New Board and CPU - Quick Question.

[Vandle]

After several pathetic noob overclocking attempts I have finally killed my Mobo and PSU.
They were old anyway and I want to move onto 64 bit .

However , being as lazy as I am I havent backed any of my data up for ages.

Will I have to format my hard drive after putting in the new bits?
Is there anyway at all I can avoid it?

Thanks.

 

[semi-pro waster]

You may be able to get away with doing a repair install of Windows but this is by no means guaranteed plus it will leave behind all sorts of leftover drivers etc. If you have a spare hard drive then you could install Windows on that and then backup your files/move them across to the other hard drive.

 

[Vandle]

Say I bought a new drive then gave it a fresh install.
Is it reletavely easy to add my old one afterwards , then to just browse it for the files I want?

 

[semi-pro waster]

Yes that is what I would do, hard drives have never been cheaper. It is easy to do, since your old hard drive is already NTFS formatted it should automatically be recognised by Windows and allow you to access the files right away, just remember to set the correct boot order so that your new PC doesn't try to boot off the old hard drive. There can occasionally be issues about ownership of the drive and access rights but it is easier to just deal with them if they come up

 

[a1ex2001]

I always tend to buy a new hard disk when I do a major upgrade they are so cheap now and it can save loads of hassle!

 

[Vandle]

Cheers fellas