It happens to all of us eventually, the ExtremeTech staff probably more than most. Whether due to failure or obsolescence—or after you've run out of alternative upgrade paths—it comes time to pull a motherboard out of a working system and replace it with something different.
That's a job. It requires you to pull all of your expansion cards, disconnect and work around all the cabling, wrest the big board from sometimes-tight quarters within a case, prep the new board, wiggle it into that possibly cramped quarter, and, when you think you're all done, you still have to coax Windows through the trauma of waking up with new hardware.
We find the process daunting but fun—but then again, we're almost disgustingly techy. If it's less of a treat for you, we've got, well, a treat for you. In the following pages we share our very best hints on swapping out a motherboard, culled from years of experience and scores of system builds and upgrades.
Now, remember—this is a series of tips, not a step by step how-to. Don't expect a full-on motherboard installation manual; instead, use the manual that comes with your motherboard, and use our tips to make the job even easier.
Also, we're assuming you're keeping your existing Windows installation in place. In general, it's better to perform a fresh operating system install if you're replacing your motherboard, but practical realities often prevent this. So we've got a number of tips that should help you prep your Windows installation for the switch, then bring it up properly. http://www.extremetech.com/article2/0,2845,2343687,00.asp
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