Do I have to reinstall the OS after replacing the board?

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Lcarvone

Platinum Member
Sep 20, 2000
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My wife's computer is based upon an ECS K7S5a motherboard (SIS735 chipset with support for both SDRAM and DDR). It had been running two 256 sticks of DDR up until about a month ago when it started freezing. I removed one of the sticks and it then ran fine for another month before it started freezing again. I removed the last stick of DDR and instead installed a stick of SDRAM in the other slots. Now runs fine again. Yet based upon all of this I think the board is starting to show its age and future problems may be in the works.

My dilemna is I am trying to find the simplest quickest solution WITHOUT having to reinstall the OS, programs, drivers, etc. I have been saving up for a new freshly built system with all of the bells and whistles for Christmas but that is some time and money away.

Since I have never done this path before...can I simply replace the current board with another of the same type or possibly another brand with the same chipset?

Any and all input is appreciated.
 
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furballi

Banned
Apr 6, 2005
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Always clean install Windows when you replace the motherboard. 1/2 ass job is a waste of time and $.
 
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Holy Smoke

Junior Member
Apr 28, 2005
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It's "possible" but hardly recommended. It all depends on how different the replacement board is to the original. If you get a replacement that uses the same chipset, you will have much less trouble doing this than with a different one. Likewise, if you get the same exact kind of board (preferably the same revision) it shouldn't be a problem at all, since windows would only need to reallocate components it already had installed, if at all.

On the other hand, if it fails you could just reinstall the OS to a different directory (leaving the original in place and thus skipping any formatting) which would make your migration rather painless. That way you could go back and forth between installations, recover email, documents, etc. without much hassle. The performance penalty is zero, and is no different to having a dual boot OS.
 
F

furballi

Banned
Apr 6, 2005
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True...set up two primary active C partitions and set one partition active when you boot.
 
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Concillian

Diamond Member
May 26, 2004
3,751
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I've done it several times, but everytime I've done it it's been an upgrade of the same chipset manufacturer (i.e. KT400 --> KT880 or nForce2 to nForce3)

I don't see any reason to reinstall if you're doing something like an nForce2 to nForce3 upgrade, but if you're going from SiS to another manufacturer, there might be a need to reinstall. A board with the same chipset should not require reinstallation at all.
 
Fern

Fern

Elite Member
Sep 30, 2003
26,907
174
106
I do a reformat/reinstall. But here's an Anandtech guide for changing a mobo w/o a reinstall -LINK. Scroll to the bottom and see the instructions under "Misc Notes".

Good Luck with it,

Fern
 
W

WA261

Diamond Member
Aug 28, 2001
4,631
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When I do my daughters computer...(I usually buy cheaper mobos) I never reinstall the OS. I just put the board in and install mobo drivers. I have never had it bite me in the ass. On my rig I alwys format, but for simple rigs that are not for beniching, games, oc'ing etc it is a diff story. Cleanest OS possible is best.
 
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Geomagick

Golden Member
Dec 3, 1999
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Some years back I moved from a VIA to an Intel chipset and thought I could get away by just deleting and then installing drivers - how wrong I was. Since then I have always backed up, formatted and reinstalled. Far far easier.
 
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ryoanji

Member
Dec 21, 2004
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Can I use this thread to ask my question? I will be "migrating" from Asus A8N Sli to DFI UT-D. Same chipset, but would you still suggest a clean install?
 
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Concillian

Diamond Member
May 26, 2004
3,751
8
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Originally posted by: ryoanji
Can I use this thread to ask my question? I will be "migrating" from Asus A8N Sli to DFI UT-D. Same chipset, but would you still suggest a clean install?
Click to expand...

I don't see a need, but the popular opinion seems to be that it's absolutely necessary... a definite must.

Personally, I have a spare computer that I have switched motherboards at least half a dozen times between multiple different nForce2 boards and tested out my nForce3 board and back to nForce2.

No reinstall, nothing special at all. Swap board, boot, use. In the case of nF2 --> nF3 I would swap, boot, reinstall nVidia drivers, use (unsure if it was necessary to reinstall nVidia drivers, but I did it since it only took a couple minutes).

I have no ill effects that I know of. I think most of these people are paranoid.
 
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LandRover

Golden Member
Sep 30, 2000
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If you're using XP, why not just do a "Repair" install over your existing installation after you swap boards? I've done that several times without issue. It will leave all your programs intact. I'm not talking about the repair console... There is a repair install option. Good luck.
 
K

Kaspian

Golden Member
Aug 30, 2004
1,713
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yes if u go with the same type of chipset......
if you go with a diffrent chipset do a fresh install
 
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LandRover

Golden Member
Sep 30, 2000
1,750
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Why? All system components are redetected/setup with the repair install. Then just install the new chipset drivers. That shouldn't cause any problems. You could always run Driver Cleaner under Safe Mode to make sure all the old chipset drivers are removed.

A fresh install would be ideal, but I don't think it's required.
 
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ryoanji

Member
Dec 21, 2004
61
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I swapped mobos without fresh OS install. Everything went fine, just needed to install drivers for network adapter. Did all the benches fine. How do I do "repair" install?
 
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Concillian

Diamond Member
May 26, 2004
3,751
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A repair install is NOT done from the repair console. Choose regular install options at that point. You are givien the choice to do a repair install AFTER the choice to enter the 'repair console'.

Repair console is nothing more than a command prompt (like a DOS prompt) where you can do some things manually. Repair install is completely different.

Repair install will replace all the system files, but leave your registry alone. You have to reinstall drivers and windows updates, but your application associations remain intact.

I can't be 100% sure about it, but I'm pretty confident LandRover is not talking about the repair console, but a repair install.
 
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