing partitions and create new 1s to replace them...

so your gonna loose all your data anyways unless you can back it up to another drive... dont bother with the games as you are gonna have to install them again anyway on a fresh install so its pointless copying them to another drive unless there direct to drive downloads like from steam... (use steams own backup features to store your D2D games.

so like i say you cant use the win 7 64 upgrade on xp 32, xp 64 or vista 32 for that matter. even if the disk gives you the option to do so... it will always need to delete existing partitions and quick format the newly created 1s.
also b4 you isntall the new o.s you will have to go into bios and set the hpet mode (high precision even timer) to match the bit rate of the new o.s. so 32 for 32bit and 64 for 64 bit... this is a requirment for both win 7 and vista. xp doesnt use hpet... if your motherboard doesnt have that setting in bios then you may not be able to run a stable version of win7 unless its 32 bit. so read up on the motherboard manufacturers site forums first, to see if there compatable with the o.s you want to use.



 
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HEXiT

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it reads complex but its really easy to do... a few clicks of a few buttons and50 minutes later your o.s is installed.
it really isnt difficult and the sooner you learn how to do it the more comfy you will be... even if you dont manage to get it right first time your always gonna learn something so give it a try yourself rather than have some1 else do it...
 
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HEXiT

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to be honest i would use the 160 as the boot drive and install your o.s on that, then you have 500 gig for storage. the reason behind this decision is that the o.s is constantly writing to the drive so it will get fragmented quicker than a storage drive. but if you store data on the bigger drive as well as the o.s that data will get fragmented and slow the system down...
 
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