How to: Upgrade your motherboard without reinstalling Windows.

[Iggy09]

i can see the 250GB disk but it only gives me the option to: open, explore, change drive letter and path, delete partition, format it or view properties.

 

[dclive]

It's possible that on the old MB (that boots with the 250) you used a RAID utility to make a RAID set or RAID volume (typically the SATA controller would do this) - did you do that? If so, you'll not be able to use that drive with any other controller but the one on the old MB until you reformat it.

 

[Iggy09]

No I did not configure any raid with the old MB.

It's okay I got it to work already. I just installed all the Windows updates and somehow it ran checkdisk during boot. After about half an hour it started to work fine. Thanks a lot for your assistance.

 

[adlep]

Any chances that the IDE trick will work with an older P4 Northwood 2.53GHz and Intel 845PE
chipset based mobo
=> to a new Pentium Core2Duo and Nvidia 650i based board?
I really do not think that the HAL is going to be the same. The config changes from a non HT single core CPU to a new dual core CPU.
Feedback is appreciated.

 

[user3657]

i just sucessfully upgraded my system using sysprep! install went smoothly! went from a p4 with an old asus i945chipset......to a c2d with an asus p5k(intel p35)and 4gigs. kept all other hardware. i simply ran sysprep, shut down, installed new hardware, booted, asked for my cdkey, then it entered windows. my old hardware is going to be an upgrade for my web server and i plan on upgrading this pc to vista 64 once the drivers smooth out a little.

 

[LongTimePCUser]

Does the "standard ide" trick work with Windows Vista when you replace the system board?

 

[dragonfang]

Originally posted by: SlimHarpo
I'm thinking about upgrading my Athlon XP to an A64 or Opteron on a socket 939 board (probably an Asrock 939dual so I can hold on to my AGP card for a while). My current HAL is a simple "ACPI PC" one. Is that likely to need to be a "ACPI Uniprocessor PC" for a (single core) A64/Opteron?

If so, what is the best way to do an upgrade, preferably without losing my settings? If neither sysprep or the IDE driver trick will work, will the cd-rom bootup repair install be able to replace the HAL? That repair install option wipes out existing registry (program installs and stuff), right?

could someone answer this question? i also have the simple ACPI PC (not uniprocessor) hal. I'm still on my old athlonxp and planning to move on to c2d. would i be able to switch from this hal to the apci multiprocessor pc hal?? I tried going to device manager on my old system and tried the update driver to see what choices i would be offered, and it only mentions standard pc and ACPI pc. would i still be able to switch to multiprocessor hal??

 

[dragonfang]

so i did a little bit of research and found some stuff about adding parameters to sysprep +winpe and whatnot, but i was sure there would be an easier solution. So I found an easier way it seems on here link

Update Windows XP HAL from ACPI PC to ACPI Multiprocessor PC
When creating a disk image for multiple models of PCs, The HAL Advanced Configuration and Power Interface (ACPI) PC has the best compatibility. However, if the image is deployed to a multi-processor PC, there is no way in Device Manager to update the HAL to ACPI Multiprocessor PC. As stated in Microsoft KB 309283, the HAL options users can see are

* Standard PC
* Advanced Configuration and Power Interface (ACPI) PC

To let the operating system know that the PC can run a multi-processor HAL, the options /HAL=Halmacpi.dll and /kernel=ntkrnlmp.exe can be added to BOOT.INI as stated in Microsoft KB 833721, and then the system is rebooted with these options. On the safe side, it is better to create another boot loader entry with these options. For example:

[boot loader]
timeout=30
default=multi(0)disk(1)rdisk(0)partition(1)\WINDOWS
[operating systems]
multi(0)disk(0)rdisk(0)partition(1)\WINDOWS="Windows XP Professional" /fastdetect
multi(0)disk(0)rdisk(0)partition(1)\WINDOWS="Windows XP Pro MP" /fastdetect /HAL=Halmacpi.dll /kernel=ntkrnlmp.exe

Before rebooting the system, check if the files Halmacpi.dll and ntkrnlmp.exe exist in the system directory. If they are not there, find them in the Windows XP Setup Disc. Once the system has started up with these options, it immediately detects a new processor hardware and updates the HAL to ACPI Multiprocessor PC. The second boot loader entry can be removed after that.

this is a much simpler way to change the old acpi hal to the multiprocessor hal. has anyone ever tried this before? would it work? and are there any other ways to switch hals?

Thanks in advance

 

[VirtualLarry]

Originally posted by: dragonfang
this is a much simpler way to change the old acpi hal to the multiprocessor hal. has anyone ever tried this before? would it work? and are there any other ways to switch hals?

That info would have been good to know, when I moved my OS installs from my old main rig (XP2000+/KT400/768MB) to my new main rig (E4400/865PE/2GB). I used Ghost 2003 to image the old rig and burned to DVD, and then restored onto the new rig's HD. I couldn't boot W2K SP2 or XP SP1, both of them failed inside the bootloader, didn't even get to the second-stage bootloader, nevermind getting a BSOD. I assume it was because the old install used MPS Uniprocessor HAL, and the new rig needed ACPI Multiprocessor HAL. I finally did a repair install on both OSes, and got a free upgrade to W2K SP4 and XP SP2. I'm currently working on a problem with the sptd driver in XP though, it seems to be causing issues with my USB flash drives registering.

