[phillpower2]

Correct + the following two steps from my reply #10

If your present OS is the full retail version all you will need to do is remove the previous MB drivers and install the drivers for the new MB from the disk that it will have bundled with it.

As an asides you may have to reactivate Windows with MS as the change of MB will be detected when Windows updates.

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ok awesome! Sorry to have you repeat yourself

If I have any other programs that are limited to one computer, will they be associated with the motherboard as well? (should I "deactivate" them before changing things over)

I'll let you know when I've done the swap!

Edited by Crunchy6409, 16 February 2014 - 01:07 PM.

[Crunchy6409]

ok awesome! Sorry to have you repeat yourself

If I have any other programs that are limited to one computer, will they be associated with the motherboard as well? (should I "deactivate" them before changing things over)

I'll let you know when I've done the swap!

Edited by Crunchy6409, 16 February 2014 - 01:07 PM.

[phillpower2]

ok awesome! Sorry to have you repeat yourself
No worries, it`s best to have your "to do" list in one place in any event

If I have any other programs that are limited to one computer, will they be associated with the motherboard as well? (should I "deactivate" them before changing things over)
The OS product key should be the only one.

I will drop something in here that sometimes bares relevance with an upgrade such as yours, hope you don`t mind, this for other people that may read your topic looking for guidance themselves

Your present OS is 64-bit but the Ram you have is 4GB, many people and OEM system builders will install a 32-bit OS when there is only 4GB of Ram onboard, this can cause a problem when you upgrade to 8GB of Ram and a 64-bit OS that will recognise the full 8GB of Ram, this is because other programs that you would have on the HDD would also be 32-bit and therefore incompatible with a 64-bit system

[Crunchy409]

(...apparently I remembered my old username...)

You were being kind before, but really... I know you want this thread to end!!!

Ok... a lot has happened...
As I've been peaking around on Speccy a lot lately, I noticed my GPU was extremely hot while idle (shows 80 degrees Celsius). I decided that I should update the driver to see if I could get some sort of fan control or something. Anyway, it froze for some time during this installation and I got antsy and manually shut-down the computer. BAD IDEA. BSOD time.... Windows repair cannot solve the problem... Luckily, I had cloned my HDD from a previous smaller HDD which still boots up just fine. I attached my un-bootable HDD up as a secondary and can see all my pictures of my 15 month old, etc. right in windows explorer.. VERY relieved...

What would you suggest I do now? Just move everything off of the un-bootable drive and start over? Another thing to keep in mind is that I do have a backup drive as well- can I manually replace a boot directory or something? Just to be sure I am clear, I have 3 HDD:
1. Smaller, several years old, but bootable
2. Large drive, will not boot- BSOD
3. Large drive, backup to drive #2 (not sure how recently backup was made)

Also, as a side-note: I do believe that the universe is signalling to me that I should add a SDD to my upgrades and put a fresh install of the OS on that...

Edited by Crunchy409, 17 February 2014 - 06:51 AM.

[Crunchy6409]

(I have also posted about some of my new adventures here to be in the proper forum.)

[phillpower2]

Got a lot of work on today but will check back later

Can you start a new topic here describing what the issue is and what you have tried already, this will avoid any confusion between the two topics.

[Crunchy409]

Alright. I have actually flopped over and have decided to go for an i5 4570. NO MORE FLOPPING I'VE DECIDED FOR GOOD! Purchasing in the next week or so, depending on prices (Memory is already on its way). I'm looking ahead on how to go about swapping HDD without re installing windows. I've attached my drivers and in red marked the ones I think I need to uninstall? How will I uninstall the drivers while still running windows? Will that work?

Thanks again!

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[phillpower2]

Do not uninstall anything until you have all of the new parts and you have tested and confirmed that they are all working correctly, I highly recommend that before you assemble the new parts in the case you first do a bare-bones set up outside of the case on a piece of cardboard that is larger than the MB, I will provide the steps for this when you are ready/if you need them.

What MB and Ram have you gone for.

