New Motherboard, need a fresh Install?

HecFam · 30 Jan 2013 at 10:45

Hey guys,

Im changing from a ASrock m3a770de to a new Asrock Extreme 4.

I just wondered if it will be a problem to switch them around. I'm hoping I won't have any major driver problems, but i just wondered what the best option was.

could i run ccleaner and remove my old mobo ones before i put my new one in?
Then install the latest drivers, or will there be some big arguments?

cheers.

HecFam · 30 Jan 2013 at 15:40

Sorry to be a pain with my shamelessness.

Anyone know if it will be a problem?

eddyr · 30 Jan 2013 at 22:09

This is what you want:

http://www.sevenforums.com/tutorials/135077-windows-7-installation-transfer-new-computer.html

Explains how to use the inbuilt Sysprep utility to prepare the OS for 'out of box experience' that resets windows driver/hardware wise to the state it was at first bootup.

Recently used this myself to move my sig Asus p7h55 system to a Gigabyte z77 system.

No probs 3 days in. Reinstalled all motherboard drivers from the gigabyte website. Use as normal.

Obviously YMMV so backup/image the drive before trying. I actually cloned my OS to a spare hdd I had lying about to test it first.

HecFam · 31 Jan 2013 at 10:32

That should be simple enough, i have just my OS on a SSD so it won't take long to transfer that over.

Will this reset the drivers for every component, GPU and everything? or is there a way just to remove mobo drivers to make sure they do not conflict with new ones?

Thanks By the way.

eddyr · 31 Jan 2013 at 12:33

Curiously it seemingly left the AMD drivers alone, but I reinstalled them anyway. What it does to the old drivers to ensure no conflicts I couldn't say.
May be no different to what happens if you simply swap motherboards with win7 without syspreping (which many ppl report succes doing) and leaving it to do it all on bootup? But I expect it probably does more and is definatly at least safer for the initial windows boot using generic windows drivers.

It did remove my taskbar pinned shorcuts but everything else looks to be just as I left it, desktop shortcuts, power options, installed software etc.

edit: When you do sysprep it may fail (it did for me first time). A lttle further down the link it explains that its to do with WMP network service, stopping it as they suggest solved that.

HecFam · 31 Jan 2013 at 12:51

Thinking about it, I didn't install the motherboard drivers when I reinstalled it on my SSD.

So i don't think there will be confliction, the only thing i did do was flash the motherboard and install sound drivers.

I take it the flash will not affect any drivers but the sound might cause a little problem. Can i just uninstall them with ccleaner?

I have downloaded other asrock softwares, which i can just dump.

So cheers for that, Ill give it a go without the sysprep.

Thanks for your help.

Im hoping asrock is kind to newer asrock boards.

eddyr · 31 Jan 2013 at 13:05

:O Athough win7 seems v capable of dealing with drastic hardware changes, I'd definatly give it a go with the sysprep/'out of box experience' utility as this sort of hardware change does look to be the exact thing it was made for. Without it you're winging it slightly and hoping windows doesnt hit some snag that could have been removed with the prep. It didn't take more than a few minutes (including the comand prompt typing) so definitely worth it. The WMP service stoping the prep sounds severe when I say it failed, it just stopped the sysprep and sent me back to desktop.

Yeah, uninstalling sound software and bios tweak/board specific software would be best if you have them installed, to avoid any potential mishaps. Im a bit of a minimalist so didn't have them installed.
The bios flash is fine.