New motherboard

[Snowie]

I'm soon to be changing my motherboard, I was wondering what the best way is to re-install windows 7 while keeping all of my old files, such as games, music, etc. 

[jamie.k.hofer]

You should not need to re-install Windows when replacing the motherboard.

[STRMfrmXMN]

I'm soon to be changing my motherboard, I was wondering what the best way is to re-install windows 7 while keeping all of my old files, such as games, music, etc. 

Backup all your stuff to another hard drive or to Google drive. Steam can redownload your games. Music can be fit on most flash drives or on Google drive.

 

Also, remember to deactivate your old Windows key (ask @Syntaxvgm for help here) so you can reinstall Windows using the old key.

[STRMfrmXMN]

You should not need to re-install Windows when replacing the motherboard.

Product key is tied to the old motherboard and Windows won't boot so yes, it needs a reinstall.

[ImBleu]

Product key is tied to the old motherboard and Windows won't boot so yes, it needs a reinstall.

 

I moved from an MSI Z87-G45 with a 4670k to an Asus Z97 Maximus VII Hero with a 4790k without needing a reinstall.

[Dabasepc]

You should not need to re-install Windows when replacing the motherboard.

the chipset is on the mobo. fresh install is required if you swap mobo

[STRMfrmXMN]

I moved from an MSI Z87-G45 with a 4670k to an Asus Z97 Maximus VII Hero with a 4790k without needing a reinstall.

You must be magic. I've always needed a reinstall when swapping mobos  :blink:

[humpingpandas]

Product key is tied to the old motherboard and Windows won't boot so yes, it needs a reinstall.

Nope.

Everything will work fine, but Windows will be deactivated. You'll just have to reactivate your product key. Sometimes the key won't take, in that case call Microsoft and they'll get it all figured out.

I've done this many times.

[soup]

AIUI :-

  The situation is that the key is tied to the motherboard BUT it is not really the MoBo itself that the key is tied to it is the controller on the MoBo, often the same controller is used on three or four MoBos so you may well 'get away' with not re-installing.n  Personaly I would do the full backup before attempting anything just in case, and the full reinstall just to get rid of any rubbish your system may have accumulated.

 

This is also a good opportunity to check you have the latest drivers, all the updates etc.

[STRMfrmXMN]

Nope.

Everything will work fine, but Windows will be deactivated. You'll just have to reactivate your product key. Sometimes the key won't take, in that case call Microsoft and they'll get it all figured out.

I've done this many times.

The number of times I've gotten a motherboard swap to work without needing to reinstall Windows is none. No dice booting into Windows. You should still deactivate the old key so that it can be untied from the old motherboard to the new one.

[Oshino Shinobu]

You should not need to re-install Windows when replacing the motherboard.

 

 

Product key is tied to the old motherboard and Windows won't boot so yes, it needs a reinstall.

 

 

the chipset is on the mobo. fresh install is required if you swap mobo

It's not certain, one way or the other. 

 

I've had times where Windows has carried across fine, and others where I've had to reinstall. 

 

In general, it's best to do a clean install to make sure there are no conflicting drivers or other stability issues. 

[STRMfrmXMN]

It's not certain, one way or the other. 

 

I've had times where Windows has carried across fine, and others where I've had to reinstall. 

 

In general, it's best to do a clean install to make sure there are no conflicting drivers or other stability issues. 

My recommendation as well. Seems as if the internet agrees with me more, but nonetheless people have gotten it to work before. I'm not sure how it varies between different versions of Windows because it's never worked on either Windows 7 or 8.1.

[Snowie]

Thanks a lot for the advice guys :3