switching motherboards results in losing data? y/n?

[wildgg]

quick question regarding switching motherboards.

 

my current motherboard: msi z97 g55 sli

          i want to switch to: msi z97s sli krait edition (because it's white for my build)

 

will i need to do a fresh install of windows etc or can i just switch the motherboards because these 2 motherboards are almost the same.

i think it will be no problem but i just want some opinions.
 

thanks in advance,

 

 

 

  

[Regis_DeVallis]

I know you won't lose data (files, os), but you might have to reactivate windows? Double check on that. Sometimes keys are tied to the motherboard. 

[Lorunification]

Hi,

 

It certainly depends, if chipset drivers and the lot are the same it MIGHT work out of the box.

 

This is however NOT the case in most situations. It is far more likely that windows just plainly refuses to boot properly as this is quite a significant change in hardware specs.

The least thing that is going to happen is that you need to reactivate your version of Windows.

 

You should almost certainly plan in half a day of fixing issues even if Windows boots after the change. The better solution is clearly to just reinstall Windows after the hardware change.

 

As always I strongly recommend a proper backup of all your data before trying anything.

 

However, the data on your harddrive is unaffected by this change. Even if Windows refuses to boot you can always just boot from anything else and access your data as usual.

 

Regards

[iBeast_M0de]

quick question regarding switching motherboards.

 

my current motherboard: msi z97 g55 sli

          i want to switch to: msi z97s sli krait edition (because it's white for my build)

 

will i need to do a fresh install of windows etc or can i just switch the motherboards because these 2 motherboards are almost the same.

i think it will be no problem but i just want some opinions.

 

thanks in advance,

If ur running an overclock u'll lose those settings but I think thats how far it goes really

and ofcourse u need to install new mobo drivers and delete the old ones but thats about it

[Pofi]

Data won't be lost in the sense that you can put your previous motherboard back in and be able to access it, but I've had issues with Windows not wanting to boot and needing to be reinstalled for new board (I'm guessing drivers r to blame, tho not sure).

Since the motherboards are so similar though i'd just try swapping them out and seeing if the PC boots, there's a good chance it will work just fine. (Unless you're on Win10.... that .... thing.... is just ugly with keys and stuff, if you're on Win10 I'll bet it won't work without contacting microsoft or using pirated or technical preview editions)

[wildgg]

Data won't be lost in the sense that you can put your previous motherboard back in and be able to access it, but I've had issues with Windows not wanting to boot and needing to be reinstalled for new board (I'm guessing drivers r to blame, tho not sure).

Since the motherboards are so similar though i'd just try swapping them out and seeing if the PC boots, there's a good chance it will work just fine. (Unless you're on Win10.... that .... thing.... is just ugly with keys and stuff, if you're on Win10 I'll bet it won't work without contacting microsoft or using pirated or technical preview editions)

i'm thinking the same thing, these 2 boards are so similar it should be no problem. 

 

if it doesn't il just do a fresh install.

i'm on windows 7 pro