New Build Z170 and USB 3, Windows 7 vs 10

Am perplexed on this Saturday night, and looking for expert opinions. I have a single computer (Win 7) that I am going to be upgrading to a new motherboard, an Asus Z170. This move is prompted by both USB 3 support and Windows 10, which is inevitable. Have already upgraded the graphics card (970) and Blue Ray player.

Currently running a SSD with Windows 7, but of course Windows 7 does not have USB 3 support. My thought was to transfer my hard drives, power supply, DVD player, and graphics card to a Z170 machine. This may or may not be possible by mere mortals, as Windows 7 does not support USB 3. Have heard of the Paragon Adaptive Restore program to help delete old drivers and get new ones installed, but I don't believe this would work with an upgrade to a motherboard with USB 3 support. Certainly not anticipated in 2010.

So, my choices (I think) are to upgrade to a new Z170 motherboard using Windows 7, perhaps uploading some sort of USB 3 support first, and then upgrading to Windows 10. While this could save me $$ from a Windows 10 license, it is not clear to me how to add USB 3 support to Windows 7. The motherboard CD? I don't think Windows 7 could find this on its own. For that matter, it appears my USB keyboard / mouse won't work until I get the USB 3 drivers. Web searches this evening got me even more confused.

Alternatively, I could upgrade to Windows 10 on my computer as is, and then see if I get charged for a new OS when I change to the new motherboard. Would be willing to pay for an upgraded license if that is what it takes.

Got the new motherboard ready to go, ready to make a move. At this point, it seems that I actually have to reformat my drive and start over, paying for a new Windows 10 license, and hoping my MS Office software keys still work on the reloads.

So....what say you? Continue to look for a USB 3 driver set for my existing machine, and then move the harddrive to the new motherboard? Or....update to Windows 10 now, and then move? Don't particularly want to wipe my SSD and start over, as I had to do that a year ago when my primary drive failed. Could if I had to, I guess.

I've been thinking about the Z107 board also. But I would not carry over a power supply, for the cost of a new one is cheaper than the risk of the old one failing.

I had just replaced the power supply this last year, so it was recently upgraded. I missed the last few years of Intel upgrades, so the USB 3 feature set that I want.

What do you mean Windows 7 has no USB 3 support? Id did on my old machine? I think you mean for booting from USB3?
This should help if you are wanting to install an OS using a USB3 port? How to Install Windows 7 with only USB 3.0 Ports

Well, the MB manual should say whether it has USB 3.0 Windows 7 supports USB 3.0
What brand and model of MB? If it is an Intel, you will more than likely find it has Intel USB.
I have a Gigabyte GA97X Gaming 3 MB and it has Intel USB 3.0 and I had Windows 7 x64bit
on it before I got Win 10.
If you want to backup all your stuff off the Hard drive/s, I would use Macrium Reflect to back
up the drives, make a USB drive for booting and put it on your drive? on the NEW MB.

If this was a new install of Windows 7 on a new machine, that would require USB 3 support (at least for keyboard and mouse, plus maybe Win 7 copy). The MB manual does discuss this in detail, and that one needs to slipstream in USB support into the Win 7 software. However, what I am trying to do is move my SSD from my existing machine to a new Z170. That should be simpler, right?

Now, the Z170 has both USB 2 and 3 ports. So, that makes me think that I could use the USB 2 port (for my keyboard and mouse) when I connect my SSD to the new motherboard. And then download the UBS 3 drivers after the system sorts everything out, or just do the Win 10 upgrade at that time. Shouldn't the USB 2 ports (and my keyboard and mouse) still work even if my Win 7 doesn't contain USB 3 drivers?

I just don't know if that is possible or not. What stopped me yesterday is I started seeing statements on the net that no one has successfully put Win 7 on a Z170 board yet. Maybe they are talking about an install only, but lots of confusing information out there. As I need to tear my existing apart and remove the specific MB drivers before connecting to a new MB, I was looking for more information before making the switch.

My goal is (or was) to install the new motherboard while still using Windows 7, and then do the Win 10 upgrade. This seemed logical to me at the time to not pay for Win 10 (which apparently has some different MB changeout policies). Now, my primary goal is to make the switch as painlessly as possible. If I have to buy a copy of Win 10, I will do so.

Pendaws said:

Well, the MB manual should say whether it has USB 3.0 Windows 7 supports USB 3.0
What brand and model of MB? If it is an Intel, you will more than likely find it has Intel USB.

An Asus Z170 Deluxe, using the new Skylake CPU. Per some documentation, "by default the Z170 chipset and BIOS will not support full USB 2.0 enhanced host controller (EHCI) mode. That means for a number of circumstances USB devices will not work unless an XHCI environment is in play" That type of statement confuses me, particularly when there are USB 2 ports on the MB.

As an FYI, I replaced my motherboard on Saturday. Was going to use a program to upload the proper drivers, but it appears Windows 7 was smarter than I realized, and it uploaded the necessary drivers, enough for me to get my MB CD going and get all the drivers. USB 3 did not work at first, but I did have access to a USB 2 port, and my keyboard and mouse worked fine.

Lots of reboots of course. The process actually went much smoother than I had anticipated. Had to reaffirm Windows 7 and MS Office for authentication, both went smoothly.

As there is no compelling pressure to change to Windows 10 today, so I will wait until I have time to play with the computer more and learn Win 10.