Firstly I'm supposing that is CPU not GPU but none the less your answer is as follows.
[i]Will this cause a need to reformat my hardrive?[/i]
Not necessarily as a In Place Install of your OS will cure the problem if you are running any Form of Windows. If you are ruining a Form of Linux, BSD or Unix the OS will Detect the new hardware and adjust accordingly provided that the OS actually supports all of the available Hardware. There may be the need to load some drivers for some of the new devices that you install.
[i]If So, is there a way(software program) to back-up my hardrive so that I do not lose all the files I have?[/i]
Most Defiantly any Backup Software will do this without a problem though you do have to tell the Software what to backup. Or you can add a USB Drive and copy everything that you want to keep to the External HDD. Depending on how much there is a HDD may be a better option as a DVD can only hold 4.7 GIG for a Single Layer Disc and roughly double that for a Dual Layer Disc. Thumb Drives are also suitable but the more Data that you need to save the more expensive the Thumb Drive will need to be so it can all fit onto the Thumb Drive. Also Thumb Drives are not a reliable Backup Device as they have been known to fail more often that HDD or any other Backup Device.
But having said all of the above before you start to Upgrade or do anything similar you should have a Viable Backup in place just in case something goes wrong and your Data gets hosed. If this is Important Data it can cost many thousands of $ to recover from a HDD or worse if the drive was to fail you would need to take it to someone who has the ability to read directly off the platters and expect to shell out somewhere around the 46K mark into the bargain. $150.00 For an External HDD is cheap in comparison.
Col
