C2D and Win2k

[timzak]

I'm a Win2k holdover and I'm considering an upgrade to a c2d processor (E4300). Will there be any problems with Win2k SP4 recognizing or making full use of the E4300? Will I need to reinstall Win2k?

I'm currently on a KT600 mobo with an AthlonXP Mobile processor at 2.2Ghz. The mobo I'm looking at is the Asrock 775Dual-VSTA or Asrock 4coreDual-VSTA. Since my current mobo and the proposed new ones both use VIA chipsets (different NB, same SB), I'm hoping I can just swap boards and not have to reinstall Win2k.

Any insight appreciated.

 

[Shawn]

I'm pretty sure you will have to reinstall Win2k before it'll recognize the dual cores. Either way though I'd definitely recommend a clean install when changing motherboards. Even though you can sometimes get it working without reinstalling you are just asking for problems.

 

[Steve]

Win2K would probably treat a dualcore CPU as it does a Hyperthreading CPU - as two CPUs. If it doesn't have the SMP Multiprocessor HAL installed, no worky. Probably best to just reinstall from scratch. The only way you could get away with not reinstalling in terms of chipset compatibility is if the IDE controllers are the same or similar enough, and use the same drivers - otherwise, no boot for you.

 

[timzak]

As far as I can tell, the Asrock mobos and my KT600 mobo are identical except for cpu socket, the additional DDR2 slots, Northbridge and onboard audio codec. They both have the same Southbridge, IDE controllers, SATA controllers, LAN, USB, etc. Both use the same VIA Hyperion drivers. I've got my system backed up to an image file, so I will try a straight swap of mobos first. If no problems, great. If problems, I'll swap back old mobo, reimage if necessary, then inventory my apps and back up files before doing a fresh install.

I was just curious if anyone has gone through what I will be going through. Would be great to get some feedback especially if there were any difficulties.

Thx.

 

[Steve]

I suggest before swapping the mobos that you go into Device Manager and under Computer, uninstall ACPI Uniprocessor HAL. Shut down, swap boards, then boot up and see if it redetects and installs the proper HAL.

That may be risky though. You may instead want to boot into the new system first, then uninstall the old HAL and replace with the proper one.

 

[timzak]

Thanks, sm8000. Good tip. I'll just keep a fresh image handy so in case of problems, go back to old state.