Which came first - the motherboard or the OS?

[JJDubs]

Come October or November after I receive my Windows 7 upgrade I want to upgrade my computer. I want to put in a new motherboard and upgrade from XP to 7.

The question is, should I install the new motherboard first and then do the XP-to-7 upgrade or vice versa?

John
Merrillville, IN

 

[Nils]

The only reason I can see why you would wait for your hardware until you get windows 7, is because prices might be more interesting then, especially if you are looking for a Core i7 setup.
By installing the motherboard first you will only have to install windows once, otherwise twice (on your current PC and on the upgraded one).

Can I ask a question too? I can't wait myself to upgrade from Xp to 7, but I'm kinda confused about the versions available of windows 7. I heard there is a beta going round for testing purposes and a little bit later I heard there is also a RC version or something like that. When will the official version be released? Or is it already available?

 

[JJDubs]

The RC version was available from Microsoft and, from what I understand, I don't think it is still available for download but those that do have it can use it until June 2010. The upgrade, available in October, was on sale at various places for about $50 but I think that is over, too.

From what I have read, the upgrade from XP to 7 can be a pain. You have to do a clean (full) install. Vista to 7 does not have that problem.

I thought I read somewhere that you can upgrade your XP installation to Vista without activating it so as to upgrade to 7 without the need to backup everything and re-installing all your programs. So you could, in theory, borrow a Vista upgrade disk and install and then upgrade to 7. Seems like just as much a PITA. Somebody correct me if I'm wrong.

John
Merrillville, IN

 

[MaDMagik]

In the last email from MS informing of release of the OS to manufacturers they stated that you will be able to download the RC until 20th of August, and cd-keys would be still available till march 2010, so i guess you can still give it a try. Im also told that the latest RC available is in fact informally RC2 as its a later build.

$50 for an OS upgrade? Geez, sometimes I wish I lived in the US ;]

 

[JJDubs]

I found this at the MaximumPC site:

"Windows 7 on the other hand, will now require an activated previous version to be installed and not even the workaround found in the Vista version will be permitted. "

... so I guess you can't borrow a Vista disc to facilitate a Windows XP to Windows 7 upgrade.

John
Merrillville, IN

 

[JessicaD]

Nils,

There is currently an RC version of Windows 7 available for download, yes. If you wish to try Windows 7, you may want to hurry up and download Windows 7 RC while you still can. Come August 15th the Win 7 download will no longer be available. The Win 7 RC can be downloaded directly from Microsoft here: http://tinyurl.com/cwl3fs
If you enjoy your experience with the RC version of Win7, you can now pre-order your copy of Windows 7 for a discounted price! For more information, see the Windows 7 Pre-Order offer page here: http://tinyurl.com/nldc8p

Windows 7 will be offically released to the general public on October 22nd.
Jessica
Microsoft Windows Client Team

 

[jsrudd]

I'm pretty sure that XP is tied to a specific motherboard so upgrading the motherboard would mean that you had to reinstall XP, so I would wait. But do a clean install rather than an upgrade for better performance.

 

[chunkymonster]

Nils,

There is currently an RC version of Windows 7 available for download, yes. If you wish to try Windows 7, you may want to hurry up and download Windows 7 RC while you still can. Come August 15th the Win 7 download will no longer be available. The Win 7 RC can be downloaded directly from Microsoft here: http://tinyurl.com/cwl3fs
If you enjoy your experience with the RC version of Win7, you can now pre-order your copy of Windows 7 for a discounted price! For more information, see the Windows 7 Pre-Order offer page here: http://tinyurl.com/nldc8p

Windows 7 will be offically released to the general public on October 22nd.
Jessica
Microsoft Windows Client Team

Thanks for the links but for the life of me I wish MS would offer a discount for pre-orders of the Win7 full version and not just for upgrades?!?!

 

[Nils]

To everyone: thanks a lot for the replies.