If I have an image backup, what do I lose when I install a new motherboard into my PC?

Depending on the characteristics of the backup program you use, you may get everything working as before.

From my experience I can restore all the files from the backup image but I typically have to reinstall the applications. If you have all the install programs, this will go fine.

Good luck.

I have moved Windows installations from PC to PC by merely transplanting the old hard drive to the new system. Not an ideal way to do it, but after the initial freak-out over drivers, everything settled down.

However, that was with a retail copy of Windows. If, like many builder, you go the cheap route and get an OEM copy, there may be issues activating it; you may lose Windows entirely. The data on your drives will be perfectly safe, but your OS will be locked by DRM since it’s no longer running on the hardware it was registered to. A call to Microsoft might allow you to transfer the license.

While the copies of Win8 I’ve seen for sale might be retail ones, they may also have the same licensing restrictions as OEM ones; the pricing inclines me to believe that either it does have the same restrictions, or that Microsoft acknowledges that Win8 is so bad that they should be paying people to “upgrade” and thus is only charging half it’s usual prices.

Regardless, your data is still same, and your applications generally rely on other programs on the hard drive and don’t care about the motherboard. The few exceptions are those programs that talk directly to hardware, but since most software talks to drivers instead, you probably won’t have any issues there.

@jerv I upgraded during the $40 window a couple months ago. It was downloaded and activated with a product key. Do you know if that is OEM or retail? I upgraded from Windows 7 H.P., and I think that was retail.

When you change the motherboard you will need to reactivate windows. You can do this by using the call Microsoft option instead of the internet option. It’s an automated line you – type the numbers on the screen in and they give you a code back. It takes about 10 minutes or so. As far as I’m aware Microsoft will only let you do this the once.

@Fred931 I have not read the licensing agreement for Win8, so I cannot say for sure.

However, as an upgrade version, I would imagine that it would allow you to install on one legal copy of Win7, so it depends a bit on what sort of Win7 install you had; if your Win7 was OEM then you have no legal copy of Win7 for your new hardware. That is just a guess though.

Either way, I think that you will probably have to call MS and explain your mobo woes in order to get a totally legit Win8 install activated.

OEM copies of windows 7 were locked to the first motherboard they were activated on just like windows 8 upgrade version. You can however transfer the licence to another PC (ie one with another motherboard) once in the same way as with windows 8 (via the telephone activation wizard). However it is possible to install the upgrade version of 8 on to an un-activated version of 7 with little problems (in my experience).

Another case of Fred making things more complicated than they need be is over with. Just booted up on the same drive and used the activation wizard from the settings menu. Also had to redownload the Nvidia drivers.

Stock-clocked 3570k runs at 55* in Prime95, by the way. Suhweet. Can’t wait to OC.