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My motherboard died. I'll be installing a new copy of Windows 7 on a new machine, or replacing the motherboard in my current machine and then installing a new copy of Windows 7. There is nothing wrong with the old hard drive, however. I shudder at the idea of reinstalling all the old software (some of which was downloaded and the key is lost) and then carefully copying over the data files. Is it possible to install Windows 7 on a new hard drive, then copy over all files except Windows 7 files, then copy over the old Windows registry, and put myself back where I used to be?
Follow up: Windows would not boot on the old drive with the new motherboard, but this turned out to be because the new mobo BIOS was set to AHCI instead of IDE, and Windows had been installed with IDE. Once the BIOS was changed to IDE, Windows booted. Initially it did not recognize mouse or keyboard, but a reboot into safe mode and then a restart fixed that. After that, a question of installing the new drivers and uninstalling the old. So far so good. Many thanks to the community members for their help. Not yet clear if a new activation key will be needed -- so far the system hasn't wanted one.
Doesn't Hurt to Ask
Posted 2014-12-21T12:28:45.253
Reputation: 33
Just install the hard disk in the new machine and set it as the boot disk in the bios. No need to install or save anything. – Paul – 2014-12-21T12:39:52.990
Assuming you dont want to use the old HD as the new boot drive, for some reason, take a look at http://www.techradar.com/news/software/operating-systems/how-to-reinstall-windows-but-keep-your-program-settings-1042920 my guess is (1) with the hardware changes and (2) with any complex software trying to use a previous Windows registry will be "tragically annoying"
– Rusan Kax – 2014-12-21T12:41:50.833Can't use the old hard drive as a boot drive on a new computer, as old Windows install will not work with different hardware components. (And of course also violates terms of Windows license.) Thanks for the link. I may try the custom install route, although I suspect that "tragically annoying" may prove an understatement . . . what kinds of programs are likely to have low-level access that goes around the OS? The article mentioned antivirus. What else? – Doesn't Hurt to Ask – 2014-12-21T12:57:52.113
2Typically Windows will work just fine if you replace the motherboard and it most certainly does not violate the license. Worst case it will tell you that you need to call Microsoft and get them to reactivate it after you explain to them that you had to replace the motherboard. – psusi – 2014-12-21T15:15:27.677
@Ƭᴇcʜιᴇ007, no, that question is about how to connect the drive to a working machine to pull the data off. – psusi – 2014-12-21T15:18:58.587
If the video, networking etc. are on-board the old mobo, then install a new mobo with the same drive etc. Boot into "Safe Mode" if the drivers are different (though usually Windows will automatically do it for you); from there, you can add the drivers you need. – Debra – 2014-12-21T15:22:40.420
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A motherboard replacement other than an exact replacement for a defective motherboard under warranty counts as a new computer as far as Microsoft is concerned, and requires a new license. See http://www.microsoft.com/oem/en/licensing/sblicensing/Pages/licensing_faq.aspx#fbid=XGtzxW6Pw5m. Unfortunately, it is an old mobo, no longer under warranty, and I can't find an exact replacement.
– Doesn't Hurt to Ask – 2014-12-21T15:57:47.730Why did this get downvotes? – ADTC – 2014-12-22T13:56:35.443
I assume the edit was from you. However, it is a different user name, which would indicate multiple accounts. This interferes with your ability to edit your own posts and accumulate rep. Please contact a moderator about consolidating your accounts. – fixer1234 – 2014-12-30T03:32:31.250
@user402824 Are you the same person as Doesn't Hurt to Ask? Why do you have two accounts? – ADTC – 2014-12-30T06:50:25.823
@Doesn'tHurttoAsk: I was just about to ask. Did you lose your cookie? – bwDraco – 2015-01-01T02:18:28.283