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Hey Experts.

I have a general question. I'm having issues with my desktop. If I install a new motherboard, will it require a full reinstallation of my windows 7 setup? Or, can I just remove the old one and plug in the new one?

thanks, dave

A mobo replacement should only occur with a complete reinstall. That said, Windows has been getting better at this over the years and you may have no issues. If you just swap and let Windows figure things out on its own, be prepared to reinstall at the first signs of flakiness.

OK. I'll keep that in mind. The whole point would be to remove the current 'flakiness' of the system. Thanks Cap'n!

For Windows 7 it should work fine but I'd do a few steps before transplanting the motherboard.

1. Take a system image. The system image tool built into the "Backup and Restore" utility will work fine for this.

2. Uninstall drivers for any hardware that won't be on the new motherboard. This includes the video driver if you're moving to a motherboard or processor with a different video chip (e.g. from Sandy Bridge to Ivy Bridge)

3. Update the drivers for any hardware that is the same.

After the motherboard transplant you'll probably need to re-activate Windows which may be a bit problematic if you're running an OEM version.

I've done this on my main system to upgrade to Ivy Bridge and haven't run into any issues (yet).

All you need to do is run Sysprep.

WIndows 7 is not Windows XP. It can be migrated to other hardware platforms without issue.

sysprep /generalize /oobe