CHANGE IT UP!

[Mosad]

I have a Shuttle. The power supply died. Maybe the motherboard as well. So i have to upgrade to a new form of the same computer... and that leaves me with a new motherboard and the same components...

Will i lose my data on my hard drive my changing motherboards?

What procedure need i follow when putting the old components on the new board? Simply plug em in and turn it on? Logically, all drivers are installed on my hard drive already, as is my OS.....

Please, this is urgent as i am going to do something in the upcoming hours...

 

[mechBgon]

To start with, remove the hard drive, place it in a different computer as a secondary drive, and rescue your data to the other computer for safekeeping. You may need to take Ownership of certain folders if your hard drive is using the NTFS file system.

 

[Mosad]

thats not an option... i dont have another computer to use... if i just plug it in... can i salvage my data?

 

[fuzzynavel]

If the HD is fried then it probably won't work again....but if it is ok then just changing the Mobo will not kill it....

Windows may not be happy if you get a different mobo and you may be required to reinstall windows to get it working properly

Whjen putting the components back in...start with the bare minimum....i.e a stick of ram, your CPU, hard drive and your graphics card......start it up to make sure it works......then turn off again and add any more stuff that you have....then turn on again....

 

[mechBgon]

If you just plug the old drive into an identical new motherboard, then it ought to work (unless the drive itself has been harmed, or the Windows installation is damaged). If Windows does not boot up when you install the new motherboard, then you will need to proceed cautiously so you don't lose your data. One possibility is to do a repair installation of Windows, and here are some instructions how to do that: How to perform an in-place upgrade (reinstallation) of Windows XP.

 

[SlitheryDee]

Getting another nforce3 board will increase the likelihood of your computer being able to boot without reinstalling. You'll still probably get some errors, but it will give you the chance to retrieve the important things from your HD before performing the reinstall.