Same windows install on new hardware

[NeonCancerCandy]

Is this possible?

i live out in the country and use satellite internet so that means i get limited internet per month (40 gigs total split up to 20gb during the day, 20 gig early morning between 2-8AM) so this boils down to the less stuff i have to re-download the better.

So basically i'm doing a new build with

Corsair Vengeance Series C70
asrock z97 extreme3
i5 4690k
corsair h110
780 ACX FTW

and re-using my SSD, HDD, Sound card, PSU, Blu-ray, RAM, etc etc.

my question is pretty much:
if i put all this togeather without re-formatting my SSD at all, will it let me boot into safe mode to redo stuff like the chipset drivers which i think would be the only one that might give me some issues?
or will i encounter issues with this?

 

[Woomack]

I'm almost sure it will work on a new PC if you were using Intel SATA ports and Intel or Microsoft AHCI driver on Win7 or Win8. I'm actually using the same drive for tests on Z77, Z87 and X79 boards. It was also working on AMD boards but it took some time to refresh and reinstall drivers.

In most cases system will boot and it will take couple of minutes to load necessary drivers. If it won't boot then you can try IDE mode and later enable AHCI in system+BIOS.

Intel SATA controller and chipset drivers are generally the same for last 2-3 years. To be sure you can reinstall Intel chipset ( INF ) drivers and install latest Intel Rapid Storage driver/soft before you switch motherboards.

If system won't activate after switching motherboard then make a call to Microsoft and tell them you had to replace faulty motherboard and they will give you a key to reactivate system ( works in 99% cases ).

 

[EarthDog]

To put it simply. It should easily work. It will likely sit there and load up drivers, then a reboot should take care of it. At worst you will have to reinstall your NIC, USB, and Audio drivers if they are different from your previous builds.

 

[ATMINSIDE]

To put it simply. It should easily work. It will likely sit there and load up drivers, then a reboot should take care of it. At worst you will have to reinstall your NIC, USB, and Audio drivers if they are different from your previous builds.

This.

I swapped from the Maximus VI Hero to a Z97 Extreme6 without issue.
Just needed NIC and USB 3.0 drivers.

 

[NeonCancerCandy]

okay awesome that's great news
thank you for the quick responses =)

 

[ATMINSIDE]

okay awesome that's great news
thank you for the quick responses =)

You're welcome!

One other tip, go ahead and put the new Ethernet driver on your C: drive somewhere.
If the OS doesn't find your new Ethernet driver automatically then you'll already have it

 

[trekky]

I would do a sysprep
this wipes all drivers and Removes system-specific data from Windows
it does reset windows activation and office also so you will have to reenter the keys for that

but this is will act like its a fresh install with all your software already installed
I have used it many times when moving HDDs to new comupters

all you do Is is type in admin CMD
sysprep /generalize

http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/cc721940(v=ws.10).aspx

 

[ATMINSIDE]

I would do a sysprep
this wipes all drivers and Removes system-specific data from Windows
it does reset reset windows activation and office also so you will have to reenter the keys for that

but this is will act like its a fresh install with all your software already installed
I have used it many times when moving HDDs to new comupters

all you do Is is type in admin CMD
sysprep /generalize

http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/cc721940(v=ws.10).aspx

I literally did this about 3 weeks ago, great recommendation. Didn't even think about it for this case!

 

[caddi daddi]

would the sysprep way of doing it going from an amd board to an intel board?

 

[ATMINSIDE]

would the sysprep way of doing it going from an amd board to an intel board?

You can transfer to/from any hardware using sysprep, as it removes all drivers from the install then reinstalls proper drivers on the next boot.

 

[caddi daddi]

my intel stuff is rolling in, so i'll give it a try, when changing from a ch5-f to a ch5-f-z it sees them as the same boards so it just boots right up.
this will save a ton of agro as I move to intel.

 

[ATMINSIDE]

Just remember to reactivate Windows when you use sysprep

 

[NeonCancerCandy]

k then

 

[ATMINSIDE]

Yeah, so you'll just plug the SSD back in when you're done

 

[wingman99]

How to Transfer your Complete Windows Installation to New Computer.

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

 

[tungureanu]

Win 8.1 has a refresh function integrated so that`s also a possiblity.
More info here