Upgrading motherboard and installing 7

So I plan on upgrading my motherboard and CPU, and am currently running XP. I know I'm going to have to do a clean install of windows no matter what version, so I figured I would upgrade to 7 at the same time.

So my question is this, should I buy windows 7 upgrade version, or do I need to buy the full version? Will I be able to run the upgrade with XP still installed, and then before 7 installs swap the mo'bo and CPU? I want to avoid spending the extra $100 that the full version costs, if at all possible.

Thanks

Your XP license qualifies you to use the W7 upgrade, save the $100 (W7 will install to the HD and move all your old XP files to windows.old).

Be sure to run the W7 compatibility program and decide if you want 64bit or 32bit. And to save your info get W7 easy transfer.

As for whether to change out cpu/mobo before or after W7 install I don't know.

It is my understanding that a new motherboard and cpu constitutes a new computer. If your copy of XP is an OEM, then you can not migrate that copy to the new motherboard. If you can legally migrate XP to the new motherboard, then all you really need to do is a clean install of Windows 7 upgrade to the new motherboard.

Just remember if you install Windows before swapping motherboards you will create driver problems and Windows could even be un-boot-able afterward. It is best to clean install after changing motherboards. There is too many changes within the motherboard resources for windows to handle all of them without crashing in every possible upgrade.

Just buy the Upgrade version and install on your new motherboard and CPU. You CAN do a full clean install without having to go the upgrade route.

Check out this tutorial from Paul Thurrott's SuperSite For Windows: Clean Install Windows 7 with Upgrade Media

I have done it with several installs for friends and it works every time and never had any issues.

With the new mobo and such you'll have different drivers so just wipe the hard drive clean too.

Thanks so much for the quick replies guys.

So my copy of XP is definitely not OEM, so I'm very glad I won't have to pay the extra for the full version.

The thing I'm still a little confused about is this. When I'm actually doing the upgrade, what order should I do things in. Should I put the 7 CD in while XP is still installed and then change out the motherboard during some midpoint in the upgrade process? Or should I reformat my HD, change the mo'bo and then put in the 7 CD? Sorry if the answer is obvious, I just want to be sure I don't do something stupid.

And thanks again.

If it were me I'd be changing the MoBo first. Re-install XP before 7.

If you are using the same HD then you won't be reinstalling XP but when I think about it I would probably upgrade the hardware before the OS because you know the OS is working right now so if you have a problem you know it has to be the new hardware. Once you upgrade the hardware, run burn-in testing etc and once you are confident that is stable, upgrade to W7. If you upgrade both at the same time you won't be sure which is the problem.

Note: you may very well have to upgrade your RAM as well because there is a big difference in DDR, DDR2, DDR3 . The SIW utility will tell you what memory is installed and the specs should tell you what memory the new mobo needs.

P.S. Clifford, eBay requires a harddrive OR mobo to be shipped to satisfy OEM requirements. Plus the XP is ON that harddrive. Going forward from Vista or 7 with an OEM license might be a bit more challenging if the hardware changes because it is linked to the hardware in some fashion - but to what specifically I am not sure.

Yes, just change the motherboard and such. Then set your DVD drive to be the "First Boot Device" in the BIOS of the motherboard. Put in the Windows 7 install DVD and reboot the system. You may see a prompt which says: "Press any key to boot from CD/DVD drive." Do that and the install will begin.

When you get to the screen that shows your hard drive, select the "Advanced Options" below the window showing the drive. Go ahead and delete all partitions and then create a new partition of at least 48-64GB in size. This will be the partition you want to install Windows 7 on. The use the remaining space for another partition. After the Windows 7 is done installing, load all the necessary Windows 7 drivers for your motherboard and any other hardware such as video card, sound card, etc.

DON'T INSTALL XP! It is just a waste of time. Don't even worry about XP... it is a thing of the past for you now. As shown in my previous post in this thread, you CAN do a clean full install of Windows 7.

You system will be a 64-bit because of the new CPU and motherboard upgrade, so Windows 7 64-bit is what you want to install.

I realize you're receiving some conflicting info here, but believe what I'm am stating will work.