Changing mobo means changing windows ?

[Arch3rs]

Hi guy and gals,

Just a quick one, i'm currently running a P4 2.8 ht proc and an old board (dell optiplex 280 minitower) and was wondering if I change my Mobo and proc to a Quad core or such like will I need to reinstall windows ? Would rather not if a way round it as all my music and stuff is on the same drive !


Thanks for the help

Tom

[Steve R Jones]

Odds are your Dell cd will only work on a mobo with a Dell BIOS.

You might maybe get away with a "repair" install which is something you have to do with a new mobo anyway.

[ShyguyXPC]

also, if your going to spend the cash on a new CPU & mobo, maybe make some sacrifices one board/feature set, or save some extra cash & buy a 2nd Hard drive to transfer/backup your data to, so don't have to worry about losing your data if you do need to reinstall windows.

[Arch3rs]

Well it's not really the windows re-installing that is a problem it is all my information and playlists etc ! Next time i'll def sort another drive but was just wondering if I could play and play with new mobo !

Thanks for the replys

[#43 fan]

You'd have to have the data on another disc, either an optical (dvd) or a different hard drive.
Or, make a hard drive image.

[Arch3rs]

So if I buy another hard drive and do a hard drive image I will be able to keep all my info and play list etc ? Then import then onto the new copy of windows ?

[ShyguyXPC]

or just install, format the new HDD with current setup, & simply copy over the data onto the new drive, organize it into folders or whatever... before you do the mobo upgrade.

then after new install, connect it as a data drive again & copy the data back into whatever folders you want in the new OS.

Doing an image, usually means making an image of the entire drive, OS & all... so you might end up with a ton of extra junk imaged onto the drive that would be taking up extra space.

[Atomic Rooster]

You should be able to swap out your motherboard without reinstalling the OS.

Here's a good tutorial that will show you how: Swapping your board without so much as a reinstall

[Arch3rs]

Thanks guys !