So I just changed my motherboard...

[Gdog96]

I just changed my motherboard from some Gigabyte z77 ATX board, to an Asus mini ITX z77, as I have switched the case to a Fractal Design Node 304. Now, I was told that I shouldn't have to re-install the operating system.

However, when I boot, I just get blue screen of death, so I there any way to get around this problem without re-installing the OS?

I have an SSD boot drive with windows and all the program files etc on that, and a 2 TB western digital hard drive with all my pictures and videos on it, as well as all my games and some programs. Will all this data on the hard drive remain intact if I do a reinstall?

Last question, if i do have to reinstall the OS, can I do it from an external DVD drive (USB 3) with an 8x read speed?

I haven't posted here in ages, I have been very busy, I hope everyone had a good Christmas.

Cheers.

EDIT: Also I have tried start up repair which didn't work, and stupidly I never made any back ups.

 

[Infinital-NG]

You shouldn't but it's best to re-install OS.

What's the BSOD error message?

Your 2TB drive should be safe. If you were worried about it, before you re-install windows I"d just unplug the power cable to your 2TB drive.

You can do it from an external USB devices (flash drive, hard drive, optical) Just make sure you set your BIOS boot order to boot from USB/Removeable first.

 

[Gdog96]

Thanks Infinital-NG, the BSOD message doesn't appear for long enough to read, its not a very long message though.

 

[David]

@Gdog96 there are most likely driver issues at play, especially since you've changed Mobo manufacturers in the upgrade. The other thing to consider, is to make sure that the correct settings are enabled on the new board for using an SSD. Some motherboards are picky with this depending on the RAID and AHCI settings. Read the info on your SSD and Mobo and poke around in the BIOS settings to make sure this isn't the issue.

The reason people probably recommend not reinstalling Windows after a Mobo upgrade is because OEM Windows licenses are tied to a specific motherboard. If you're installing from a full retail copy of Windows you shouldn't have any problems. If you are reinstalling with an OEM key, you may have problems when you try to activate. Again, some people online seem to indicate that this hasn't been an issue, but its something to be aware of.

 

[DQuaN]

I would always reinstall if changing a motherboard as the drivers would throw a wobbly (technical term).

Try booting in safe mode and uninstalling any chipset drivers, or installing the correct chipset drivers for your new mobo.

 

[Gdog96]

I will have a look in the bios to naje sure everything is fine with the SSD settings. I am using an OEM key, I was unaware this could cause problems.

I will give safe mode a try too, I will keep you posted.

EDIT: Ok so I'm trying to reintall the OS with an external DDV drive but it is asking me to install the drivers just after I press ''install now'' during the set up. I cant find drivers anywhere on the internet for this DVD drive and it didnt come with a disc or anything.

It is a lite on 8x external dvd drive.

Help please.

 

[Grayfox]

There is a way to install drivers from the repair wizard.

It may not work though.

If you need the drivers.
They will be under SATA/ACHI controllers on the motherboard support page.

 

[Gdog96]

I ended up using an internal DVD drive to reinstall windows, however, my PC now takes ages to boot, after the welcome screen the screen goes black for about a minute (mouse still there) and when it loads I get the message ''can't fine target .ini: Erivers/Chipset/Win7_xp/Driver/Chipset/AsusSetup_hotfix.ini.

 

[Gdog96]

Soo just an update, I have re installed windows now and everything is back to normal, however, it will not install 135 updates. Well no, it installs them, but when it tries to configure them it doesn't get past one percent and then reverts changes and boots.

I have ran microsoft's fix it software to diagnose any problems but it just says it can't fix problems with windows update, i tried using command prompt to fine any missing or corrupt files and there are none.

This was happening before the re install but surely it shouldnt happen with a fresh restore. Microsoft recommend doing a fresh install if all else fails but I have done that and it still doesn't work.

Can someone give me some insight into whats going on? Could it be that the mass storage hard drive is plugged in when I install windows. Obviously I formatted the boot drive before the re install.

This is confusing!

Edit: So i just unplugged my HDD and it installed the updates fine. I plugged it back in to install the last two updates and it seems fine now. This has been a wierd encounter. Thanks to the people who helped.

 

[David]

That's pretty strange. Glad you managed to sort it out because I've never had that happen with the windows updates before.

 

[Grayfox]

Install the updates manually.

If you are running Windows 7, download SP1 for it from microsoft.