Do I need to reformat when upgrading processors?

Nyati13

Senior member
Jan 2, 2003
785
1
76

I don't think a reformat is necessary, but you might need to go through your hardware manager, and delete the CPU from the list, and then shut down, replace the old CPU with the new one, and then let it find that one on the boot up.

Jeremy
 

PhoenixOrion

Diamond Member
May 4, 2004
4,312
0
0
Originally posted by: Nyati13

I don't think a reformat is necessary, but you might need to go through your hardware manager, and delete the CPU from the list, and then shut down, replace the old CPU with the new one, and then let it find that one on the boot up.

Jeremy

 

JohnAn2112

Diamond Member
May 8, 2003
4,895
1
81
Originally posted by: Brian23
What about if you change motherboards? Like P4 to A64 or AXP to A64?

Yes, it's a good idea to format when switching motherboards. You don't want potential conflicts with chipset drivers.
 

Tiamat

Lifer
Nov 25, 2003
14,068
5
71
Originally posted by: Brian23
What about if you change motherboards? Like P4 to A64 or AXP to A64?

I would format just in case cause of the major archectural differences. I have gotten away with "AXP Via KT266A -> AXP Nforce2" without reformatting and with no problems. Windows just finds all of the onboard stuff except SATA.
 

nOObBooB

Senior member
Sep 10, 2004
209
0
0
Originally posted by: whattaguy
Thinking about going from a P4 2.4B to P4 3.06 w/ HT



That p4 i think is only fsb of 533 spend teh money towards a 3.0C fsb800. Dont get the presscot core since it runs alot hotter than the northwood. And it gives about the same performance. The northwood is better for oc than teh prescott becuase of northwood's lower temp
 

charloscarlies

Golden Member
Feb 12, 2004
1,288
0
0
Originally posted by: nOObBooB
Originally posted by: whattaguy
Thinking about going from a P4 2.4B to P4 3.06 w/ HT



That p4 i think is only fsb of 533 spend teh money towards a 3.0C fsb800. Dont get the presscot core since it runs alot hotter than the northwood. And it gives about the same performance. The northwood is better for oc than teh prescott becuase of northwood's lower temp

Only if his board supports an 800 fsb chip...otherwise he's going to get a very underclocked chip. Prescott does run warmer...but not a lot hotter. I'd still go with Northwood if you have the choice.

What board do you have whataguy?
 

cbehnken

Golden Member
Aug 23, 2004
1,402
0
0
You should not have to reinstall Windows, but it will probably ask you to re-activate. I switched from P4 to A64 and had no problems. Windows detects your new hardware and you are prompted to install the drivers for it. Windows will automatically remove the old drivers, that's what plug and play is designed to do. Any such "driver conflicts" are usually some other problem appearing to be caused by switching hardware. Try it first and then reinstall if you have to, this may save you a lot of time and trouble.
 

JBT

Lifer
Nov 28, 2001
12,094
1
81
You don't need to do anything on a Proc change.

For a mobo change I think a format is in order. It might not be require and may boot with out a hitch but I bet you wouldn't be operating at 100% of performance either.
 

cbehnken

Golden Member
Aug 23, 2004
1,402
0
0
the losing performance issue has been beat to death. If your drivers are installed and the old ones removed you cannot loose performance this way. Unless you believe in voodoo and magic.
 

whattaguy

Senior member
Jun 3, 2004
941
0
76
Originally posted by: charloscarlies
Originally posted by: nOObBooB
Originally posted by: whattaguy
Thinking about going from a P4 2.4B to P4 3.06 w/ HT



That p4 i think is only fsb of 533 spend teh money towards a 3.0C fsb800. Dont get the presscot core since it runs alot hotter than the northwood. And it gives about the same performance. The northwood is better for oc than teh prescott becuase of northwood's lower temp

Only if his board supports an 800 fsb chip...otherwise he's going to get a very underclocked chip. Prescott does run warmer...but not a lot hotter. I'd still go with Northwood if you have the choice.

What board do you have whataguy?

Asus P4T533-C it only runs 533fsb max.
 

JBT

Lifer
Nov 28, 2001
12,094
1
81
Originally posted by: cbehnken
the losing performance issue has been beat to death. If your drivers are installed and the old ones removed you cannot loose performance this way. Unless you believe in voodoo and magic.

Have you ever installed video drivers before? Many people have problems because of the uninstillation process not removing all the parts of the drivers esspecially in the registry.
 

cbehnken

Golden Member
Aug 23, 2004
1,402
0
0
Uh, yes I've installed video drivers hundreds of times. That's why they make driver cleanes. He's installing a mobo, btw not a graphics card.

Also, I've never seen documented proof that uninstalling video drivers and adding a new card can cause your benchmarks to be low or some other nonsense like that. With drivers your system is either going to be working or not, nothing in between.


If people are so worry about it do this:

1. Go to device manager.
2. Click View hidden devices.
3. If there still are no yellow or red flags your drivers are okay.
 

PsharkJF

Senior member
Jul 12, 2004
653
0
0
Yes, his board is a 533 FSB board.

To OP: Shouldn't need to reformat, that's usually only with motherboard changes.
 

effee

Golden Member
Sep 4, 2004
1,797
0
0
I'd always recommend a format after any hardware change...you can tell i have tons of data backed up to CDs because of this :)
 

CraigRT

Lifer
Jun 16, 2000
31,440
5
0
Originally posted by: effee
I'd always recommend a format after any hardware change...you can tell i have tons of data backed up to CDs because of this :)

it is 100% not necessary just to upgrade a CPU if you are keeping everything else the same.

also things like network cards, no need to format if you swap something as simple as that.
 

logear1

Member
May 10, 2001
49
0
0
I've never had to while running in the same processor family, never even installed new drivers. BIOS and OS have automatically recognized SLot A Athlons, Athlon XPs, and Xeons without even a hiccup.