 

[dragonfang]

the method i posted before did not work for me, it would just end in a bsod after the boot screen saying power failure or something like that. I did, however, find a way to change it to acpi multiprocessor. I kept toying around with hals and registry keys for two days without any luck. it was terrible and i was about to give up. The solution is actually very simple. With another xp install on my second hard drive, i replaced the the acpi pc hal on the old xp install with the UNIPROCESSOR hal i extracted from the xp cd. i did not replace any other files. I rebooted to the old install, and voila- it started looking for drivers and recognized the dual core ACPI Multiprocessor PC. Rebooted again and everything was working as it should be. I felt so happy that my xp install survived- first from a PIII machine about 5 years ago, to an athlon xp, and now to the c2d build

 

[fleshconsumed]

Originally posted by: vailr
After swapping a HD with an XP installation to a new motherboard, the (now non-existent)
previously installed Device Manager devices can be cleaned out by:

Start/Run/cmd
type:
set devmgr_show_nonpresent_devices=1 [Enter]
start devmgmt.msc [Enter]
View/Show hidden devices

Click each of the "+" signs, to expand the device listings.
Then, uninstall any "greyed-out" devices.
This should restore the Device Manager portion of the registry to a "good as new" condition.

Thanks for advice. I just upgraded from motherboard from via/agp/c2d to a shiny new Abit IP35 Pro and I wanted to clean out old drivers. I'll try your suggestion at home.


BTW, one question guys if you have dealt with Abit IP35 Pro. I installed drivers yesterday, however windows still pops up "found new hardware" dialog every time I login. Apparently there is still one device that needs drivers installed. The problem is however I have no idea what it is. I installed Intel Chipset Drivers, JMicron SATA driver, and LAN driver, I disabled onboard audio because I have external audiocard. Any idea what that unknown device might be?

EDIT: NM about unknown device thing, after quick google search it would appear it's the uGuru chip.

 

[OrcQueen]

Hello all !!
I'm new to this kind of things. I found this forum trying to find a solution to my problem. This is a fantastic forum and the ideas and solutions of the people are very good.

Unfortunately though, this couldn't help me further. My problem is as follows. :

I need to replace my motherboard without reinstalling windows, but not for the sake of upgrade, but for the simple reason that my motherboard is dead.

I cannot find the exact same motherboard to replace the old one with, just other similar ones.

My question is if it is possible to do any of these things (sysprep and/or "pci trick") on my hard drive without being able to start the computer that it originally belongs in?? Like if I hook it up on another computer or something like that.

If anybody knows any other solution i would be thankfull. Like I said, i just want to install a new motherboard on my system (nothing else new if possible), because it is dead, and avoiding to reinstall windows and all other programms, and avoiding format.

Thank you all for your time and help in advance.

My system is:
AMD Athlon XP 2400+
ASUS M/B A7V8X with VIA KT400 Chipset - DDR400
O/S Windows XP Home Edition SP ... (not sure anymore, but I think it is 2, but maybe 1) -

If anybody needs any more information please notify me through this thread.
Ty again

 

[Ryland]

You should be fine just swapping motherboards as long as you stick with the same processor and chipset although it shouldn't be too much of PITA to swap to a different chipset. I went from an AMD X2 to Intel Q6600 without any difficulty under Vista64.

 

[archcommus]

I agree with the post above, trying to run sysprep on the hard drive hooked up to another computer probably won't work out so good, just try to get a board with the same chipset/CPU socket/memory type and it should boot up fine.

 

[OrcQueen]

he he !!

found exact same mobo on ebay.
waiting for it to arrive.

keep you posted on how it goes.
thank you all for your replies.

 

[petesamprs]

Wanted to add my experience to this thread:
Last night I swapped out my eVGA 133-K8-NF41 mobo/AMD 3700+ SD/2x1GB ram for a new Abit IP35-e mobo/Q6600/2x2GB ram. Different chipset, different processor manufacturer, and different number of cores.

Used the Windows recommended method (Repair): http://support.microsoft.com/kb/824125

Took a while, but it went ok (with only minor hiccups that were my own fault) and all new hardware is recognized fine. The only lasting effects were:
- All of the 100+ windows updates I need fail to install after download. I suspect it is this: http://support.microsoft.com/kb/943144
- I lost my desktop color scheme/theme - not a big deal but for the life of me I can't figure out how I had it set up before.
- I get a weird "dial up error" when I log in. Not sure what that's about.

thanks for help.

 

[dclive]

@petesamprs - the fix for your problem is listed in the KB article you found; once you try it / them, I'm sure you'll be fine.

 

[ural]

Good thing I found this thread, I had created a new topic asking questions not knowing my way around the forum. Duh...
Anyway, I am thinking of ditching my p4 and getting 45W Athlon X2 (or single-core 45W). I am using it for internet/media, p4 is fit to do the job flawless, it is just way too hot and loud (with stock heatsink and fan). Good silent heatsinks won't fit in my mATX - tried that route. My wife and I been using this PC for over 3 years now, so it has a lot of "baggage" like iTunes etc. So I would like to keep my HDD with XP Media Center (no RAIDs, nothing fancy, hooked up to on-board SATA). Btw the PC is Sony that came w/o OS CD. Hence I assume I can't really use Sysprep, and to be honest I like dclive's way more than Sysprep anyway since it seems simpler and straightforward. So I looked up my HAL and it says "ACPI Multiprocessor PC", however when I check the "Driver Details" the driver file ends with "hal.dll" when according to MS website it should be "halmacpi.dll". So which one is it really? Then, given I figure that one out - how am I to know the HAL of the destination configuration? Also, will creating System Restore DVDs (aside from backing up the stored data) help with possible hick-ups?(I suspect not since everything will be tied to current setup+drivers etc. just wanted to ask and make sure)
Finally, if all else fails, can I buy OEM XP MC and use Sysprep with that?
I know it's quite a move from p4 based old Mobo(i915) to X2 AMD mobo, though I'd be surprised if it is impossible. I am considering this mobo btw:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/...x?Item=N82E16813186143
I appreciate any input in advance.