Motherboard Being Replaced

Alright. I'm running Vista Ultimate 64-bit on a eVGA nForce 780i motherboard.
I'm about to upgrade to an eVGA nForce 790i motherboard. I've got an
authentic version of Windows, obviously, got the disc and everything. WHAT do
I need to do to make this successful WITHOUT having to do a full reinstall?
I've read a lot of stuff about disabling and uninstalling drivers and chipset
drivers and controllers and stuff, only having so many peripherals plugged in
on startup, etc. Is there anyone out there with any advice on how to
successfully switch motherboards WITHOUT the full reinstall.

Since you are staying with EVGA Mobos that use the same BIOS you may not
have to do anything.
I did not have to anything when I switched from an Intel MOBO running 32 bit
Vista HP to a Gigabyte board. If booted and registered itself right away
with out a problem.
"Casanova Fly" <Casanova Fly@discussions.microsoft.com> wrote in message
news:A5CA41D5-F238-477A-853E-461F92498474@microsoft.com...
> Alright. I'm running Vista Ultimate 64-bit on a eVGA nForce 780i
> motherboard.
> I'm about to upgrade to an eVGA nForce 790i motherboard. I've got an
> authentic version of Windows, obviously, got the disc and everything. WHAT
> do
> I need to do to make this successful WITHOUT having to do a full
> reinstall?
> I've read a lot of stuff about disabling and uninstalling drivers and
> chipset
> drivers and controllers and stuff, only having so many peripherals plugged
> in
> on startup, etc. Is there anyone out there with any advice on how to
> successfully switch motherboards WITHOUT the full reinstall.

I plan on updating the BIOS on the 790i, and I'm not sure if the 780i and
790i would run the same BIOS being different boards. I don't predict much of
a problem (technology wise; I have terrible luck though, so I'll probably end
up totally screwed). They're relatively the same board though, so I don't see
it being a problem, but I want to be safe and eliminate any possible chance
of failure.

You should not have a problem bringing the system back up on the new mobo.
There is only one ACPI x64-based PC driver for all Vista x64. The system
may immediately want to install some new drivers for things like the NIC if
that changes, but the system itself should not be a problem. But stuff
happens, so be prepared.

Back up your system, of course, just in case.

"Casanova Fly" <Casanova Fly@discussions.microsoft.com> wrote in message
news:A5CA41D5-F238-477A-853E-461F92498474@microsoft.com...
> Alright. I'm running Vista Ultimate 64-bit on a eVGA nForce 780i
> motherboard.
> I'm about to upgrade to an eVGA nForce 790i motherboard. I've got an
> authentic version of Windows, obviously, got the disc and everything. WHAT
> do
> I need to do to make this successful WITHOUT having to do a full
> reinstall?
> I've read a lot of stuff about disabling and uninstalling drivers and
> chipset
> drivers and controllers and stuff, only having so many peripherals plugged
> in
> on startup, etc. Is there anyone out there with any advice on how to
> successfully switch motherboards WITHOUT the full reinstall.

The BIOS will be different for the 790i in order to leverage its
capabilities better. Don't worry about the BIOS. That is more a hardware
matter.

"Casanova Fly" <CasanovaFly@discussions.microsoft.com> wrote in message
news:8EC35111-4228-425F-8AE5-DC4E30712552@microsoft.com...
>I plan on updating the BIOS on the 790i, and I'm not sure if the 780i and
> 790i would run the same BIOS being different boards. I don't predict much
> of
> a problem (technology wise; I have terrible luck though, so I'll probably
> end
> up totally screwed). They're relatively the same board though, so I don't
> see
> it being a problem, but I want to be safe and eliminate any possible
> chance
> of failure.

Any suggestions on what to back up?

The system. The whole shebang. I use Acronis True Image Home.

"Casanova Fly" <CasanovaFly@discussions.microsoft.com> wrote in message
news:E2423FA8-2D0B-4ED0-B2A5-703AE1925728@microsoft.com...
> Any suggestions on what to back up?

Sorry, I should have said the same brand of BIOS and did no mean to imply an
exactly same BIOS content.

"Casanova Fly" <CasanovaFly@discussions.microsoft.com> wrote in message
news:8EC35111-4228-425F-8AE5-DC4E30712552@microsoft.com...
>I plan on updating the BIOS on the 790i, and I'm not sure if the 780i and
> 790i would run the same BIOS being different boards. I don't predict much
> of
> a problem (technology wise; I have terrible luck though, so I'll probably
> end
> up totally screwed). They're relatively the same board though, so I don't
> see
> it being a problem, but I want to be safe and eliminate any possible
> chance
> of failure.

I've got 3 hard drive's running right. All the system files and most program
files are loaded on my C drive, which is a Western Digital 150GB Raptor
drive. I assume only this will need backed up, since the other two are just
basically storage drives. And will I be able to back up my settings and
stuff? I've customized my Windows to my liking and that took quite a while,
so would that end up backed up as well?

That would be my approach in your situation.

Remember the Windows Easy Transfer tool? Use it to save your settings and
then use it again to restore them later. WET is at
Start/Programs/Accessories/System Tools or simpy type "migwiz" in
Start/Search. Select 'this is my old computer' and the appropriate place to
save the file. Then restore by running again and selecting 'this is my new
computer' (or whatever the exact wording is).

"Casanova Fly" <CasanovaFly@discussions.microsoft.com> wrote in message
news:A91EACE6-7B9D-49A8-BC7D-059B1BB4BAFD@microsoft.com...
> I've got 3 hard drive's running right. All the system files and most
> program
> files are loaded on my C drive, which is a Western Digital 150GB Raptor
> drive. I assume only this will need backed up, since the other two are
> just
> basically storage drives. And will I be able to back up my settings and
> stuff? I've customized my Windows to my liking and that took quite a
> while,
> so would that end up backed up as well?