Motherboard and RAM upgrade, do i have to reinstall windows + activation question

[andy1027]

It isn't to do with chipset drivers, it is to do with the key itself. OEM keys are bound to the system they were first activated on, so any major hardware changes, even if they are upgrades, count as a new system. Swapping motherboard to one with a different chipset is seen as a major hardware change, and so as soon as you connect to the net, or even if you are when you first activate windows, you will be told that the key is already in use, which it is (was) on your old computer.

The OS you have is an OEM copy, so yes, your upgrades will require you to get a new copy of Windows. If all you use your system for is the internet, word processing, music pictures etc, you may not even need to buy a copy of Windows, just download a copy of Ubuntu, or get them to send you one, it can do everything that Windows can, but as it is a Linux distro, it is free. The only time any issues pop up is if you try to play games, as very few "major" games have Linux support

Yes but I was talking about it not letting you boot the system., As I said that when I did it (What did I do? I placed a HDD with XP into my current system and booted from that HDD) and it didn't work because it said in the boot process that it was missing a SPECIFIC file.

Nothing to do with Activation as far as Im concerned because I never managed to get to the OS at all

 

[Dngrsone]

Sometimes one can get away with installing a new motherboard without having to reinstall Win-- if the replacement motherboard is the same model as previously, then things should go smoothly. Otherwise, you do need to back everything up, create restore discs and such.

If you boot into Safe mode on the old motherboard, remove all the specific drivers for the IDE, SATA, and any additional drivers associated with your motherboard hardware, then turn the system off and install the new hardware, then you might be able to boot Win and just install the new drivers. This still requires you to have an OS source (CD or hidden system partition).

 

[arsenalbates]

Ok, to slightly change the subject i now have a query about my new motherboard. its the ASUS P5P43TD/USB3 and it has no onboard graphics. im asuming that i am going to be able to plug my graphics card in and the graphics should run from that as there is no other way it will work, however the drivers that make the graphics card work wont be installed so how am i going to get a display ?

 

[Aastii]

Yes but I was talking about it not letting you boot the system., As I said that when I did it (What did I do? I placed a HDD with XP into my current system and booted from that HDD) and it didn't work because it said in the boot process that it was missing a SPECIFIC file.

Nothing to do with Activation as far as Im concerned because I never managed to get to the OS at all

Every time I have put a HDD from a system with an OEM copy into another, it has booted no problems, but it has come up with the activation window for Windows, if you have ever seen it, you will know what I mean, I don't know the specific name for it. As soon as you pop it back into the original system, it works just like it always has

Ok, to slightly change the subject i now have a query about my new motherboard. its the ASUS P5P43TD/USB3 and it has no onboard graphics. im asuming that i am going to be able to plug my graphics card in and the graphics should run from that as there is no other way it will work, however the drivers that make the graphics card work wont be installed so how am i going to get a display ?

Yes, you will need to use a video card, and yes, it will work. It will use the generic Windows drivers until you install the specific drivers, meaning that you won't get the performance until you install the drivers, and by default, when you boot it will always go to 800x600 resolution...but it will work

 

[arsenalbates]

Thanks mate, just one more quick question to throw into the forum, the DDR3 RAM i have ordered is not in the vendors compatible list, does this mean it wont work or is the list all those that they have tested and works ?

 

[Aastii]

Thanks mate, just one more quick question to throw into the forum, the DDR3 RAM i have ordered is not in the vendors compatible list, does this mean it wont work or is the list all those that they have tested and works ?

It is the latter. New memory is brought out all the time (not new standards, new products from manufacturers), and there are hundreds of different types to begin with. To test all of them and keep it updated would be very time consuming, especially considering most motherboard manufacturer's have themselves dozens of different models, past and present, that they would have to update.

If it is DDr3, if it a supported speed, and if the voltages are with in the levels of the board, it should work no problem

 

[arsenalbates]

Thanks. I have received my new ram just waiting on the new motherboard. I will let you know how I get on.

 

[chin00k47]

I believe the boot.ini is on the hard drive not the MOBO, I believe you will cahnge the board, windows will boot, you then need to stick in your MOBO and network adapter drivers (to get on the internet). Make sure you have a flash with the mobo drivers if you do not have a CD.

 

[arsenalbates]

Would it be worth installing the drivers for the new motherboard ect on the current system or does it not work like that ?

 

[Aastii]

I believe the boot.ini is on the hard drive not the MOBO, I believe you will cahnge the board, windows will boot, you then need to stick in your MOBO and network adapter drivers (to get on the internet). Make sure you have a flash with the mobo drivers if you do not have a CD.

No, it would not work. As I previously stated, it is also saved online, so you connect to the net and it will see that you have a different system to the one it is bound to and won't work

Would it be worth installing the drivers for the new motherboard ect on the current system or does it not work like that ?

On the new one I would install them, but I would uninstall the old ones first