Any precautions before replacing motherboard?

[markusaurileus]

Hi,
I'm planning on replacing my 2 year old ECS GeForce 7050M-M AM2+ motherboard with one that's officially AM2+/AM3 compatible, probably an ASUS M4A78L-M http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131608.

When I do remove and replace my old board with a new one, what should I expect after everything is physically installed? I'm on Windows 7 Pro x64; should everything function normally afterward? I remember XP was really picky with both replacing and removing hardware, and my system would not function properly unless I did a windows repair.

So is it the same for Win 7 systems?

Thanks,
Mark

 

[Fetal]

Yes should be.

 

[markusaurileus]

It should be the same as XP with the windows repair process? And why is it should be?

 

[jsc]

You will need to, at the least, do a Windows repair, or, at most, a complete reinstall.

The ECS board uses an nVidia chipset. The Asus board uses an AMD chipset.

 

[Fetal]

^ Now you can see why i said should be. it always if not everytime, makes you repair your windows.

and as you yourself can see, both your boards are like sky and earth in difference.

 

[markusaurileus]

ah alright then. is it easy to do a system repair on windows 7? I hope I don't have to reinstall windows? and by reinstall, does that mean I have to export/import my user settings and files manually, or does it automatically keep everything like i had it?

 

[JDFan]

ah alright then. is it easy to do a system repair on windows 7? I hope I don't have to reinstall windows? and by reinstall, does that mean I have to export/import my user settings and files manually, or does it automatically keep everything like i had it?

Normally a Repair Install is all that is needed and will only reset the system files and drivers so all of your programs and settings will remain intact (unless you are also changing other things like adding or removing a HDD which will then require resetting your shortcuts etc. since the drive letter assignments may change. If for some reason the Repair install does not work then a complete reinstall may be needed in which case all of your settings\programs will need to be redone also ! (Not really anyway to be sure if it will be needed or not so Best to make a backup of everything you might need first just in case !!

 

[markusaurileus]

Alright, thanks guys. I have a better understanding about what to watch out for during a motherboard replacement.

One last thing, though lol. Would I have to do a windows repair after I upgrade the CPU? Example: AM2 to AM3 : D