[Crunchy409]

I went with the KingSton HyperX Blu. Nice sale and pretty nice reviews. Latency is CL10, but it doesn't sound like that will make a huge difference in real life? Also, I see now that I was carelessly in a hurry when I purchased it and it is one single stick of 8GB. I believe I need 2 sticks of 4 GB to take advantage of dual channel?

I'm kind of watching a bunch of motherboards to see if the prices come down.
This ECS and this Gigabyte are two I'm looking at. Might go ahead and grab the Gigabyte. That's what I have right now and have been very happy with it. Any suggestions on what's out there? Would love an Asus board, but they're all pretty expensive

I was trying to stay away from the B85 chipset because I think I read that it does not do RAID? I don't have that now but may consider it in the future!

Edited by Crunchy409, 23 February 2014 - 07:25 AM.

[phillpower2]

ECS is not a brand that I use and so cannot give you a personal opinion, the Gigabyte has limited specs and that is reflected by the low price, ASRock have some nice boards available and for an ASUS board I suggest this, remember that this is an upgrade for the future so pay a fair price or you will be looking to upgrade again in less than no time.

[Crunchy409]

Thanks for the fast response! That Asus board looks really nice. Is that as cheap as you would go on this build so that it is future proof? I am ok with that but was hoping to keep the whole build under $150.

Also, did you have any thoughts on the RAM dilemma I had? Should I go for 2 sticks of 4 GB?

[phillpower2]

Thanks for the fast response! That Asus board looks really nice. Is that as cheap as you would go on this build so that it is future proof? I am ok with that but was hoping to keep the whole build under $150.
How much

I suggested the MB that I did because you mentioned the ASUS brand, the high specs of the MB (onboard bluetooth for example) + the very good Newegg reviews, it was that board or this which also has built in wi-fi as well as 4.0 bluetooth etc.

Also, did you have any thoughts on the RAM dilemma I had? Should I go for 2 sticks of 4 GB?
I thought your Ram was already on it`s way
2 X 4GB sticks would be my suggestion FWIW.

[Crunchy409]

Haha! The whole build under $150! Oops!! I meant $350... BUT... I like your comment about how this is an upgrade for the future (probably 6+ years), so I may just forget about the budget, get a nice motherboard and also a SSD for a clean install of the OS. I was planning to do this in the next year or two and it makes sense to just do it now. How much space do I need for Windows 7, a couple programs, and my Lightroom catalog? Maybe 120GB?

Still not sure if I want to spend over $160 on the motherboard alone. The i5 4570 doesn't overclock so I don't need to worry about motherboard support for that. I'll take another look at motherboards tonight with an expanded budget in mind.

Also, regarding the RAM, I do have some on the way but I ordered 1 stick of 8 GB by accident. I was in a hurry and saw a good sale and didn't think it over well enough. I may return so I can have 2 sticks of 4 GB instead.

As always, I REALLY appreciate your help. My wife is definitely tired of me talking about this stuff so it's nice to have someone to throw ideas off of

[phillpower2]

I have Windows 64-bit on a 128GB SSD and nothing else, this will allow for many years of OS updates and help to prevent Windows becoming corrupted.

Another MB to consider.

I am not a fan of 8GB modules of Ram and especially when there is only one stick being used, any Ram problems and you cannot use the computer.

As always, I REALLY appreciate your help. My wife is definitely tired of me talking about this stuff so it's nice to have someone to throw ideas off of

Not a problem but only as long as it doesn`t get you in the bad books

[Crunchy409]

I won't get in the bad books- She says I should just do whatever I want with it all! woohoo!

This RAM was on special and is on its way!

Now.. I will order a SSD for OS, etc. I also own two 1-terabyte drives and a 500GB drive. What would my ideal HDD set-up be? I can only connect 3 at a time. I always want a back-up. Is it worth it/possible to do a RAID 1 on the two 1-terabyte drives?

Edited by Crunchy409, 23 February 2014 - 09:32 PM.