HTPC gets new hardware

puunakki

n00b
Joined
Jan 12, 2012
Messages
17
Ok, so I'm upgrading my HTPC and I wouldn't like to reinstall my OS. Now I'm running Phenom 2 and am upgrading to Z77 platform. What should I do before installing the new hardware so that I wouldn't have to reinstall OS?
 
Assuming you're using Windows?

A clean reinstall is preferable, that major of a upgrade is never guaranteed to go smoothly otherwise. If you still want to take a stab at it:
- Download all the latest drivers for the new motherboard onto a CD or USB drive
- Uninstall all motherboard and chipset drivers for the current system. Shut down PC.
- Install new mobo/CPU, don't plug in any expansion cards until after the system is up and running again.
- Boot system.
- If nothing blue screens on startup, start installing the driver for new motherboard
- If you do get blue screens on start-up, try booting into Safe Mode, if that works, try to install new drivers from there.
- If that still doesn't work, try a "repair install".

Note, if you're using Windows, you may get a prompt to "Reactivate Windows". This could be problematic if this was an OEM copy instead of a Retail one, since those are often tied to the specific hardware the PC came with.
 
"Fools Rush In Where Angels Fear to Tread"

re-install windows or invest in some serious narcotics for headaches and other meds for blood pressure.
 
Just reinstall. Too many headaches when you have a major platform change like that. Also, if you're recording TV via CableCard or something, any "protected" shows will be invalidated by PlayReady DRM. That was an unpleasant surprise when I only changed the motherboard that was the same AMD platform.
 
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