New Motherboard - Reinstall Windows 7?

[xflippedx]

Hey guys, I have a big problem here. My old and very poor built Elitegroup P45T-A board fried, and took my processor out with it. My new parts will be arriving tomorrow, and I'm wondering if I need to to a clean install of Windows 7 on my system.

See, I would do this, but the Windows 7 installation files are on my hard drive and I can't access them because I have no motherboard. I have heard that windows will not start if you install a new motherboard unexpectedly. Is there a way around this? How can I access my computer to either delete the drivers and install my new ones or install a new copy of Windows 7?

 

[dickcruz]

oh, you just need to do a repair you don't need to reinstall the whole thing.

 

[xflippedx]

I was looking around and the only repair people have been able to use was Startup Repair.. is that the option I select at my boot menu?

 

[aford10]

If it's the same motherboard it will boot just fine, and you won't need to do anything.

If it's a similar motherboard, it may boot, but you should do a fresh install once you've backed up your data. This will eliminate possible driver conflicts, and general clutter.

If it's a different model motherboard, and it doesn't boot right away, do the windows repair. You can do this by booting off your OS disc, and follow this guide.
http://pcsupport.about.com/od/toolsofthetrade/ss/windows-7-startup-repair.htm
Once the repair is done, you should be able to boot into windows normally. Then you should still backup your data, and do a fresh windows install.

 

[diolan_69]

No u don't have to bcoz it is already installed on hard drive

 

[TuffLittleUnit]

I think windows validation might be a problem for you if you're using a different motherboard and cpu. I suspect that enough components will have changed for Windows to believe that the hard drive has been inserted into a different PC (I guess it has, really).

All is not lost though because Microsoft do provide a mechanism for revalidating your licence - make sure you've got your product key, though.

 

[aford10]

No u don't have to bcoz it is already installed on hard drive

You're completely missing the fact that the chipset drivers are different, if the motherboard changes. Just because windows has been installed, doesn't mean you can change hardware, and it'll boot.

This is also a 2 year old thread.

 

[aford10]

This topic has been closed by Aford10