Whatever the application, if it has gone through an activation process, you need to be prepared to reactivate it when you’re installing a new motherboard. Similarly, some games will require deactivation or uninstallation if they’ve been activated. If you’re running an Adobe suite, you need to deactivate only one app to take care of the whole affair but if you’ve installed individual programs, you’ll have to deactivate those as well. However, they also have a handy “Deactivate” button in the help menu. For example, most Adobe professional apps (Photoshop, After Effects, Premiere Pro, and the suites, CS3 or later) require activation. If an application requires activation, it may see a new motherboard as an attempt to copy the software illegally, and it may refuse to run as a result. Step 3: Deactivate or Uninstall Activated Applications If you have a lot of programs, grab Magical Jelly Bean Keyfinder–it will pull all of your registration keys so that you can easily record them.

You may have to reenter those keys, so make sure that you have them on hand, preferably on hard copy. Most modern applications require entering a registration key. Take a close look at all the software you’re running. Step 2: Collect Software Registration Keys You don’t have to clone to another hard drive just put an image file on another drive, even on the external drive that contains the data backup. Then, if possible, make an image backup of your entire hard drive, using a tool such as Acronis True Image ($50) or DriveImage XML (free). I suggest backing up your valuable data onto an external drive first. Even if you’re not into regular backups, now is the time to back up your system. One key point to remember: You are putting your data at risk. Performing a motherboard upgrade is fairly simple, and consists of three parts: pre-upgrade preparation, the physical swap, and post-upgrade polishing. I’ll focus on the process with Windows 7, but I’ll also offer tips and tricks for Windows XP and Windows Vista. The goal is to keep and maintain your existing Windows installation even after a motherboard upgrade. Here I’ll walk you through the process of upgrading the motherboard in an existing PC, including taking care of all the software issues.

Windows 7 change motherboard and cpu