Has anyone upgraded their motherboard with Windows XP and not done a fresh install of Windows???

[FalconsClaw]

I want to upgrade my motherboard but I don?t want to do a fresh install of Windows. I remember a couple years back upgrading with Windows 95 or 98 and I remember that I had so many problems that I just wiped my hard drive and did a fresh install of the OS. I have a lot of data that I don?t want to lose, so is it easier to do an upgrade of a motherboard with Windows XP than it was before with previous versions of Windows?

Any advise would be greatly appreciated.


Thank you,

 

[theAnimal]

Link

 

[FalconsClaw]

Thank you for the link. I believe that it has everything that I need in terms of answers.

By the way. Did you change you motherboard and use the information that was on this link?


Thanks again.

 

[theAnimal]

No I haven't changed my motherboard, but I would use this method if I did.

 

[pspada]

I do this all of the time. First you remove and uninstall any hardware drivers and applications that will not be in the new box, particularly the NIC. Then backup your data. Next swap the equipment. Then boot from your Windows XP CD, and don't use the first repair option - proceed as if you were doing a fresh install. It will then find the original installation and ask if you want to repair it. This is the option you want. It should reload windows with the new HAL (Hardware Abstraction Layer), and you'll then need to reload all of the updates from windowsupdate.microsoft.com.

 

[FalconsClaw]

Thank you for the summary discription of what to do. I am glad that it is easier than it use to be.

Take care.

 

[pspada]

No problem, hope it helps. Following the above procedure has only ever failed for me once - and that machine was pretty bizarrely configured to begin with, so it was no surprise.

 

[Shad0hawK]

an easy way that works with xp is to boot to safe mode(in xp the cd drive works in safe mode unlike 98) and install the chipset drivers, then reboot normally, however with a major hardware change like that i like a fresh start, format and re-installing.

 

[rhawk79]

i went from an I850E chipset board to an 875 board without re-installing XP...when i booted it up it found new devices, i rebooted and everything was fine.

but a fresh install is always recommended it. i only did that because i had a new hard drive coming the next day and I did not want to do 2 windows installs

 

[Links4me]

Nothing beats a fresh install......if it is an option...

 

[merlion]

Originally posted by: pspada
I do this all of the time. First you remove and uninstall any hardware drivers and applications that will not be in the new box, particularly the NIC. Then backup your data. Next swap the equipment. Then boot from your Windows XP CD, and don't use the first repair option - proceed as if you were doing a fresh install. It will then find the original installation and ask if you want to repair it. This is the option you want. It should reload windows with the new HAL (Hardware Abstraction Layer), and you'll then need to reload all of the updates from windowsupdate.microsoft.com.

I just followed the above procedure and it worked just fine. My upgrade was from a Soltek SL-75FRN-L/XP2100+ to an Abit IS7-E/P4 2.4C. Ran Prime95 for 11+ hours overnight with no errors, and hope to start raising the FSB today.

 

[pspada]

I'm glad the procedure was helpful. Just don't forget about reloading the patches and updates!

 

[KF]

>but a fresh install is always recommended

You're right. Therefore I hereby recommend that a fresh install not be done.

I have done fresh installs a few times (not for my everyday working OS), and always regretted it. The OS installation I use has been upgraded since Windows 3.0, which was upgraded from MSDOS 6.22 I think.

3.0-> 3.1->95->98->98se->XP

I can't remember all the motherboards and HDs I had during that time. A lot. To give you an idea, Windows 3.0 was on a 60M hard drive. Yes 60M not G. It was years before I filled it up. It was an RLL Mitsubishi HD that cost something like $300 -cheap at the time. IDE did not exist 'til years later. The controller (Western Digital BTW) cost more than my recent 160G HD. The motherboard had a 16MHz 386SX.

I have no idea what is on most of my HD, but there is plenty of good stuff. It would take years to sort through it all, and I have better things to do.