Substitute for ASRock Z87 Extreme6

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   I have a dead ASRock Z87 Extreme6 motherboard.  I'm looking for a replacement but haven't found one.  Does anyone know if hard drives , OS's formatted on the Extreme6 will work on a Z87 Extreme4?  I can get one of these!  Help!

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willis0966 Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Newbie Joined: 28 Sep 2016 Location: Winston Salem, Status: Offline Points: 3	Post Options Post Reply Quote willis0966 Report Post Thanks(0) Quote Reply Topic: Substitute for ASRock Z87 Extreme6 Posted: 01 Oct 2016 at 9:10pm
	I have a dead ASRock Z87 Extreme6 motherboard. I'm looking for a replacement but haven't found one. Does anyone know if hard drives , OS's formatted on the Extreme6 will work on a Z87 Extreme4? I can get one of these! Help!
	willis0966

Xaltar Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Moderator Group Joined: 16 May 2015 Location: Europe Status: Offline Points: 26903	Post Options Post Reply Quote Xaltar Report Post Thanks(0) Quote Reply Posted: 01 Oct 2016 at 10:19pm
	Firstly, it isn't recommended to migrate an OS drive from one system to another, even if the replacement system is identical. That said, it is possible to do so. If the Z87 Ex6 is still operational it is even easier to rule out OS boot issues. The OS *should* work on the Extreme 4 even without any additional steps taken. I am fairly certain you will be able to boot into the OS given the same chipset (Z87) is present on both boards. We run into issues however if the HDDs are set up in a raid array, then things get a lot trickier as the 2 boards may have different controllers and or BIOS/raid setups. If the Extreme6 is still working and you are able to boot into your OS (useful only if there is no RAID) then it becomes simple to ensure, even cross platform/chipset. Simply: 1. Boot into your OS (assuming windows 7 or later) 2. Run "msconfig.exe" and set the system to boot into safe mode on the next boot. 3. Shut down the system and swap out the motherboard. 4. Boot up and you should enter safe mode without any issues, while loading safe mode the OS will load any missing/necessary drivers. 5. Repeat step 2 except this time uncheck safe mode and reboot The system should now boot into windows and allow you to install additional drivers. The above steps should not be necessary given both boards use identical drivers so if you can't follow them you should still be able to boot in to your OS unless the OS is corrupted or damaged somehow. I have migrated my testing OS SSD from one board to another on numerous different Skylake boards, Z170, H170 and even an E3V5 all without issues loading the OS. I always format and reinstall the OS if the drive is going to remain on a given system but for quick fault finding and stability tests I don't usually bother. I hope this helps.